Police: Inquiry is last push to resolve Natalie Wood's death
Posted February 05, 2018 6:00 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A Los Angeles County homicide detective says he's hoping renewed interest in the 1981 death of actress Natalie Wood in the ocean off Southern California will produce more witnesses to shed light on what happened.
Sheriff's Lt. John Corina said Monday that many witnesses have come forward since the case was reopened in 2011 but it remains an investigation into a suspicious death and not a murder case.
Corina suggests this will be the last effort to resolve how Wood died.
She was found off Catalina Island during a yachting excursion with husband Robert Wagner, actor Christopher Walken and the boat captain.
Corina says Wagner is a person of interest because he was the last person with Wood before she ended up in the ocean, but he won't speak to investigators.
FILE - A Dec. 1, 1981 file photo shows actress Natalie Wood. Investigators are now calling 87-year-old actor Robert Wagner a "person of interest" in the 1981 death of his wife Natalie Wood. Mystery has swirled around Wood's death. It was declared an accident but police reopened the case in 2011 to see whether Wagner or anyone else played a role. (AP Photo/File)
The Associated Press
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau Capt. Christopher Bergner, left, looks on as Lt. John Corina, right, discusses the most recent details of the Natalie Wood death investigation at a news conference in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 5, 2018. Corina is hoping renewed interest in the 1981 death of Wood in the ocean off Southern California will produce more witnesses to shed light on what happened. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
The Associated Press
FILE - This Nov. 30, 1981 file photo shows the "Prince Valiant," the inflatable dinghy used by Natalie Wood, moored at the harbor in Avalon, Calif., after it washed up on the rocks on Santa Catalina Island. Patrolmen discovered the actress' body 200 yards off Blue Cavern Point on Catalina Island, 100 yards away from the boat after a seven hour search. Investigators are now calling her husband, Robert Wagner, a "person of interest" in the 1981 death of Wood. Mystery has swirled around Wood's death. It was declared an accident but police reopened the case in 2011 to see whether Wagner or anyone else played a role (AP Photo/Paul J. Harrington, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Dec. 1, 2013 file photo, Robert Wagner attends The Caucus for Producers, Writers and Directors 31st Annual Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif. New witnesses have emerged in the 1981 drowning of actress Natalie Wood, prompting investigators to deem it a "suspicious death" and name her former husband, 87-year-old actor Robert Wagner, a "person of interest," Los Angeles sheriff's officials said, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018. For nearly four decades, mystery and speculation have swirled around the death of the actress who was nominated for three Academy Awards and starred in "West Side Story" and "Rebel Without a Cause." (Photo by Todd Williamson /Invision/AP)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this April 23, 1972 file photo, actor Robert Wagner and his former wife, actress Natalie Wood, pose at the Dorchester Hotel in London, England. Investigators are now calling Wagner a "person of interest" in the 1981 death of his wife Natalie Wood. Mystery has swirled around Wood's death. It was declared an accident but police reopened the case in 2011 to see whether Wagner or anyone else played a role (AP File Photo)
The Associated Press
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