LOS ANGELES (KABC) – The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is planning a news conference Friday surrounding the mysterious drowning death of movie star Natalie Wood 30 years ago.
The department announced Thursday that they’ve reopened the case after investigators were contacted by a tipster who reportedly had additional information about Wood’s drowning.
The three-time Academy Award nominee is known for her roles in “Rebel Without a Cause,” “Miracle on 34th Street” and “Westside Story.”
On Nov. 29, 1981, Wood was with her husband, actor Robert Wagner and her co-star Christopher Walken on a sailing trip over the Thanksgiving Day holiday. Wood went overboard and drowned.
At the time, Wood’s death was ruled accidental by sheriff’s investigators and the L.A. County Coroner’s Office. But now, Sheriff Lee Baca told the Los Angeles Times the department received a letter from a third party saying the ship’s captain had new recollection about the case.
Wood’s badly bruised body was found floating a mile away from the yacht just off the coast of Catalina. She was wearing a long nightgown, socks and a down jacket and had a blood alcohol level of .1 percent, according to the police report.
The captain of the ship Wood was on recently wrote a book about her death and said that he believes Wood’s death was a direct result of an argument she had with her husband right before she drowned.
Matthew Belloni, news director of The Hollywood Reporter, said Hollywood trade newspapers didn’t cover celebrities’ private lives back in the day. However, Wood’s death made headlines because of the mysterious circumstances surrounding the incident.
The Wagner family released the following statement Thursday:
“Although no one in the Wagner family has heard from the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department about this matter, they fully support the efforts of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Dept. and trust they will evaluate whether any new information relating to the death of Natalie Wood Wagner is valid, and that it comes from a credible source or sources other than those simply trying to profit from the 30 year anniversary of her tragic death.”
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celebrity, los angeles county sheriff’s department, famous death, entertainment, darsha philips
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