(tense music) - This week on Buzzfeed
Unsolved, we discuss the highly controversial
drowning of Natalie Wood. Get your sunglasses ready because this one is packed full of bright stars. Wow, he had them ready. He didn't even know I was gonna say that. - I had 'em good to go. I'm always ready, baby. - I'd like to say that
this story isn't gonna be chock full of terrible
Christopher Walken impressions but I can't say that. - "Watch out." - "Boys."
(laughing) - "Two mice. "Wow." - Alright, let's get into it. On November 29, 1981, at about 7:30 am, Natalie Woods' body was
found floating face down in the Pacific Ocean around 200 yards off Catalina's Islands Blue Cavern Point. She was wearing on a flannel night gown, blue wool socks, and a red down jacket. Before we get into the
details of the scene, let's establish what led up to that point. Natalie Wood was one of the
biggest stars in Hollywood up until her untimely death. With roles that include
the classic Christmas film, Miracle on 34th Street,
which she starred in only at age 11, Rebel Without A Cause
in her teenage years, West Side Story, and Gypsy. - [Shane] Gypsy? - [Ryan] Yeah, that. - [Shane] Ah, the famous Gypsy. (laughing) - [Ryan] Admittedly, I was like, "Oh! "Miracle on 34th Street, cool. "Rebel Without A Cause, great. "West Side Story--" - [Shane] West Side Story, classic. - [Ryan] And of course-- - [Both] Gypsy. - [Ryan] Eerily, from her early childhood, Woods' mother was said to have filled her with a fear of dark
water, as a fortune teller had once prophesized that
she would die of drowning. - [Shane] Jesus Christ. (laughing) Did her mother bring
her to a fortune teller? - [Ryan] I imagine it was
like one of those, like, fortune tellers you see at like a carnival and like, "Oh, wouldn't
it be funny if you tell "my fortune with the little
playing cards and it--" - [Shane] "Oh, maybe
she'll tell ya you're gonna "marry a rich man."
(laughing) She probably, she would. - [Ryan] "You're gonna drown one day." - [Shane] "Water's gonna fill your lungs." (laughing) - And the mom was like, "Alright,
we've had enough of this. "Thank you." - "Let's go get funnel cakes." (laughing) - [Ryan] In a chilling
incident from when Wood was 10 years old and filming
The Green Promise, a bridge rigged to collapse
threw her into the water, despite her mother assuring
her it would be safe. Wood broke her wrist,
and left the incident even more terrified of the
water than when she began. As a child she had such a phobia of water, it is said she was
afraid to wash her hair, and had recurring
nightmares about drowning. - [Shane] This is brutal. - [Ryan] I know. It came true, so she
was actually warranted in all these fears. - [Shane] This, though,
this would be like if you, were eaten by a shark. - [Ryan] Or a bear. - [Shane] Oh, I'm sorry,
this would be like if you were eaten by a bear. - [Ryan] I thought for a second we were talking about things
that are actually scary. - [Shane] I made the mistake of thinking of the most apex predator,
and I forgot that you're afraid of one of the
lesser predators, so yes. - No, no, I'm gonna let this slide because I know you're just
trying to get a ride out of me and you truly do believe
that the bear is the most dominant animal. - I truly believe that. - Yeah, it's the most
dominant all terrain animal in the world. - Yeah, sure it is. - It's a killing machine. - Yeah, pop that thing in
the ocean, see how it does. - [Ryan] On Woods' 18th
birthday, she went on a date with actor Robert Wagner, later star of television
series, Hart to Hart, who was 26 at the time. They married in 1957, but
divorced just a few years after. Wood married and divorced another man later in her life, only to
marry Robert Wagner once again in 1972. Wood herself had said that
she believed her feelings of torment were rooted in a feeling that she did not truly know herself, as people had told her
what to do her whole life. Including her mother - [Shane] Jesus. - [Ryan] Yeah, she seems,
uh, a lot more tortured than I originally anticipated. - Wagner must, I mean, does that man have a magical penis or something? They got divorced and then she-- - You think the only reason
would go back to someone is because they have a magical penis? - I mean, I feel like divorce
is probably a lot of work. - Do you not know how love works? - Maybe I don't. - That makes a lot of sense actually. Pushing forward to more recent
history of the incident, it was the weekend just
after Thanksgiving of 1981. Wood had been working on
the science fiction film, Brainstorm, with Christopher
Walken at the time, and he was invited to join
her and Wagner on their yacht named The Splendour that weekend. According to the captain
of the boat, Dennis Davern, who had worked with the couple for years and considered himself a family friend, Wood had become infatuated
with Walken during filming and Wagner has even flown out
to where they were filming to make sure he wasn't going to quote, "Make a fool of himself
over this," end quote. - This is, this is rough. - To be fair, can you blame her? - I, here's, I'm actually a
little curious about that. I have a hard time imagining someone going gaga over Walken. - You go gaga over Walken. - I go gaga-- - You go googagoo. - You know, he's probably magnetic. I bet when you get in a room with him, he commands the space. - Yeah, no one is like,
"Oh, Chris Walken's here." Everyone's like, "Did you see
who just fuckin' walked in? "Chris Walken." - What a Walken. - "Boys. "They party's here." - "I brought some cocktail weenies." (laughing) - [Ryan] Though Wagner
was not the only one with a jealous streak,
as around the same time, reports say Wood was
suffering from jealousy over Wagner's on-screen romance with his Hart to Hart co-star, Stephanie Powers. The group left on the yacht around noon on Friday November 27,
about two days before Wood would be found dead. Everyone on the boat, including
the ship's Captain Davern, had been drinking for much of the weekend. On that Friday night,
Wagner and Wood argued, to the point that Davern was concerned and asked Walken to get involved. Walken is known to have refused
to intervene saying quote, "Never get involved in an argument "between a man and a wife," end quote. Davern ended up taking
Wood ashore that night in the yacht's 13 foot
inflatable dinghy named the Prince Valiant, and they slept at the Pavilion Lodge Hotel in Avalon. The first time Davern was
questioned about this night, he lied, saying that all four of them had stayed on the yacht. The police, however, already had evidence that they had not been on
the boat the first night, so Davern was prompted to tell the truth. He went on to say that he
and Wood spent the night in the same room, but they just drank wine and went to sleep. Davern also claims that
in their relationship, he felt very protective
of her, and she was very comfortable with him. - [Shane] He seems like
a good influence here. Maybe? - [Ryan] You could spin it that, or you could spin it the other way. You could see both sides of the coin here. - [Shane] I mean, if
he's removing her from a volatile situation. - [Ryan] Yeah, but the
intentions behind that perhaps weren't the most valiant. - [Shane] Hm. - [Ryan] The next morning
on Saturday, November 28, they returned to The Splendour, where Wood apparently decided to stay for
the reminder of the weekend based upon Walken's
expressed desire to stay. Walken and Wood went ashore that afternoon to begin drinking at Doug's Harbor Reef where they were later
joined by Wagner and Davern. The party's waitress
recalls that at dinner, the consumed two bottles of wine, two bottles of champagne,
and one of the men was also drinking daiquiris. - Jesus.
(laughing) - Holy shit. - The 80s are great. - Yeah, they're just goin' to town. I'd like to imagine it was Walken, but. - Just throwing' back the daiquiris. - He seems like a daiquiri
guy, I don't know. - "Five daiquiris."
(laughing) - [Ryan] She also
recalls that Wood did not eat much of her dinner
and that she did not seem to be in a good mood. And when she left restaurant,
appeared to be stumbling. In one moment, Wood was
said to have thrown a glass down onto the floor, though Walken later explained the incident
saying that it was his fault because he threw his glass on the floor after making a toast and
Wood had just followed suit. So fuckin' Walken is essentially Thor. - Yeah. - I like this drink! Another! Davern has said Walken and
Wood seemed very flirty throughout the dinner. They boarded the dinghy, the Valiant to return to their yacht for the night at about 10 pm. As they were boarding, a
witness from the Harbor Patrol Office said they hear Wood
scream about something, which he assumed was just
because she was drunk. Witnesses sleeping
aboard on a nearby boat, John Payne, and his
girlfriend, Marilyn Wayne, reported hearing shouts
at around midnight. However, there was a party
going on somewhere nearby, so he figured it was from that and did not respond. Payne claimed to hear
a woman yelling quote, "Help me! "Someone please help me!" end quote, coming from the near
stern of the The Splendour and potentially from someone in a dinghy. He also believed to hear a
man who sounded very drunk respond quote, "Okay honey,
we'll get you," end quote, but his tone was so mocking, he claims this is why he believed
the cries were associated with the party. - [Shane] "Mocking tone,"
when you say mocking tone, you mean like-- - [Ryan] "Okay honey, we'll go get you." - [Shane] "We'll help
you," like, intimidating? Scary? Spooky? - [Ryan] Well, you did,
you went a little darker with it, maybe that's what he said. Or maybe he was just joking around like, "We'll go get ya." Or maybe this didn't happen at all. Maybe this guy didn't hear
what he thought he heard. - [Shane] Yeah, is he just
like parked next to them? He has like binoculars, like a creep. - Star watcher. - "Oh, what's goin' on there?" - "You know, Natalie
Wood's up on that boat." - "Oh, she's screamin'.
(laughing) "Better take a note about that." - [Ryan] Reports say there
was a nonviolent argument aboard the yacht soon
before Wood disappeared. Wagner has said that he and
Walken did have a political debate that he began at
dinner, that they continued while aboard the yacht. He describes the event saying quote, "There was no fight, no anger. "Just a lot of words
thrown around like you hear "in most political discussions. "Natalie sat there not
saying much of anything "and looking bored. "She left us after about a half hour, "and we sat there talking
for almost another hour. "Then I went to kiss her good
night, and found her missing," end quote. - Hm. - What are you onto here? Or are you just holding
the pen, saying, "Hm?" - He didn't notice she was missing until he went to go kiss her good night. - Yes. - So that doesn't really
line up with the whole screaming woman. - It doesn't. That's what I'm saying, you kind of don't really know who to believe here. - Hm. Hm. (laughing)
Okay. - Okay. At 1:30 am that night,
Wagner and sea Captain Davern made a distress call to
the coast guard saying that Natalie Wood had disappeared
from the couple's yacht, The Splendour, and about six hours later, taking us back to the start, the body of Wood was found floating about a mile away from the yacht. The Prince Valiant, the inflatable dinghy, which she has presumably left the boat on, was found washed up on the rocks, just a little further south. The ignition was off, the
gear shift was set to neutral, and the oars were locked, which
implies she may have never started the vessel. The coroner reported that she had drunk seven or eight glasses of
wine before the incident. Her blood alcohol level was at least .14 and the police ultimately
ruled her death as accidental. She also has superficial
bruises on her arms and lower legs as well
as a cut on her cheek. Though at the time,
these were all attributed to what have might have naturally occurred as she fell on the water. - [Shane] She was a little drunk. I don't know how many, I'm not a big wine guy,
so I don't know if-- - [Ryan] Well you know
blood alcohol is .14. - [Shane] .14 is pretty high? - [Ryan] That's pretty-- - [Shane] .08 is, "You're drunk." - [Ryan] The 'ol, "You're drunk,
you shouldn't be driving." .14 is, "You should be laying down." - [Shane] Hm. - [Ryan] Yeah - Okay well, this is gonna be tricky. I'm interested to hear the
theories because it does sound like it could be a case
of accidental drowning. - [Ryan] With that, let's
get into the theories. The first theory is that
Natalie accidentally fell into the water and drowned. The conclusion drawn by
the chief medical examiner in the LA County Coroner's
Office, Thomas Noguchi, was that Wood had fallen
into the water while trying to board The Valiant. Noguchi hypothesized that her down jacket had likely become heavy and soaked, but she never thought to remove it due to her inebriated state. Fingernail scratches found
on the side of the Valiant show she tried to climb
back aboard the dinghy. Eventually, she likely finally drowned due to hypothermia and exhaustion. Ultimately, it's likely
she clung to its side as it drifted away from The Splendour. However, Wood's sister,
Lana Wood, had this to say on the notion. Quote, "My sister was not a swimmer "and did not know how to
swim, and she would never "go to another boat or to shore dressed "in a nightgown and socks," end quote. I guess if she's spent her whole life being afraid of water and she can't swim-- - [Shane] Probably,
probably put on a life vest or something-- - [Ryan] Well, why would
she even attempt to do this? - [Shane] Or even attempt,
in her nightgown no less. - [Ryan] Yeah. - [Shane] In her nightgown no less. - [Ryan] That's why it's strange. I guess when I'm drunk, I-- - [Shane] I've done some stupid things. - [Ryan] I guess I would
attempt to do things that I'm scared of, but, going
back to my fear of bears, I would never go, "Hey,
let me go pet this bear." - [Shane] No, I wouldn't. One of my greatest fears, I
think I've said this before, is that someone will trick
me into doing heroin. - [Ryan] Which is the
dumbest fear I've ever heard in my life. - [Shane] It would be against my will. - [Ryan] How man situations
could even put you up to that potential danger? - I don't know. All it takes-- - How many parties are you
going to with heroin involved? - None, but--
- It seems like a lot. - It's not the fear that I'm at a party, it's the fear that someone will come up to me on the street and put heroin in me and then I'm hooked forever. (laughing)
- What the fuck? Speaking of the nightgown and socks, Robert Wagner also said in
a 1986 biography, quote, "It was only after I was
told that she was dressed "in a sleeping gown,
heavy socks, and a parka "that it dawned on me
what had really occurred. "Natalie obviously had
trouble with that dinghy "slamming up against the boat. "It happened many, many times before, "and I had always gone out
and pulled the ropes tighter "to keep the dinghy
flush against the yacht. "She probably skidded on one of the steps "after untying the ropes. "The steps are slick as ice because of the "algae and seaweed that's
always clinging to them. "After slipping on the
steps, she hit her head "against the boat. "I only hope she was unconscious
when she hit the water," end quote. - Maybe she did just slip. Wagner sounds like he's putting forth a pretty solid theory. - Any time someone has
a very hyper detailed account of what would've happened, that makes them free to go? - "Here's what must've happened." - "Here's what must've happened." - "These 40 things in succession." (laughing)
- Exactly. However, some have criticized this theory as the Valiant was a rubber dinghy which, according to Noguchi, would
make very little noise when they bump a yacht. Additionally, Noguchi
reported forensic evidence, including the untouched
algae on the swim step. It appeared that Wood
may have been attempting to board the dingy rather
than adjust the rope. Police investigators
also found broken glass in The Splendour's main
salon, which Wagner attributed to the rough seas, a possible factor in
why Wood may have fallen into the water. However, it's here that the testimony of Captain Davern differs. He claimed that Wagner grabbed
and smashed a wine bottle after going into a jealous rage over Wood and Walken's interactions. He claims Wagner exclaimed, quote, "Jesus Christ, what are you trying to do, "fuck my wife?" end quote. - Yeesh. - So you can see where the two accounts of what happened are drastically different? - I just don't understand
what the captain would have, why would he make this up? - True, unless he was,
here's another turn, unless he was in love with Wood and jealous of Wagner. - Oh. - See what I? You can spin anything you
want, how you want it. - Dammit, Ryan. (laughing) - What do you think
Christopher Walken said when he said that? - "No!" - "No, Bobby."
- "Bobby. "Two mice." - [Ryan] Strangely, despite
blaming the rough seas at first, Wagner admitted to have
broken the wine bottle that night in the salon in
his autobiography in 2009. Yeah, weird. - [Shane] So, things not lining up. - [Ryan] It's weird that
his memory got clearer. - [Shane] Yeah. - [Ryan] Almost 30 years later. - [Shane] Uh huh. - [Ryan] And with that, let's
get into the next theory, that there was foul play
involving Robert Wagner. Before we move forward, it's worth noting that Davern is an unreliable
witness for a variety of factors, including
that it took years for him to come forward with what
he says is the truth. Additionally, he seemed to
release bits of information to the tabloids in the
years following the incident in a relatively unsavory way. That being said, on
the whole, many factors of his story ring more
consistent with testimony of other witnesses and other evidence. In fact, Walken's
description of what happened when they returned to
the boat is also closer to Davern's than Wagner's. Walken claims an argument
broke out between Wood and Wagner over Wood's
time spent away from family, to which Walken defended Wood at first, but then stepped outside rather
than get further involved. When he returned, the two had made amends. Davern also describes events this way, but instead of Wood and Wagner making up, he states he also heard
the two continue to argue from where he was on
the bridge of the boat, and even claims he heard
the dinghy being untied. He claims there was then
silence until Wagner returned at about 11:30 pm looking quote, "Tousled and sweating
profusely, as if he had been "in a terrible fight, an ordeal
of some kind," end quote. Davern also says that
Wagner discouraged him from turning on the flood lights,
or starting up the engine in any attempt to search
for her, saying that Wagner said he didn't want to
alert the people nearby. (laughing) - Yeah, I would not wanna be this captain. - I gotta say, though,
after hearing this account, the one person who I
didn't expect to just be very innocent, fuckin' Walken seems like he was just chillin'. - He was just, you know,
he was just trying to fuck somebody's wife.
(laughing) - [Ryan] Davern has since said
that he has always believed something malicious may
have occurred to Wood, as he believes she would have never tried to go to shore alone,
and feels sure if she did want to return, she would
have had him take her, as she had the night before. Based on new information,
including the information from Davern, the case
was reopened in 2011. In 2012, the LA County Coroner's Office changes the cause of death from quote, "Accidental drowning"
end quote, to, quote, "Drowning and other undetermined
factors," end quote. The new reports casts more questions on the nature of the bruises and abrasions on Woods' body, positing
that they likely had to have been on her body before
she fell into the water. Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran, the chief medical examiner, said
in the report, quote, "The location of the
bruises, the multiplicity "of the bruises, lack of head
trauma, or facial bruising, "support bruising having
occurred prior to entry "in the water. "Since there are unanswered questions "and limited additional evidence available "for evaluation, it is opined
by this medical examiner "that the manner of death should be left "as undetermined," end quote. - Well it's good to reexamine
these cases like this every now and then because
the investigators nowadays aren't big Hart to Hart fans. - Was Hart to Hart that big of a thing? Was Wagner that big of a star? - I feel like I'd have watched it. It was about a husband and wife, detective team? - I honestly don't even know. - I'm gonna check it out. - Okay. Well you do that and you
report back to me how it is. - Hart to Hart and Gypsy. - Gypsy, you gotta save Gypsy. - These are on my watch list. I hope these are on Netflix. - [Ryan] As of 2013, the LA County Sheriff Department's spokesman, Steve Whitmore, has described the case as quote, "Open and ongoing. "Nothing definitive has
closed it," end quote. However, he had also
previously stated that Wagner is not a suspect. Natalie's sister said quote,
"I can't imagine that he," being Wagner, "Purposely
would have done anything "to hurt Natalie. "However, I know things
happen when there is too "much drinking and fighting," end quote. - [Shane] I'm surprised
her sister defends Wagner. - [Ryan] Does she, though? She says-- - [Shane] Well, the thing that she said is very interesting about how, you know, when everybody's drunk, I can't imagine ever murdering someone-- - [Ryan] But when you drink you can imagine murdering someone? - [Shane] No, I'm saying even drunk, but like I ate pumpkin
once when I was drunk. I just took a bite out of a pumpkin. - You're a weird dude. (laughing)
- Why is that just-- - Just eating pumpkins, afraid of people stickin'
you with heroin needles. Just weird. - That's a rational fear.
- That is not a rational fear. - Yes it is.
- No, it's not. - What are we talkin' about? Natalie Wood? - I don't know, these are the
musings of a paranoid man. Whether or not he was responsible, Wagner claims to feel
responsible in part for her death in that he did not notice
she was gone sooner. Christopher Walken has spoken
on the incident as a whole officially saying, quote,
"The people who are convinced "that there was something more to it "than what came out in the investigation "will never be satisfied with the truth. "Because the truth is,
there is nothing more to it. "It was an accident," end quote. Dwayne Rashure, the former
lead police investigator on the case, still says, quote, "I can't tell you exactly
how she got in the water," end quote. In the end, the tragic
passing of Natalie Wood will continue to confound the world. The familiar faces involved only add to the mystery and
unfortunately, we may never know what truly happened
to Natalie that night, as the case of Natalie
Wood will remain unsolved. (slow, tense music)
Hey demons, it's me ya boy
We know what happened.
Robert Wagner got away with drowning her.
Christopher Walken knows.
Natalie Wood's death is interesting. But "Buzzfeed" puts me off as always.
"Buzzfeed"
Gross. Sorry, no thanks
I think Wagner forcibly put her in the dinghy/lifeboat and let the ropes loose because he was angry/jealous and wanted to scare the shit out of her. When he sobered up a bit and realized the possible life threatening consequences of what he had done, he said she was missing and called the coast guard. It's the only thing that makes sense if what the guy in the nearby boat said is true about a man mockingly saying something along the lines of "Don't worry, we'll come get you honey."