Silver Screen Veteran Robert Wagner Now Named Person Of Interest In Natalie Wood’s Death
The death of Natalie Wood remains one of the entertainment industry's greatest murder mysteries but the decades-long cold case has now been reopened.
A Person Of Interest In The Case
CBS' 48 Hours revealed that the Los Angeles County's Sheriff Office has a new person of interest in the case. The investigators want to speak with Wood's ex-husband, silver screen veteran Robert Wagner, as they believe that he was involved in her wife's death on Nov. 29, 1981.
"As we've investigated the case over the last six years, I think he's more of a person of interest now. I mean, we know now that he was the last person to be with Natalie before she disappeared," Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department lieutenant John Corina told CBS.
Corina also stated that Wagner did not cooperate with the Los Angeles County's Sheriff Office when the case reopened. Lt. Corina's statement to CBS contradicts a statement that Wagner's lawyer released on Jan. 17, 2013, stating that he cooperated with authorities.
Corina also told CBS that Wagner had told numerous variations of his original story to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office representatives.
Revisiting Natalie Wood's Death
The West Side Story actress drowned near the coast of Catalina Island, California after the Hollywood legend disappeared from her family yacht, the Splendour. Officials called Wood's shocking demise an accident.
30 years later, the Los Angeles County's Sheriff Office reopened the Wood case and one year after the case was reopened, the law enforcement agency decided to amend Wood's death certificate.
The officials stated that they added the phrase "other undetermined factors" to the original cause of death. One official who has been working on the case told People that Wood's comatose body looked like the Splendor in the Grass actress was physically assaulted.
Robert Wagner's Current Activities
While the Los Angeles County's Sheriff's Department continues to build their case against Wagner, the actor has only appeared in public a few times over the years.
Wagner returned to CBS drama NCIS to portray Anthony DiNozzo, Sr. in 2017. The actor made appearances on the show over the decade. He also participated in the 2016 Hollywood Christmas Parade.
The actor published his memoir Pieces of My Heart in 2008.
As of publication, Wagner has not responded to being named a person of interest by the Los Angeles County's Sheriff's Department.
