# Re-opening Natalie Wood case--did anything come of it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 9, 2012, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-opening-natalie-wood-case-did-anything-come-of-it/615219 "2012-03-09T02:03:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2018, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-opening-natalie-wood-case-did-anything-come-of-it/615219/81 "2018-02-05T19:51:45Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Huh. I watched “Rebel Without a Cause” back in high school on Turner Classic Movies and afterwards they talked about how both Natalie Wood and James Dean died, and for some reason I got it in my head that they died around the same time in the 1950s. I never saw “West Side Story” or “Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice” so I didn’t ever realize Natalie Wood died in the 1980s in her 40s until doing some Wikipedia research because of this thread. Never saw _ **The Great Race** _, _ **Gypsy** _, or _ **Penelope** _ either? :eek: Growing up in the '60s, I was absolutely infatuated with Natalie Wood! :o > **[Natalie Wood in The Great Race (1965) - FamousFix](https://www.famousfix.com/post/natalie-wood-in-the-great-race-1965-22769275/p52368750?view=large)** > > Do you like the photo "Natalie Wood in The Great Race (1965)"? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2018, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-opening-natalie-wood-case-did-anything-come-of-it/615219/82 "2018-02-05T19:54:03Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > I saw a show on this just last night. The one question that loomed in my mind when it was over was, “If there is so much evidence pointing at foul play and so many corroborating witnesses, why was the case closed in the first place?” You mean to say that, after decades, they are just figuring out that something may definitely be amiss? Yeah, the more time passes with a case like this, the more skeptical I am that a “new” or “obvious” theory is the right one. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2018, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-opening-natalie-wood-case-did-anything-come-of-it/615219/83 "2018-02-05T20:40:19Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Never saw _ **The Great Race** _, _ **Gypsy** _, or _ **Penelope** _ either? :eek: > > Growing up in the '60s, I was absolutely infatuated with Natalie Wood! :o > > [http://www.famousfix.com/post/natalie-wood-in-the-great-race-1965-22769275/p52368750?view=large](http://www.famousfix.com/post/natalie-wood-in-the-great-race-1965-22769275/p52368750?view=large) What a great link! She was indeed fabulous. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-opening-natalie-wood-case-did-anything-come-of-it/615219/84 "2018-02-06T01:12:32Z")
Here is a sorta update, that really goes no where: > **[Robert Wagner’s story on Natalie Wood’s death makes ‘no sense' — but still...](https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/robert-wagner-natalie-wood-story-no-sense-detective-article-1.3801377)** > > Authorities say they can’t the original story of Natalie Wood's death murder or bring any charges with the evidence they’ve collected. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-opening-natalie-wood-case-did-anything-come-of-it/615219/85 "2018-02-06T01:16:30Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Here is a sorta update, that really goes no where: > > [Robert Wagner’s story on Natalie Wood’s death makes ‘no sense’ — but still can’t call it murder, detective says – New York Daily News](http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/robert-wagner-natalie-wood-story-no-sense-detective-article-1.3801377) Thanks for this. Interesting. (I’m goin’ nowhere, too, so…) ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-opening-natalie-wood-case-did-anything-come-of-it/615219/86 "2018-02-06T02:19:49Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > This is what you get when it is “too soon”: More here: [The Aristocrats (film) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Aristocrats_(film))) ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-opening-natalie-wood-case-did-anything-come-of-it/615219/87 "2018-02-06T02:35:59Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Here is a sorta update, that really goes no where: > > [Robert Wagner’s story on Natalie Wood’s death makes ‘no sense’ — but still can’t call it murder, detective says – New York Daily News](http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/robert-wagner-natalie-wood-story-no-sense-detective-article-1.3801377) I have to question the value of a source that cannot even get the name of Wagner’s TV series right. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-opening-natalie-wood-case-did-anything-come-of-it/615219/88 "2018-02-06T02:50:59Z")
> [@](#): > > Nope, I’m pretty happy. You want to hear some space shuttle jokes? > [@](#): > > Oh, yeah, like the guy who was complaining that Houston was shortchanged because they did not get a retired orbiter to display – then someone observed that Texas already got Columbia. > > Any other depths of bad taste we can explore? Years ago I was on a mailing list that included a few folks from NASA. At the time, John Glenn was aboard the space shuttle at age 77. Someone on the list suggested that upon arrival back on earth, all NASA employees greeting the Shuttle wear ape suits. NASA’s response on the list was, “We don’t make jokes until the Bird is down. We are not amused.” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-opening-natalie-wood-case-did-anything-come-of-it/615219/89 "2018-02-06T03:23:54Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > I have to question the value of a source that cannot even get the name of Wagner’s TV series right. Where did they mention it, and what did they get wrong?? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-opening-natalie-wood-case-did-anything-come-of-it/615219/90 "2018-02-06T03:28:50Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Where did they mention it, and what did they get wrong?? Hart To Hart, not Heart To Heart. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-opening-natalie-wood-case-did-anything-come-of-it/615219/91 "2018-02-06T03:30:48Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Where did they mention it, and what did they get wrong?? Fourth paragraph: > [@](#): > > Corina reiterated that Wood’s husband, Robert Wagner, 87, has been upgraded to “a person of interest” since the case was reopened in 2011, but he said there was no way to force the “Heart to Heart” actor to cooperate and answer questions. I never saw any of it or paid much attention to it, but I know that was not the name of the series. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-opening-natalie-wood-case-did-anything-come-of-it/615219/92 "2018-02-06T03:39:40Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Hart To Hart, not Heart To Heart. [Correct](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078622/) > [@](#): > > Jonathan Hart was a self-made millionaire–the CEO of Hart Industries, a global conglomerate. His gorgeous wife Jennifer was a freelance journalist. They were both amateur sleuths, and in every episode found themselves up to their eyeballs in murder, smuggling, theft and international espionage. They also managed to find time to snuggle together, as they loved each other very much. Max was their loyal, gravelly-voiced butler, cook & chauffeur, and Freeway their pet canine. I watched it all the time. Pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-opening-natalie-wood-case-did-anything-come-of-it/615219/93 "2018-02-06T04:41:25Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Hart To Hart, not Heart To Heart. > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > [Correct](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078622/)I watched it all the time. Pretty good. "And when they met, it was _murder!"_ ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-opening-natalie-wood-case-did-anything-come-of-it/615219/94 "2018-02-06T05:51:01Z")
But not the way you think… ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-opening-natalie-wood-case-did-anything-come-of-it/615219/95 "2018-02-06T18:40:29Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > What does NASA stand for? Need Another Seven Astronauts. Why did NASA invest in PepsiCo? They couldn’t get 7 Up. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-opening-natalie-wood-case-did-anything-come-of-it/615219/96 "2018-02-06T21:07:23Z")
Here’s CNN’s latest: [https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/05/entertainment/natalie-wood/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/05/entertainment/natalie-wood/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-opening-natalie-wood-case-did-anything-come-of-it/615219/97 "2018-02-12T05:59:56Z")
So did anyone see the 48 Hours special? Here is a summary: [http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/news/a47837/natalie-wood-death-in-dark-water/](http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/news/a47837/natalie-wood-death-in-dark-water/) ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-opening-natalie-wood-case-did-anything-come-of-it/615219/98 "2019-08-03T11:54:54Z")
FWIW. Back in the news, August 3, 2019 [ **Lana Wood, Natalie’s Little Sister, Has Plenty to Say** _A cold case revived — and a life’s arc considered._](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/03/style/lana-wood-natalie-sister-death.html?emc=rss&partner=rss) > [@](#): > > “How about no devils?” Lana Wood said on the phone recently, recounting a presentation she gave at CrimeCon in June. > > Her sister, Natalie Wood, had left her first husband, Robert Wagner, after a marital betrayal, Lana says she told her. But Natalie decided, in 1972, to go back to him — because “sometimes the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t.” > > Nine years later, Natalie would die under suspicious circumstances. Her body was found floating off Catalina Island in California near a boat on which she, Mr. Wagner and Christopher Walken had spent the evening. Also on board was the skipper, Dennis Davern. > > At the time, Ms. Wood’s death was ruled an accident and the case was closed. > > But in 2011, the investigation was reopened by the Los Angeles Police Department after Mr. Davern said he heard Ms. Wood and Mr. Wagner arguing earlier in the evening. After re-evaluating the case details, the coroner changed the cause of Ms. Wood’s death to “drowning and other undetermined factors.” > Sign Up for the Wait — Newsletter > > Each week, you’ll get stories about money, power, sex and scrunchies. > > Since then, more witnesses have emerged that have led the police to reclassify Ms. Wood’s death as “suspicious” and to consider Mr. Wagner, now 89, as “a person of interest.” The Los Angeles Police Department did not offer specifics about the witnesses’ identities or statements. > > According to Ralph Hernandez, the lead homicide detective, Mr. Wagner has not talked to the police since 1981. “I think that Wagner holds the key,” Detective Hernandez said in a phone interview. “It’s really only up to him at this point.” > > Whether Mr. Wagner can be charged with a crime isn’t clear. Because of the statute of limitations on lesser crimes, murder is the only one that could be considered, Detective Hernandez said. > > At the CrimeCon presentation, in New Orleans, Ms. Wood stressed that though “there may be a statute of limitations on a crime, there is not one on the truth.” Detective Hernandez said that the revised coroner’s report states that Natalie appeared to be a victim of assault and battery, and that the coroner could not rule out that she had died before she hit the water. “Robert Wagner maintains her death was an accident. How was she accidentally assaulted?” Ms. Wood asked the crowd at CrimeCon. > … ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-opening-natalie-wood-case-did-anything-come-of-it/615219/99 "2019-08-03T13:15:59Z")
It’s high time they took the plunge! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-opening-natalie-wood-case-did-anything-come-of-it/615219/100 "2019-08-03T16:04:16Z")
I wonder how many more times this thread gets dredged up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-opening-natalie-wood-case-did-anything-come-of-it/615219.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-opening-natalie-wood-case-did-anything-come-of-it/615219.md?page=6)