Natalie Wood’s tragic 1981 drowning may have been exacerbated by a parka she was wearing.
Dr. Thomas Noguchi, a renowned ‘Coroner to the Stars,’ believed the actress ‘might have lived’ if she had taken off the waterlogged jacket, according to Anne Soon Choi’s new biography, L.A. Coroner: Thomas Noguchi and Death in Hollywood.
The Splendor in the Grass star shockingly drowned to death after falling from a yacht off Catalina Island during Thanksgiving weekend 1981, and her husband, actor Robert Wagner, now 94, has remained a person of interest in her death.
Dr. Noguchi performed the 43-year-old star’s autopsy, noting she was wearing a flannel nightgown, wool socks, and a red parka at the time of her death, which remains mired in mystery.
‘When he scrutinized the parka more carefully, he realized it weighed between thirty to forty pounds in its saturated state,’ Choi wrote, as per RadarOnline.
‘Her sodden parka had caused her to drown,’ Dr. Noguchi — who also performed the autopsies of Marilyn Monroe and Robert F. Kennedy — thought, as per Choi.
Natalie Wood’s tragic 1981 drowning may have been exacerbated by a parka she was wearing, according to a celebrity coroner; Wood pictured with husband Robert Wagner, circa 1960
While examining Wood’s body, Noguchi found a large bruise on her right arm, a number more on her legs, as well as an abrasion on her left cheek.
When he looked at her clothing, he noted that even over 24 hours later, her clothes were still soaking wet.
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Dr. Noguchi believed that ‘the weight of her jacket had pulled her back down when she attempted to climb into the dinghy.’
He speculated that if Wood had ‘just taken off the jacket, she might have survived.’
Even after considering the impact of the heavy parka, Noguchi remained perplexed as to why Wood was unable to swim back to the yacht, which was only a short distance away.
He then considered her alcohol consumption in the hours before, with toxicology reports revealing a blood alcohol level of .12.
Dr. Noguchi then determined that ‘alcohol played a significant role in her death.’
He also believed she seemed ‘determined to get away’ and considered the possibility that she may haven been attempting to escape her husband.
Dr. Noguchi was later informed by an investigator that an argument had taken place between the then 51-year-old Wagner and 38-year-old actor Christopher Walken — now 81 — who was on the yacht as well.
The star shockingly drowned to death after falling from a yacht off Catalina Island during Thanksgiving weekend 1981; Wood and Wagner (left) on their boat Splendour, with captain Dennis Davern (right), just weeks before she died
Dr. Thomas Noguchi, a renowned ‘Coroner to the Stars,’ believed the actress ‘might have lived’ if she had taken off the waterlogged jacket, according to Anne Soon Choi’s new biography, L.A. Coroner: Thomas Noguchi and Death in Hollywood
Dr. Noguchi performed the 43-year-old star’s autopsy. ‘When he scrutinized the parka, he realized it weighed between thirty to forty pounds in its saturated state,’ Choi wrote, as per RadarOnline
‘Her sodden parka had caused her to drown,’ Dr. Noguchi believed. He speculated that if Wood had ‘just taken off the jacket, she might have survived’; Woods seen with Wagner in 1980
‘All of us were taken aback by the implications of this idea. It fell right into the hands of those who had been speculating that some scandal on the yacht had contributed to the famous star’s death,’ Choi wrote of Dr. Noguchi’s recollections.
Although initially dismissed by Wagner’s attorney, the actor later acknowledged that he and Walken had engaged in an argument while drinking, about Walken’s concerns regarding Wood’s career.
‘Wagner admitted that he had shouted at Walken, “Why the f**k don’t you stay out of her career? She’s got enough people telling her what to do,”‘ according to Choi.
‘Wagner then picked up an empty wine bottle and smashed it on a table in a fit of rage.’
The circumstances surrounding Wood’s drowning remain shrouded in mystery. Crucial details remain unclear, including how she entered the water.
Wood’s sister, Lana, previously emphasized her sister’s lifelong fear of water and inability to swim, and argued that Natalie would never have voluntarily ventured into the water on her own by dinghy.
The coroner’s report officially listed Wood’s cause of death as ‘drowning.’
L.A. Coroner: Thomas Noguchi and Death in Hollywood is set to hit the bookstores on February 12, 2025.
Many other theories have circulated regarding Wood’s death, and Wagner has remained a person of interest in the case.
In November of 2024, it was reported that Wood screamed for her life while hurling accusations at her A-list actor husband, one of the last people to see the West Side Story star alive.
The coroner’s report officially listed Wood’s cause of death as ‘drowning’, though many theories have circulated regarding her death, and Wagner has remained a person of interest
In November of 2024, it was reported that Wood screamed for her life while hurling accusations at her A-list actor husband, one of the last people to see the West Side Story star alive
It’s been reported that Wagner and actor Christopher Walken, who was on the yacht as well, had gotten into an argument; Wood and Walken seen in a still from 1981 film Brainstorm
That fresh account of one of Hollywood’s most shocking and scandalous deaths – along with one from a dying 80-year-old woman – was given to author Marti Rulli, who shared them with RadarOnline.com.
Wood and Wagner were a nearly unparalleled Hollywood power couple when the actress shockingly drowned to death in 1981.
The stunning revelations from two new witnesses have potentially painted Wood’s ‘Hart to Hart’ TV star husband Robert as her alleged killer, after the case was reopened years ago.
Rulli told Radar she believes the new accounts could warrant a fresh grand jury investigation of Wood’s death in the dark waters near their yacht ‘Splendour’ off California’s Catalina Island at about 11 p.m. on Nov. 28, 1981.
She described one of the witnesses as a California man who was just 17 at the time of Wood’s drowning death, which, after 43 years, remains mired in mystery.
The teen, Rulli said, had been a worker on a fishing boat moored near the yacht owned by her husband, Wagner, where the Rebel Without a Cause star was last seen alive.
Contacting Rulli last year, he recalled hearing Wood’s screams – as well as an argument.
‘It still bothers him and he wanted to tell me what he knew,’ Rulli told radar of the then-young witness.
Davern, the boat’s captain, told police the cruise turned violent when Wagner accused Wood of having an affair with Walken, then 38; Wood and Walken pictured during filming of Brainstorm
Davern has claimed an irate Wagner, then 51, allegedly smashed a bottle of wine on a table and began brawling with Wood just before she vanished; Davern pictured in 2011
Wagner, who was cleared by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in its renewed probe back in 2022, has maintained Wood went off in a dinghy on her own accord and never returned; the pair seen in 1977 in Beverly Hills
‘He heard an argument, and he told me he heard Natalie’s screams that made him feel uncomfortable. But he didn’t report it to police because he thought it was an open-and-shut drowning case.’
Both accounts, Rulli said, coincided with ones given to police by the boat’s captain, Dennis Davern – one of only four aboard the Splendour that night.
He was joined by Wood, Wagner, and Walken – each part an alleged love triangle said to have sent Wagner into a rage.
The man’s claim supports testimony by Davern, who told police the Thanksgiving weekend cruise turned violent when Wagner accused Wood of having an affair with her ‘Brainstorm’ co-star Walken.
Davern has claimed an irate Wagner allegedly smashed a bottle of wine on a table and began brawling with Wood just before she vanished.
At one point Davern claims he heard Wagner scream: ‘Get off my f***ing boat!’
She would go on to vanish later that night, after which Davern has claimed Wagner stopped him from turning on the searchlights or phoning for help for a four full hours.
Wood’s body was found the next morning, washed up on the shore of Catalina.
Wagner has repeatedly denied and denounced the claims.
‘The case will remain open as long as Robert Wagner is alive because he is the suspect,’ claimed Rulli, who is currently compiling evidence against the aging Hart to Hart star after the 1981 case was reopened in 2011.
The next year, Wood’s cause of death was changed from ‘accidental drowning’ to ‘drowning and other undetermined factors’ – decades after cops had cut Wagner loose as a suspect.
‘I still hold hope the Los Angeles DA will see fit to let the strong previous evidence, and the new evidence I have gathered, bring justice for Natalie’s murder,’ Rulli explained, keeping the names and details of the witnesses under wraps.
Rulli added how she also was contacted by an elderly woman who said she worked with Wood as an up-and-coming actress in the 1960s, but today is close to death.
Wood and Wagner were married in 1957 and stayed together for four years before divorcing; seen on their wedding day in Scottsdale, Arizona
They went on to each marry other people and have more children before eventually reconciling then marrying again in 1972; Pictured circa 1970
Before her untimely death, Natalie welcomed daughter Courtney with Wagner, and daughter Natasha with ex-husband Richard Gregson. Wagner also welcomed daughter Katie with ex-wife Marion Marshall; Wagner and Wood pictured with Katie, Natasha and Courtney in 1981
Her account also indicated alleged abuse from Wagner, who she claimed put his hands on Wood in their dress room.
‘She said she saw Wagner come into their dressing room [before the incident],’ Rulli said of the woman’s claims, calling them ‘additional evidence of [the] abuse.’
Rulli went on to ask the publication that it keep the names of both witnesses concealed for now, as she hopes the new accounts will soon spur a grand jury investigation that will see Wagner indicted.
RadarOnline further reported how another witness phoned LA cops sometime after Wood’s death, claiming he lived next door to the high-profile couple in the 50s.
‘He remembers Natalie banging on the door in the middle of the night’, Rulli told the publication, as she plans to also compile the new claims in an upcoming book, Natalie Wood and the Devil She Knew.
‘She was asking for a place to stay for the night because [Wagner] was going to kill her.’
Wagner, who was cleared by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in its renewed probe back in 2022, has maintained Wood went off in a dinghy on her own accord and never returned.
Lana, Natalie’s sister, has claimed in the past that Wagner does not want to be interviewed because she says he cannot rely on his memory any longer.
He also did not respond when he was named a person of interest by the LAPD in 2018.
Wood and Wagner were married in 1957 and stayed together for four years before divorcing.
They went on to each marry other people and have more children before eventually reconciling then marrying again in 1972.
Wagner’s 95th birthday is in February.
Before her untimely death, Natalie welcomed daughter Natasha with ex-husband Richard Gregson and daughter Courtney with Wagner, while Wagner also welcomed daughter Katie with ex-wife Marion Marshall.
Just two months ago Natasha opened up about the impact of her mother’s death and why she thinks people still feel protective of her, despite it being more than 40 years since her tragic passing.
Wagner, now 94, has repeatedly denied and denounced the claims of his involvement in Wood’s death; Pictured in 2017 in Palm Beach, Florida
In an interview with People, Natasha – who was just 11 years old when her mom died on November 29, 1981 – said that she was ‘proud’ of her mother for having such an ‘impact on people.’
‘It’s just unbelievable that there’s a relevancy to her all these years later,’ Natasha said. ‘And that people really feel that they knew her or that they feel this protectiveness toward her.
‘Maybe it was all meant to be in some weird way. Maybe her ability to touch people is larger with her not being here on earth.’
Explaining why she thinks fans feel such a connection to her mother, Natasha continued: ‘I think it’s that they knew her since she was a little girl.’
‘I think that so many of her characters, she embodied so much humanity. So maybe people feel almost like I feel about her, almost parental. I feel maternal about my mom.’
Referring to some of her mother’s most memorable roles in films such as Rebel Without a Cause, Splendor in the Grass, and West Side Story, Natasha said: ‘Some of these movies have changed people’s lives.’