Nearly thirty years after Natalie Wood died in a mysterious boating accident, the LAPD decided to reopen her case based on the recollections of the boat's captain, Dennis Davern, who now claims that Wood's husband, Robert Wagner, waited hours to call the authorities after Wood disappeared in the Pacific Ocean off of Catalina.
Since Wood's death, rumors have abounded about the mysterious circumstances in which she perished. The "Rebel Without a Cause" actress was rumored to have been having an affair with Christopher Walken, who had just won an Oscar for "The Deer Hunter" and was on the boat at the time. It has also been alleged that Wagner, who was on his second marriage to Wood, was abusive toward her. Considering each of these allegations, along with the fact that the forty-one year old actor never learned how to swim, it is shocking that no charges were brought against Wagner at the time. Even with no charges filed, it seems unthinkable that Wagner would not have at least considered hiring a murder or domestic violence attorney in preparation for what should have seemed the inevitable.
Nearly every piece of evidence points to Robert Wagner. The boat captain would have an absolute lack of motive and is easily eliminated from the list of suspects. And while filmgoers who have watched Walken on screen for the past thirty-five years could easily see him committing an act of cold-blooded murder, off-screen Walken has had, with the exception of the rumored affair with Wood, a nearly scandal-free personal life. Additionally, had Walken been responsible for Wood's death, it would seem impossible that Wagner would conspire to cover up the death of his wife at the hands of her lover. The same cannot be said of Walken, however, who was married at the time and may have thought it wise to cover up Wagner's involvement so that his own affair would not be revealed.
More recent accusations have arisen pointing toward Wagner's involvement in Wood's death. A witness on a nearby boat has claimed he heard Wagner break a bottle of wine and yell at Walken: "Do you want to fuck my wife?" Later, after Wood disappeared, Wagner instructed Davern to lie about the timeline of the incident, making it seem as if Wagner did not wait to inform the authorities that Wood was missing.
There are several instructive things about the Natalie Wood case. The first is that it shows how attitudes against domestic violence have changed since 1981. Behavior such as Wagner's toward Wood is no longer tolerated, as the case of Mel Gibson shows, and if today's standards were in place, Wagner would have likely had to hire a domestic violence attorney to face serious charges. The power of celebrities has shifted as well; in the current tabloid culture, it is harder and harder for stars to cover up their misdeeds. There seems little chance that a man in Dennis Davern's situation today would be intimidated into covering for a B-list star like Robert Wagner.
In the end, the thirty years that have passed since Wood's death may insulate Wagner from facing any serious legal consequences. Mr. Davern's sudden change in testimony is several decades too late, and even if the additional new evidence against him is credible, it may be too late to have much effect. Wagner's attorneys can easily frame Wood's death as a drunken accident that would absolve him of any criminal liability and easily dispute the change in testimony as, at best, an unconscious misremembering of what happened in 1981.
It is all too fitting that Natalie Wood, whose best-known roles in "Rebel Without a Cause" and "West Side Story" are tragic romances, would come to an equally tragic end. Yet even if the truth as to what happened on that boat finally comes to light, after thirty years there is little hope that her tale will find a cathartic Hollywood ending.
Since Wood's death, rumors have abounded about the mysterious circumstances in which she perished. The "Rebel Without a Cause" actress was rumored to have been having an affair with Christopher Walken, who had just won an Oscar for "The Deer Hunter" and was on the boat at the time. It has also been alleged that Wagner, who was on his second marriage to Wood, was abusive toward her. Considering each of these allegations, along with the fact that the forty-one year old actor never learned how to swim, it is shocking that no charges were brought against Wagner at the time. Even with no charges filed, it seems unthinkable that Wagner would not have at least considered hiring a murder or domestic violence attorney in preparation for what should have seemed the inevitable.
Nearly every piece of evidence points to Robert Wagner. The boat captain would have an absolute lack of motive and is easily eliminated from the list of suspects. And while filmgoers who have watched Walken on screen for the past thirty-five years could easily see him committing an act of cold-blooded murder, off-screen Walken has had, with the exception of the rumored affair with Wood, a nearly scandal-free personal life. Additionally, had Walken been responsible for Wood's death, it would seem impossible that Wagner would conspire to cover up the death of his wife at the hands of her lover. The same cannot be said of Walken, however, who was married at the time and may have thought it wise to cover up Wagner's involvement so that his own affair would not be revealed.
More recent accusations have arisen pointing toward Wagner's involvement in Wood's death. A witness on a nearby boat has claimed he heard Wagner break a bottle of wine and yell at Walken: "Do you want to fuck my wife?" Later, after Wood disappeared, Wagner instructed Davern to lie about the timeline of the incident, making it seem as if Wagner did not wait to inform the authorities that Wood was missing.
There are several instructive things about the Natalie Wood case. The first is that it shows how attitudes against domestic violence have changed since 1981. Behavior such as Wagner's toward Wood is no longer tolerated, as the case of Mel Gibson shows, and if today's standards were in place, Wagner would have likely had to hire a domestic violence attorney to face serious charges. The power of celebrities has shifted as well; in the current tabloid culture, it is harder and harder for stars to cover up their misdeeds. There seems little chance that a man in Dennis Davern's situation today would be intimidated into covering for a B-list star like Robert Wagner.
In the end, the thirty years that have passed since Wood's death may insulate Wagner from facing any serious legal consequences. Mr. Davern's sudden change in testimony is several decades too late, and even if the additional new evidence against him is credible, it may be too late to have much effect. Wagner's attorneys can easily frame Wood's death as a drunken accident that would absolve him of any criminal liability and easily dispute the change in testimony as, at best, an unconscious misremembering of what happened in 1981.
It is all too fitting that Natalie Wood, whose best-known roles in "Rebel Without a Cause" and "West Side Story" are tragic romances, would come to an equally tragic end. Yet even if the truth as to what happened on that boat finally comes to light, after thirty years there is little hope that her tale will find a cathartic Hollywood ending.
For More Information about domestic violence lawyer visit: Domestic Violence Lawyer Los Angeles
