Robt Wagner: 'We thought she was off on another boat screwing around'

[undeterred]

'We thought she was off on another boat screwing around', Robert Wagner told rescue boat captain after Natalie Wood was found dead

When Robert Wagner was questioned by a rescue boat captain in 1981 about why he didn’t call for help to find his missing wife, he allegedly said: ‘We thought she was off on another boat screwing around because that’s the kind of woman she is.’

Roger Smith is said to have told homicide detectives Wagner’s words during an investigation into the reopened case of Natalie Wood’s death. The former Supervising Rescue Boat Captain on Catalina Island, California, presented the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department with his sworn statement about what happened the night she died on the yacht Splendour almost 30 years ago, according to Radaronline.com

The site claim they have obtained the declaration, in which Smith says he spoke to the Hart-to-Hart actor, now 81, minutes after Wood’s dead body was discovered in the sea. Smith allegedly admitted in the declaration that he and Deputy Knoll questioned Wood’s husband before detectives arrived, which has influenced the case being reopened.

Despite Wagner’s words being noted in the case, police say he is not considered a suspect, Radar reported. Actress Natalie Wood died on the same night an alleged fight between her husband and fellow actor Christopher Walken broke out, who the couple were on holiday with. A furious Robert Wagner shouted 'Do you want to f*** my wife' at actor Christopher Walken as he smashed a bottle of wine in the moments before Natalie Wood fell overboard, says the boat's captain.




http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2064353/Natalie-Wood-death-Robert-Wagner-said-thought-boat-screwing-around.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Classy.

[Zoeisright]

1. Always look at the husband or boyfriend first.

They usually have what it takes: means, intent, and proximity.

[undeterred]

3. They keep saying he's not a suspect, but what the hell.

He was obviously very angry at her and if it was murder, it could only have been 3 people. The other 2 (Walken and the Captain) don't really have a motive.

[TorchTheWitch]

34. of course they'd say that

At this stage they don't want him thinking they're looking at him if they are (and they more than likely are). Though if he were smart he'd think that anyway.

[UTUSN]

44. If he's "not a suspect," what is the point of an investigation, to "clear" him more completely?!1

And that quote, "That's the kind of woman she was," floored me.

[undeterred]

49. That's what they said about OJ

the first 12 hours or so.

[montanacowboy]

2. I always thought this guy had something to do with it

She is missing and he won't let the Captain notify the CG? she was terrified of water and boats and would never have left that boat voluntarily.

and he IS NOT a suspect? give me a break

[noiretextatique]

9. so did i

i never believed his version of events.

[TorchTheWitch]

32. neither did I or anyone else I knew

It was always looked at as a travesty of justice at the time where I lived. Pretty much everyone was talking about it outraged.

[trumad]

4. I dont believe this guy

After all these years and now he's selling a book.

[trumad]

5. well you wear shoes like that on a boat

And you might just fall in

[valerief]

11. You read my mind! nt

[TorchTheWitch]

37. it's a photo op

It's not like she posed like that all the time all made up and dressed up for cameras that might be around.

However, she was found in the water in socks, a long nightgown and a down jacket. Whether she was dressed that way on deck of her own volition is anyone's guess.

[FarCenter]

45. At night, November 29th, off Catalina Island would probably be pretty cold.

If she left her cabin to move the dinghy, as said by Walken, she would dress this way.

[MADem]

6. Why wait thirty long years, and only get an attack of conscience AFTER you write a book?

It's a great story....but where the hell was he thirty years ago? Twenty? Ten?

Why now? Is there a statute of limitatons on perjury, or something? Isn't this guy worried about that perjured commentary to the police being morphed into something that smells like "accessory after the fact?"

Cui bono?

He'd better be lawyered up.

[sasha031]

8. Captain Dennis Davern has been trying to tell his story for 25 years

and it took Marti Rulli decades to research the book which was published a few years ago.

[MADem]

10. Oh come on. Did he go to the police and file a report to amend his original remarks?

Did he give any interviews on the fresh, one-year anniversary? Five? Ten?

It doesn't take thirty years to "research" a book. In fact, the best research happens when memories are fresh.

Was he locked in RJ's basement? Did Christopher Walken, channeling The Continental, stalk his apartment hallways and keep him trapped in his own home?

As I said, cui bono. Big book, big revelation. I look askance.

[polichick]

22. Natalie's sister says he has contacted her many times...

She believes him and is afraid to find out what really happened - but is glad the case has been reopened.

[FedUpWithIt All]

25. Here's a link that tells about him trying to contact her, in a very upset manner, over the years.

Wood's sister Lana appeared on the Piers Morgan Tonight show on Friday to discuss Davern's intervention . "He's been trying to say something for quite a number of years," she said. "He used to call me quite frequently, about 10 years after Natalie passed, and tell me bits and pieces in a very agitated manner – very upset, crying – that there was more to it than he said, and how guilty he felt."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/nov/21/natalie-wood-witness-feared-life?newsfeed=true

They witness from the other boat, that heard the cries for help, is also now saying she recieved threats during that time.

[polichick]

26. Yes, that's what I've been seeing around the net - that "ear witness" is interesting...

Seems like grand jury time.

[polichick]

7. I've read that Walken has lawyered up - I'd like to know what he has to say...

...about that night.

[RebelOne]

40. That is really sort of suspicious. Why would he need a lawyer? n/t

[polichick]

41. Just found this...

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/natalie-wood-death-christopher-walken-263792

He'll need a lawyer if all the new info goes to the grand jury - the "ear witness" report is really interesting.

Both men will have some explaining to do.

[sasha031]

43. his statements throughout the years have been contradictory

he originally said he was asleep. the captain has verified that, when stating that when he searched for Natalie, he checked Walken's room in which he was sleeping.

[MADem]

52. If I were famous, I'd probably have a legal team on retainer. nt

[pipi_k]

12. By odd coincidence...

The other night I watched "Splendor in the Grass" and had forgotten the scene where she tries to commit suicide by jumping into the water and going over the falls.

Knowing how she felt about deep water, it was very weird.

[valerief]

15. Maybe her fear of water didn't exist until after she died. Maybe history was rewritten.

Of course, maybe it was true all along, too.

[flamingdem]

13. Doesn't he do Hair Club commercials now?

Have to admit I luved him in that thief show from the old days

[DURHAM D]

33. No - worse. He peddles Reverse Mortgages. nt

[flamingdem]

39. How about Larry King who is peddling insurance a month after retirement

can you say money grubbing, he does another product as well, didn't cnn pay him enough..

[valerief]

14. Well, if I were writing a mystery novel about this, I'd reveal that Wagner and Walken

are having an affair and Natalie knows all about it. She might even be sleeping with Walken, too. Anyway, something else entirely ticks her off with them, and she threatens to expose their affair. She's done that before, but W&W believe her this time. Maybe the stakes are higher. Of course, the exposure would ruin their careers, so they stop her. Really stop her.

[flamingdem]

16. With that background of "free love" anything could happen in the 60s

nice twist you've got there

[valerief]

21. But it happened in the eighties, not the sixties. The Reagan years. nt

[flamingdem]

27. Oops. He looks young in those pix nt

[ldf]

54. that rumor was going around at the time

that she was inebriated when she caught wagner and walken in bed....

[MilesColtrane]

17. "We thought she was off on another boat screwing around"

Bob couldn't hear what this alleged earwitness heard?

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2011/11/woman-claims-she-heard-natalie-woods-cries-for-help-on-night-actress-died/

[polichick]

18. Marilyn Wayne, the "ear witness" is going to be important to this case...

She says she heard a woman crying for help and an annoyed and drunken man saying to hold on, we're coming for you.

[Owl]

19. "We thought she was off on another boat screwing around"

Doesn't sound like words from someone distraught about her death.

[undeterred]

23. My wife is quite the whore-

she goes from yacht to yacht screwing just about anyone - so we really didn't think much of it when she wasn't here.

[closeupready]

28. Or, 'my wife and I had an open relationship', or 'Natalie had a problem being monogamous' or

any of a number of other things, none of which suggest to me that he didn't love her.

[undeterred]

35. I think his statement is hostile.

[undeterred]

20. Wood and Walken were making a movie together

and getting along a little too well for Wagner's comfort. Wagner argued man to man with Walken and accused him of F*ing his wife. But his wife was the one who ended up dead. Funny how its the woman who took the worst of it. I guess Walken should consider himself lucky to have gotten off the yacht alive.

I'd bet that both Walken and the captain know what really happened to Natalie that night and were warned that they'd better never say a word about it.

[polichick]

24. The "ear witness" was threatened in writing a few days later...

...according to the Hollywood Reporter.

[sasha031]

30. Wagner accused Walken of wanting to have an affair with his wife

he then smashed the wine bottle. Walken got up and went to his cabin and Natalie to hers.
When the captain went searching for Natalie, Walken was sound asleep.
As far as the captain, attorneys wrote the script of the events that had happened that night.

[brooklynite]

29. Sorry, I can't waste time with this...I'm expecting new developments in the Judge Crater case...

[TorchTheWitch]

42. so why did you just waste time with this? n/t

[Goblinmonger]

31. If I were Walken

my answer to Wagner's question would have been "Yes!"

Just sayin'.

[trumad]

46. A couple of more Phin wins

and you might have to ditch the photo. ;-)

[Goblinmonger]

48. The drop to my level in the cellar is a pretty big one.

I've resigned to owning it unless I have some near perfect weeks.

[global1]

36. In All This I've Never Heard Any Statement Or Comments About This Incident....

from Walken. What did he say happened that night? What's he saying now?

[polichick]

38. On edit, here's something...

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/natalie-wood-death-christopher-walken-263792

[Horse with no Name]

47. I always had a crush on RJ

BUT...this story never smelled right. Nobody in their right mind who is afraid of water would go out on a dinghy...at night.

I hate water and I know for a fact I wouldn't.

[Raine]

50. Interesting, I hadn't heard this. nt

[JVS]

51. It was 1981, I'm guessing everyone had too many ludes or too much coke to do anything

[Lena inRI]

53. Find the liar and the threat source. . .

. . .which begs the following questions:

1-- Why didn't LAPD give lie detector tests to all 3 men originally in 1981? Because they were threatened/bribed as well?

. . .Marilyn Wayne, the "ear witness," wasn't paralyzed!

2--So why didn't SHE call the Coast Guard during the 25 minutes she claims she heard the cries for help?

Just saw (11/23/11) that the Captain passed a current lie detector test.

3--Isn't he obviously motivated by a very bad conscience for not standing up to the people responsible for both the drowning and threats?

4--What makes him feel less threatened today then in 1981? What changed in the Wagner-Walken worlds of late?

. . .the conventional thinking that Natalie was cheating with Walken and/or she would tell-all about the 2 men's gay affair is very foolhardy for someone like Natalie who was very UNCONVENTIONAL in her later movie roles, ie.

http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTU5MDI3MjM0M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMDEzMTcyMQ@@._V1._SY317_CR3,0,214,317_.jpg

The jealousy motive is really weak since they already had divorced for 10 years, both married others (Wagner twice more) , and then they remarried by 1972.

5--So, couldn't they have just re-divorced? Why haven't detectives pursued OTHER compelling motives for letting her die?

. . .finally, the being-too-doped-up-to-help is specious talk since Natalie's 25 minutes of crying for help is a very long time for Wagner to be zonked out.

6--If Wagner was able to speak to the Captain, how could he claim incapacitation for those crucial 25 minutes she was crying for help?

Look, I'm just an armchair sleuth, I'll admit. But the way both the LAPD and the subjects have acted and are acting are VERY SKETCHY INDEED.

I hope the Captain succeeds in clearing his conscience.

And, most importantly, I hope Natalie's sister, daughters are vindicated with the truth.

I always thought Natalie Wood was a wonderful actress but I'm saddened to realize that her troubled personal life caused her premature death.

R.I. P. Natalie. . .