Top Ten Greatest Unsolved Mysteries In Hollywood
4. Natalie Wood
After a night of partying off Catalina Island, Wagner and Walken got into an argument on the yacht. According to Wagner’s police statement, Wood left the men to it and went to bed.
But, when Wagner went to say goodnight to his wife, she was missing.
Hours later, on the morning of November 28, 1981, Wood’s body was found floating in a nearby cove. In the aftermath of Wood’s death, authorities concurred with Wagner’s version of events – that Wood, 43, had accidentally slipped into the water while attempting to take a dinghy back to the dock.
The cause of death was recorded as accidental drowning. However, Wood had a deep-rooted fear of water, making it highly implausible that she would attempt to sail a small boat alone as Wagner contended, and bruises found on her body may have been present when she entered the water.
LAPD reopened the case in 2011 after the boat captain, Dennis Davern, told NBC News that he had seen Wood and Wagner fighting on the night Wood died.
Davern contended that the fight between Wagner and Walken was about Walken’s close relationship with Wood, and that fight led directly to Wood’s death. After a second investigation, Wood’s cause of death was changed to “drowning and other undetermined factors,” but the truth remains elusive.
