Thirty-six years on from actress Natalie Wood’s mysterious death, her husband, TV star Robert Wagner, has been officially named as a “person of interest”.

The Oscar-winning actress, known for her roles in West Side Story, Miracle on 34th Street and Rebel Without a Cause, was found dead in the water off California’s Catalina Island, where she had been travelling with husband Wagner, and friend and fellow actor Christopher Walken along with the ship’s captain Dennis Davern.

The case was closed two weeks after her body was discovered, with investigators ruling it an accident. However, after being reopened by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in 2011, Wood’s official cause of death was changed from “accidental drowning” to “drowning and other undetermined factors”.

Investigators told CBS’s 48 Hours program they are ready to speak to Wagner, now 87 years old, and who has refused to speak with officials about his wife’s death since the case was reopened.

At the time of the incident, Wagner, Walken and Davern told authorities that Wood “took off in a dinghy and went ashore,” despite the actress previously saying on a number of occasions that she was terrified of the water.

Since the original investigation, Wagner and Davern have both changed their stories. In 2011, Davern said he heard Wagner shouting at Walken, “Do you want to f*** my wife?” before smashing a bottle and demanding Walken “get off my f***ing boat”.

Lieutenant John Corina, who has been investigating the case for six years, says the details in Wagner’s story don’t match up with other witnesses. 

“I think he’s constantly changed his story a little. And his version of events just don’t add up,” Lieutenant Corina said. 

As for the autopsy of Wood’s body, Ralph Hernandez of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told 48 Hours, “She looked like a victim of assault,” and was covered in fresh bruises.

“I think it’s suspicious enough to make us think that something happened,” Lieutenant Corina added, suggesting Wagner knew more about his wife’s death than he had previously let on, as he was the last person to see her alive.

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