Gögnin sem urðu til að málið var tekið aftur upp

Í september 2009 kom út bókin "Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour". Hún er eftir Marti Rulli og Margaret Rulli í samvinnu við Dennis Davern, skipstjóra snekkjunnar Splendour sem var í eigu Robert Wagner, eiginmanns Natalie Wood.  Þau hjónin voru um borð í henni ásamt leikaranum Christopher Walken nóttina sem Natalie drukknaði.

Í bókinni lýsir Dennis atburðum næturinnar öðruvísi en opinber gögn segja til um.  - Bókin hlaut ágætar viðtökur á sínum tíma, en í þessum mánuði þegar ber upp á rétt þrjátíu ár eftir dauða leikkonunnar, sjá höfundarnir sér aftur leik á borði og hafa afhent lögreglunni "gögn" sem styðja frásögn þeirra í bókinni þar sem miklar efasemdir koma fram um að dauði leikkonunnar hafi verið slys.

Nú er sem sagt ákveðið að taka málið upp að nýju á grundvelli þessara gagna. Á morgun verður haldin blaðamannafundur í LA og þá mun koma í ljós hvers vegna yfirvöld hafa ákveðið aðtaka málið upp að nýju.

Óneitanlega er þetta frábær auglýsing fyrir Dennis og félaga og bókina þeirra Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour, enda ríkur hún út núna hvar sem hún er fáanleg.

Fyrir þá sem áhuga hafa á málinu en nenna ekki að lesa alla bókina eru hér að neðan að finna gögnin sem bókarhöfundar sendu inn til yfirvalda.

Marti Rulli Statement Submitted With Public Petition to LACSD:

I, Margaret Rulli, a citizen of the USA in New Jersey, residing at hereby state as follows: 1. I make this declaration for the purpose of inducing the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to re-investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the death of Natalie Wood on November 29, 1981 and to re-open the case for appropriate action as warranted. 2. Relevant facts include:

Natalie Wood’s scarcely investigated death will continue to inflame controversy until a full-scale professional evaluation is completed. Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour (GNGS), the book I authored with the former Splendour Captain, Dennis Davern, has answered the persistent curiosity of many readers, but information continues to surface, emphasizing the dire need for a full scale, official investigation.

Marilyn Wayne, the only witness to hear Natalie’s cries for help—a vital witness ignored by authorities—has offered to publicly submit to a polygraph test to validate her account. Lead detective Rasure has always belittled Wayne for her adamant claim that Wood was in the water just minutes after 11 P.M. Wayne’s account is consistent with Davern’s account, yet these two crucial witnesses, both willing to undergo professional polygraph testing, continue to be discounted and their motives questioned. Robert Wagner’s book, Pieces of My Heart only briefly addressed the weekend of his wife’s death—his account differed from the various versions he has told over the years. And how credible is he? Authorities should inquire, as justice for Natalie Wood remains unserved.

Here are the top five reasons to reopen the Natalie Wood case which are published in an epilogue in GNGS:

1. The three survivors aboard Splendour—Robert Wagner, Christopher Walken, and Dennis Davern—lied to authorities when briefly questioned on the morning of November 29, 1981. Davern, however, witnessed the circumstances leading to Wood’s disappearing from the yacht and has since passed a certified polygraph test indicating that Robert Wagner was with Natalie Wood, arguing on the back deck of the yacht with her when she went missing

. Wagner, decades later, admitted there was an argument during which he angrily smashed a wine bottle less than an hour before Natalie "went missing." The now unrefuted arguing and violence that took place conflicts with Wagner’s and Walken’s initial accounts of "a pleasant weekend" aboard Splendour. Wagner, Walken, and Davern were not further interrogated. Nor were they physically checked for bruising or other signs of struggle to rule out their culpability for the more than two dozen bruises on Wood’s body.

2. No effort was made to determine how Wood received dozens of wounds, scratches, and bruises or to determine how and why she left the yacht in her nightgown. Chief Coroner Thomas Noguchi was fired for wanting to dig deeper into the case. The case was closed quickly and prematurely to avoid media attention. Although Wood’s bruises are consistent with classic domestic physical abuse, only theories and speculation were offered to explain them.

3. There was a drastic delay in calling for help from aboard Splendour. Wagner and/or Davern were fully aware of Natalie’s absence from approximately 11:05 P.M., yet a ship-to-shore call was not placed until 1:30 A.M., and the Coast Guard was not called until 3:30 A.M., a flagrant violation of maritime protocol. This unacceptable delay in reporting a person missing from a yacht was never officially examined. 4. The "banging-dinghy theory" (what has become the unofficial explanation for Wood’s death) is easily proven unfounded. The dinghy was tied securely behind the stern, not on the port side, as Wagner claimed, with two lines, making it virtually impossible for it to float away when its lines were being adjusted. Someone untied both lines, an unlikely procedure for "securing a dinghy." Wagner, in promoting this scenario, conveniently omitted the fact that the dinghy’s ropes are reached from the transom—it is completely unnecessary to step down to the swim step to adjust them. Instead, he wants people to believe that his wife, a woman deathly afraid of water, stepped from the safety of the transom onto the swim step to wrestle the dinghy’s ropes. There was no official effort to determine how, when, and by whom Splendour’s dinghy was released. Instead, the scene onboard Splendour was compromised. The dinghy was handled after being found, and detectives left Splendour under the watch of the island restaurant owner who allowed himself and an employee to enter and use Splendour while it should have been a sealed-off crime scene until determined otherwise.

5. Key witnesses were ignored by case detectives. Marilyn Wayne, moored next to Splendour, offered information crucial to establishing a timeline that was never officially composed. Wayne was never interviewed by authorities even after phoning to offer her account. Roger Smith, the Coast Guard lieutenant who retrieved Wood’s body, was never interviewed. He became a threat to exposing facts, so he was quickly transferred and demoted.

My amateur investigation detailed in GNGS suggests Wood likely lived for many hours throughout her last night, floating in the ocean. Simple experiments prove that it’s likely Natalie Wood lived for many hours while her husband refused to search for her, call for professional help, or to allow his boat employee, Dennis Davern, to perform proper procedures for a person missing from a boat. Coast Guard Captain, Roger Smith, is willing and eager to come forward with his professional opinion to confirm this belief. He claims Wood probably died shortly before she was found. He is an expert in drowning rescue and recovery and offers many plausible reasons for his beliefs.

Smith tried to call both public and professional attention to the facts pertaining to the night Wood died but was ignored and was never interviewed by authorities. He has suffered bouts of depression over Wood’s death and has always hoped for the opportunity to publicly release his story.

The medical examiner’s office failed in their medical investigation of Wood’s death as well. Coroner Noguchi claimed Natalie’s jacket weighed her down in the water, causing a probable quick death. Not so. Down coats float a person in water, and have been known as life preservers for others caught in that situation. Natalie lived in the ocean that night while Wagner refused to make any attempt to save her. Also, Noguchi’s explanation for bruises is questionable. Had Natalie tried to mount a dinghy for hours, she could not have been found wearing wool socks: the socks would have come off her feet.

Davern’s testimony claims Wood and the dinghy were never together that night, that Natalie went overboard during an argument with her husband, an argument that sounded physical, one likely to cause bruises. But the three surviving men of the cruise were not checked for possible corresponding bruises.

There are so many holes in the final 1981 Wood case, and the case had been closed within days. This woman, even 30 years later, still deserves her justice. I implore the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department to give this woman, legendary actress, mother of two, her fair opportunity for justice with a THOROUGH investigation, the type of investigation she had deserved since the day of her untimely death.

Signed by Margaret Rulli 2011

Dennis Davern Statement Submitted With Public Petition to LACSD:

I, Dennis Davern, a citizen of the USA in Florida hereby state as follows: 1. I make this declaration for the purpose of inducing the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to re-investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the death of Natalie Wood on November 29, 1981 and to re-open the case for appropriate action as warranted. 2. Relevant facts include:

On November 29, 1981, while Natalie Wood was missing from her family yacht, Splendour, (of which I operated and maintained as an employee of the Wagners) her husband, actor Robert Wagner, instructed me to never offer any details in reference to the circumstances surrounding Natalie Wood’s disappearance from the yacht on the night of November 28, 1981. Robert Wagner informed me he would hire an attorney who would handle my statement about Natalie Wood’s disappearance and drowning, which he did before Natalie Wood’s funeral, and I signed a statement the appointed attorney drafted, one completely void of the facts surrounding Natalie Wood’s disappearance.

I did not lie to anyone, including the authorities or the attorney. I simply obeyed what was asked of me and offered no details. The attorney and the authorities on the Natalie Wood case asked only a few questions of me, none pertinent to the true reason Natalie Wood left the yacht both on Friday and Saturday nights, Nov. 27 and Nov. 28, 1981.

The theory that was offered to the media and public is that Natalie Wood probably donned her jacket to go out onto the rear deck of the yacht, in the rain and chilly weather, to adjust a "banging dinghy" which was possibly disturbing her sleep. This theory was perpetuated by Robert Wagner himself.

The facts, never revealed to the authorities (and hardly pursued by the authorities) are:

- The yacht outing began on Friday, Novenber 27, 1981 around noon with passengers Robert Wagner, Natalie Wood, Christopher Walken, and myself, caretaker and skipper of the Wagner yacht, Splendour, a 60 ft. sport fisherman boat with 13 ft. dinghy.

- A tense atmosphere prevailed from the start of the cruise, and it was made clear to me by Robert Wagner that he was not content entertaining his wife’s Brainstorm co-star, Christopher Walken, aboard this cruise to Catalina Island. As the day progressed, the tension thickened and I offered Christopher Walken, Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner each a pill (Quaalude) which we all took. I stayed behind while the three shopped and dined in Avalon and we had a late dinner I prepared that evening. Near 10:30 PM, Friday, Robert Wagner said he wanted to move the 60 ft. yacht 12 miles away to the quiet, more desolate part of the Island at the Isthmus (Two Harbors). Natalie Wood argued that it was not safe in the rainy, dark night to make the move. Robert Wagner, appearing drunk, insisted on the move and started to prepare for it. Natalie Wood demanded to leave the boat, so I left with her and we spent Friday night at the Pavilion Lodge in the same hotel room. She expressed her anger over her husband’s behavior, and said she was going to leave the Island come Saturday morning.

- Natalie Wood could not reach anyone on the Mainland Saturday morning and when told there were no seaplanes available, decided to return to the Splendour. I attempted to talk her out of that choice in an effort to avoid more problems aboard the yacht, but she insisted we return to the yacht. After Natalie Wood cooked breakfast, the yacht was moved to the Isthmus. After mooring there, Natalie Wood and Christopher Walken went to the restaurant and Robert Wagner and I stayed behind aboard the yacht. I repeatedly asked Robert Wagner to cancel the outing, to return to the Mainland, but he insisted "Natalie would get her wish fulfilled, a full weekend outing with her co-star." Robert Wagner’s tone sounded revengeful as well as ominous.

- Robert Wagner and I joined Natalie Wood and Christopher Walken for dinner at Doug’s. After drinking at the bar for an hour, we were seated in the dining room at approximately 7:00 PM. Christopher Walken and I returned to the Splendour to retrieve wine, two bottles of Soave Bolla. We left one bottle in the dinghy and took one bottle back to the table. Christopher Walken had offered marijuana and he and I smoked a joint on this brief mission to get wine.

- The mood was tense when we returned to the dinner table at Doug’s. After dinner we all had a few alcohol drinks, and Robert Wagner continued insisting we leave to return to SpIendour but Natalie Wood stated she preferred socializing longer in the restaurant. We left Doug’s near 10:15 PM. The headlight on the dinghy was broken, and we had to navigate back to the Splendour with a flashlight.

- After Christopher Walken, Robert Wagner, Natalie Wood, and myself boarded the Splendour, I tied the yacht’s dinghy at the rear of the yacht with two lines, fixing the dinghy lines to two cleats approximately 12 feet apart on the rear wall of the yacht. This was approximately 10:30 PM.

- I then proceeded to the main salon of the yacht where Christopher Walken, Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood had already gathered. A bottle of wine was opened after Natalie Wood lit candles. Shortly after a conversation began between Natalie Wood and Christopher Walken, Robert Wagner grabbed the open wine bottle and with rage crashed it upon the coffee table and screamed out to Christopher Walken, "Do you want to fuck my wife, is that what you want?" The glass shattered throughout the salon. We did not clean-up the broken glass.

- After the bottle smashing, Christopher Walken retreated to his cabin forward and closed the cabin door. He remained there until morning. Natalie Wood was mortified and went immediately to the master stateroom which is a full length room at the rear of yacht with doors that lead to the rear deck. Robert Wagner followed her within minutes, and then a terrible argument proceeded. I knocked on their stateroom door from the main salon to try to calm the situation. Robert Wagner answered to tell me to go away and to not interfere. I went to the bridge, directly above the Wagner master stateroom.

- The loud arguing continued and I heard things (objects, possibly people) hitting the walls and things being thrown at the ceiling of the master stateroom, directly beneath my where I stood. Next, Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood were on the open back deck arguing loudly. It was 11:00 PM. The arguing sounded fast and furious.

- I turned on the radio and played music loudly to muffle the arguing. Isinglass window surrounded the bridge. I looked out and saw Natalie Wood dressed in her nightgown. She was not yet wearing the red down jacket she would be found in the ocean wearing. The arguing continuing. I heard stateroom doors open again. I did not look out. I thought maybe the arguing went back inside, but then I heard voices again on the deck. The only full sentence I could completely decipher during the entire argument was "Get off my fucking boat" said by Robert Wagner. I could hear both Robert Wagner’s and Natalie Wood’s voices coming from the rear deck the entire time music played. I was terribly concerned but waited about 15 minutes before going to the deck. When I arrived on the rear open deck, only Robert Wagner was present, and he stood near the far rear wall of the yacht.

- Robert Wagner appeared sweaty, flushed, anxious, nervous, and disheveled. He told me "Natalie is missing" and asked me to search the yacht. He led me through the stateroom which was a mess…it had been spotless when I passed through it after securing the dinghy a half-hour earlier.

- I immediately went to Christopher Walken’s cabin, forward, and opened his door. He appeared to be sound asleep. I then went to my stateroom which is far forward, but it was empty. I met up with Robert Wagner in the wheelhouse and he informed me the dinghy was missing, too. I immediately wanted to radio for help and to turn on the searchlight, but Robert Wagner told me, sternly, "We are not going to do that. We will wait and see if she returns." His choice led me to presume that he knew his wife was in the dinghy and had taken off in it. I knew that Natalie Wood had never taken the dinghy alone, day or night, as she did not know how to operate it.

Also, it was widely known amongst Natalie Wood’s family, friends and fans that she was deathly afraid of "water that is deep, water that is dark," as she had revealed in private and public statements many times.

- While we waited, Robert Wagner opened scotch and poured alcohol for me. He encouraged me to drink. He discussed with me the repercussions of bringing any immediate attention to the situation and he claimed he did not want to tarnish his image. After an hour passed, Robert Wagner began crying and repeated, "She’s gone, she’s gone, she’s gone" which I believed a strange thing to say. Over two hours passed before I finally convinced Robert Wagner to make a call for help. He did not call for professional help. He radioed the Island area and said, "Someone is missing from our boat." He did not mention Natalie Wood’s name. Island help showed up and after an hour or so, the local Harbormaster arrived and suggested the Coast Guard be called immediately, but Robert Wagner still claimed he did not want to tarnish his image by drawing public attention to the situation.

- At 3:30 AM, the Harbormaster virtually insisted we phone the Coast Guard, so Robert Wagner agreed to the Harbormaster (Doug Oudin) phoning in the missing person report. Crucial time had been wasted. Robert Wagner’s primary concern was what he would tell the public or authorities when questioned. He repeatedly told me to remain quiet about anything I knew, again citing the importance of his public image. He demanded I say nothing if questioned.

- When the Coast Guard rescue team arrived, they seemed angry that we had waited so long to call for professional assistance. They dove beneath Splendour to search and then set out by boat. A helicopter was called in for daybreak search help.

- Natalie Wood was found floating facedown at 7:45 AM. After the news was relayed to us aboard the Splendour, Robert Wagner and Christopher Walken were flown from the Island by helicopter to the Mainland before the detectives on the case arrived. I was left behind to identify Natalie Wood’s body, as Wagner had asked me to do. I noticed bruises on her body and my first thought was that the bruises might have been acquired during the argument in the stateroom and on the rear deck.

- Detective Duane Rasure interviewed me briefly on the Island and asked where the four of us had spent Friday night of the outing. I lied and said "on the boat" but then quickly told the truth that I had spent the night with Natalie Wood in Avalon. I did not reveal the truth about why Natalie and I had stayed on the Island. The detective released me and I took a passenger boat back to the Mainland where Robert Wagner had a car waiting to take me to his home.

- When I arrived at the Wagner home Sunday afternoon, I was immediately led by Robert Wagner’s attorney to the Wagner bedroom. I was told to say nothing regarding Natalie Wood’s death and that I was to see an attorney in the next day or two to sign a statement being prepared for me, which I did sign after barely reading it. Detective Duane Rasure showed up at my attorney’s office for one last interview but he did not ask questions. Detective Duane Rasure accepted the statement that had been prepared for me—a statement claiming that I did not know details about Natalie Wood’s disappearance from the yacht. Although I did want to reveal what I knew, I obeyed what had been asked of me.

- In the aftermath of Natalie Wood’s death, Robert Wagner asked me to reside at his home, which I accepted. I also was responsible for retrieving Splendour from the Island, and for removing all inventory from the yacht. I found Natalie Wood’s earring in the corner of the master stateroom when cleaning.

- I lived at the Wagner home, and Robert Wagner secured a job for me as a General-extra actor on his TV show, Hart-to-Hart. I joined the Screen Actor’s Guild which led to more general acting jobs in the following year that I was a guest/resident at the Wagner home. It was only a few months after Natalie’s death that Robert Wagner began dating.

- Within 18 months of Natalie Wood’s death, my conscience began to bother me over the way her death had been handled. I told a friend I trusted (Margaret "Marti" Rulli) that I believed foul-play was involved in Natalie Wood’s death. Marti Rulli began recording my account. Basically, for the public, the mystery remained about why Natalie Wood had left the yacht. It was believed she had drunk too much and had fallen in an accident while trying to secure a banging dinghy. Truth of the matter is, which was never explained to the authorities, Natalie Wood had left the yacht on both Friday and Saturday nights of the outing due to arguing with her husband.

- I did not see how Natalie Wood actually got into the ocean Saturday night, but I do know that Robert Wagner was on the back deck with her when she went missing, yet he had told the authorities that he had no idea what had happened to his wife, claiming he was not with her at that time, and that when he went to check on her she was missing. That is not how it happened. The detective never asked questions about the broken glass in the main salon but Christopher Walken witnessed how the bottle was broken, and he also did not report the bottle-breaking incident to the authorities. Robert Wagner admits to smashing the wine bottle on the night of November 28, 1981 in Gavin Lambert’s Wood biography "Natalie: A Life" 2004, and Natalie is said to be present. In Robert Wagner’s own 2008 autobiography, "Pieces of My Heart" he removes Natalie Wood from the bottle smashing scene. Natalie Wood did witness the bottle smashing. The bottle smashing incident is what caused the terrible argument that followed in the master stateroom, which led to Natalie Wood becoming missing from the yacht, Splendour.

3. I declare that all statements of fact herein above are true and correct and are based on my personal knowledge, and that this declaration is made with the knowledge that false statements and the like are punishable by fine or imprisonment, or both, under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States and the State of California." 4. I am willing to cooperate with authorities concerning the Natalie Wood case. I have had a book published with Marti Rulli titled "Goodbye Natalie Goodbye Splendour" about my experiences with the Wagner family and the weekend Natalie Wood drowned. It was written to bring a modicum of justice to the late Natalie Wood, but it was highly intended to reach the officials who would not cooperate with us concerning Natalie Wood’s death. Marti Rulli’s amateur investigation revealed many other aspects of the Natalie Wood case that lead me to believe it is imperative to reopen the case if true justice is to be served for the late Natalie Wood. Marti Rulli tried to involve the detectives who had worked the case BEFORE our book was published. (Duane Rasure and Frank Salerno, Sr.) Our goal is to have the Wood case reopened professionally and officially. I have submitted to polygraph tests with a credited polygrapher and all of the information included in this statement was passed and deemed truthful in accordance with my 2008 polygraph test administered by Howard Temple, a certified tester with

decades of experience in polygraph testing, residing in Pennsylvania. I am willing to submit to a polygraph test for the authorities who may deem it viable to reopen the closed Natalie Wood case.

Signed by Dennis Davern 2011

Lana Wood Statement Submitted With Public Petition to LACSD:

I, Lana Wood, a citizen of the USA, California, hereby state as follows: I make this declaration for the purpose of inducing the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to re-investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the death of my sister, Natalie Wood, on November 29, 1981 and to re-open the case for appropriate action as warranted. On November 29, 1981, when I heard the news that my sister had drowned off the coast of Catalina Island, my mind was filled with confusion over the scant details offered officially and personally. After learning witnessed details from Dennis Davern, the Splendour Captain who has contacted me on several occasions throughout the years since my sister’s death, I believe that a thorough, official investigation is warranted with a reopening of the Natalie Wood case.

I have also learned new, disturbing details from the Coast Guard Captain, Mr. Roger Smith, who retrieved my sister’s body from the ocean. In his expert opinion, he believes my sister lived for many hours in the ocean, and his claim that Robert Wagner said he did not call for help for Natalie Wood because he "thought she was out screwing around because that’s the kind of woman she is" is outrageous. Wagner also claimed to Roger Smith that he did not call for professional help to protect his image.

Roger Smith claims he was never interviewed by the case detectives, despite the fact he had vital information to offer to the case. When he tried to become vocal with his account, he claims he was demoted and transferred off the Island.

I feel it is never too late for gather these facts that are now in the media, but apparently had slipped through the cracks during the initial investigation.

I believe that a reopening of the case will not only bring closure to the unanswered, lingering questions, but it will also bring true justice for Natalie Wood and/or for Robert Wagner. The remaining questions and suspicions surrounding the entire case brought to light by the 2009 book, "Goodbye Natalie Goodbye Splendour" (by Marti Rulli and Dennis Davern) need to be officially investigated. A thorough investigation will reveal what is fact and what is theory, because I believe my sister’s death case was closed based on theory alone. There seemed to be a rush to close the case to avoid media invasion.

My questions include:

1) Why was my sister’s body full of bruises? A closer look into this fact might reveal appropriate answers.

2) Why was the case closed so quickly? The coroner, Thomas Noguchi, had revealed to the media that an argument had transpired aboard the Splendour the night of Natalie Wood’s death. Then Coroner Noguchi was reprimanded in public for making such a claimed and subsequently fired.

　

According to Dennis Davern, a participant of the cruise in question, there was an argument aboard the yacht that was transpiring at the time of my sister’s alleged disappearance from the yacht. Robert Wagner has since admitted in his 2008 autobiography that, indeed, an argument had transpired on November 28, 1981, between him and my sister.

3) Many new details have arisen since my sister’s death (by Dennis Davern who witnessed what transpired before my sister drowned, from Roger Smith, the Coast Guard Captain who retrieved Natalie’s body, and from Marilyn Wayne, a nearby boater, who claims she heard my sister calling out for help at the precise time Dennis Davern claims an argument was in full force. Marilyn Wayne, Roger Smith were never interviewed by the authorities in regards to the case, and Dennis Davern claims he was hardly questioned by detectives. These three witnesses continue to be ignored by authorities.

4) Why was Robert Wagner sent home before having his body checked or being interrogated in relation to my sister’s death? He was told to go home and grieve and I do not believe that constitutes a thorough investigation.

5) Why wasn’t an official timeline established in regards to the events leading to my sister’s death? The first comprehensive timeline was established by author Suzanne Finstad in her Natalie Wood biography, Natasha, published in 2001.

6) While Wagner is still available for questioning, I am requesting he be asked official, detailed questions in relation to my sister’s death case that remains officially vague and closed.

I declare that all of my statements and requests herein above are true and correct and are based on my personal ambition to learn facts relating to my sister, Natalie Wood’s, death from official sources. I feel it is unfair to Natalie’s blood relatives to have had to learn factual, proven information from authors publishing their own investigations of my sister’s death case. The case warrants profession attention, and I submit my request respectfully. I am willing to cooperate with authorities concerning the Natalie Wood case, if there are any questions I can answer that would provide information pertinent to the case.

signed by Lana Wood 2011

Marilyn Wayne Statement Submitted With Public Petition to LACSD:

I, Marilyn Wayne, a citizen of the USA in California, hereby state as follows: 1. I make this declaration for the purpose of inducing the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to re-investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the death of Natalie Wood on November 29, 1981 and to re-open the case for appropriate action as warranted. 2. Relevant facts include:

On November 28, 1981, I and businessman John Payne, were sleeping aboard John’s 42 ft. sail boat, the Capricorn, equipped with a silent generator. The cabin window was open. A woman’s voice, crying for help from drowning awakened John and he awakened me. "Help me, someone please help me, I’m drowning" we heard repeatedly. Alarmed, I called out to my son, who also heard the cries, and looked at his new digital watch: it was just minutes after 11:00 P.M. As the cries for help continued. John went to the control panel and switched on the beam light. I went on deck to look toward the sound, but it was dark and damp and couldn't see anything. I had a bead on the plaintive cry for help, and considered swimming toward it, but John convinced me it could be a dangerous choice. I thought the cries were only about 40 feet away, toward the boat moored closest to us, which I learned the next day was the Wagner yacht, Splendour.

While listening to the cries, we called the harbor patrol but no one answered. Then we called the sheriff’s office in Avalon, 12 miles away, and whoever answered told us a helicopter would be sent, but it did not come. We heard loud music coming from somewhere, so thought there was a party on a nearby boat.

Then I heard a man's voice, slurred, and in aggravated tone, say something to the effect of, "Oh, hold on, we’re coming to get you," and not long after, the cries for help subsided, but we heard the cries for up to 15 minutes. We returned to bed, terribly disturbed.

I was up by 5:00 A.M. the next morning and went right out to the deck, afraid of what I might see in the water. To my relief, only the ocean flowed between the Capricorn and the Splendour. I jotted down Splendour’s name, as that was the exact area the cries had originated from. The Spendour was moored about 50 feet away, starboard, facing in the same direction as the Capricorn, toward the island, no more than a five-minute swim to the shoreline. I calculated that the cries I’d heard came from no more than 10 to 15 feet from the Splendour. Whoever had cried for help, did so from between the two boats. About a half hour later, I noticed a police boat near the Splendour. At this time, the Harbormaster's employee—a teenage boy—arrived at our boat, the Capricorn, to collect the mooring fee. The police boat lingered at the Splendour, so I asked the young man what was going on "over on that boat," pointing to the Splendour. He answered, "Maybe you should mind your own business!"

When we cruised back to Newport Beach a couple of hours later, and learned that Natalie Wood’s body had been found, I had no doubt it had been her voice I had heard the night before.

I had always wanted to believe that Natalie's death was an accident and originally felt sorry for her widower, actor Robert Wagner. But, then things started to change. The police never interviewed me and/or John, although they would claim they had. Immediately after the death, I had talked about the experience at work and someone from the L.A. Times called to interview me. Then, I placed a call to Coroner Thomas Noguchi after he published his theory. I wanted to correct him on his "timeline" which I knew was off.

Noguchi talked with me but although the County Sheriff’s Department was well aware of my account, they continued to ignore me. When investigating a body—especially under the bizarre circumstances surrounding Natalie Wood’s death—one would think the authorities would have jumped at the opportunity to talk with me, as I had information that could have shed light on the case.

Lead case Detective, Duane Rasure, publicly called me "someone seeking my name in the media" and that was extremely insulting, as, in fact, I preferred to have quietly interviewed with the authorities. I never gave my full account until I was contacted almost 20 years later by author Suzanne Finstad while she researched for her biography on Ms. Wood, titled Natasha. A few years later, author Marti Rulli contacted me while researching her book,

Goodbye Natalie Goodbye Splendour, an account that includes a polygraph test of the Splendour boat captain, Dennis Davern. His account of the approximate time Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner began arguing was just before 11:00 PM. He claims he started playing loud music at approximately the same time.

I have always been willing to take a polygraph test to prove I stand behind my account, which corresponds with Dennis Davern’s account the authorities continue to ignore.

I was a stock broker in November 1981, and worked in the same firm as one of Robert Wagner's brokers. I had a "client box'" designed for clients to drop off their messages through a slot in the front. The boxes were opened in the back, labeled by broker name on each end. Three days after Natalie died, I found a scribbled message on a torn piece of paper in my box that read, "If you value your life, keep quiet about what you know." I immediately suspected it was related to Natalie Wood's death because that's all anyone had been talking about. I was disturbed and even told an attorney about the threat.

A few weeks after Natalie Wood’s death, John Payne and I had dinner at a Beverly Hills restaurant, and in walked Robert Wagner with his mother. Oddly, the maitre d' asked us if we were uncomfortable and would we want to move to another room. We declined. Robert Wagner looked over and saw us. We wondered if we should approach him to offer condolences, but decided that might be an intrusion. Ironically, we thought Mr. Wagner should have wanted to approach us to ask what we might know, as you would expect a husband to do, one who would want to learn details about his wife’s demise. We believed at that time that he was totally innocent, but we were stunned he said nothing to us. We knew him from around the marinas. My question was: Why wouldn’t a loving husband want to ask a question of the people who last heard his wife’s voice? He knew we were those people, it had been talked about. Why wouldn’t he have wanted to thank us for the help we tried to provide the night we called for help for the calls for help?

After all I’ve learned since my own direct experience with the death of Natalie, I am stunned that Robert Wagner has never been properly interrogated in regards to Natalie Wood’s death. In my opinion, Natalie Wood’s case is one of the top most botched cases of the 20th century, and I am still willing to offer my assistance should you finally realize that this case needs what every death case deserves: a full and proper investigation. If Robert Wagner wants the world to know he had done nothing wrong, he should be made to prove it. I believe a famous woman lost her life while he witnessed how and why it happened. I believe it was his voice I heard, the one that said he would help during the cries for help. I believe he never asked a question of me because he didn’t need to ask questions: he

knows what happened.

Signed by Marilyn Wayne 2011

Roger Smith Statement Submitted With Public Petition to LACSD:

I, Roger Smith, a citizen of the USA in California, hereby state as follows:

1. I make this declaration for the purpose of inducing the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to re-investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the death of Natalie Wood on November 29, 1981 and to re-open the case for appropriate action as warranted.

2. Relevant facts include:

On November 29, 1981, while Natalie Wood was missing from her family yacht, Splendour, I was contacted at approximately 5:00 A.M. for search and rescue purposes. Natalie Wood’s body was discovered over two hours later (approximately 7:30 AM), and I am the person who brought her body ashore.

I have always wondered about the delayed call for professional help to rescue Natalie Wood, always regretting that I hadn't been called early enough as I believe there may have been a true chance of saving Natalie, as the condition of her body after being brought ashore suggested she may have floated alive for several hours. Her fingers were pliable, and her face and body not showing certain effects being deceased in an ocean for hours would normally incur.

Before the detectives arrived on the scene, Deputy Knoll and I questioned Natalie Wood’s husband, Robert Wagner. When asked why Wagner hadn't called for help earlier, Wagner's reply was something to the effect of, "We thought she was off on another boat screwing around because that's the kind of woman she is."

3. My story is best told in a therapeutic account I wrote years after Natalie Wood’s death to help myself deal with my turmoil over the circumstances surrounding her death.

On April 1st, 1982, I was demoted as supervising rescue boat lieutenant with a pay-cut of $600 a month and told I had 15 days to get off the island. I was also told the demotion was due to budgetary reasons, which also threw into the works that such a demotion could not be appealed. The demotion was so airtight, nothing could be done. Deane Dana worked closely with Doug Bombard, owner of the only restaurant at Two Harbors, a man who "owned and ruled" that part of the island. The two men met and decided I was no longer necessary at the Island and I believe that’s because I became vocal over the Island safety issues, especially in the aftermath of Natalie Wood’s death. I was NEVER interviewed by the Natalie Wood case detectives. Being the person who had brought Natalie Wood’s body ashore, you would have thought my professional opinion would have been documented in case reports.

Following is my account as told in the paper I later wrote:

A Cry For Help. Nov. 1981

I had been running the Catalina Baywatch Isthmus lifeguard rescue boat operation for the last ten years. I had accomplished a lot of things in those years one was to become the first lifeguard paramedics in the world, another was being able to treat stricken scuba divers suffering from diving diseases in the decompression chamber at the U.S.C. marine science center at Big Fisher mans cove near the Isthmus.

All was going well until one day I was told by my assistant chief that there was going to have to be cut backs in the operations on Catalina Island. He told me that the Isthmus boat was going to become a 9 to 5 operation and one of the three guards stationed at the Isthmus was going to be transferred to the

Avalon boat, and they will answer the calls that come in after hours. I told them with great protest that it won’t work because they are over a hour away, and we were jeopardizing the possibility of the lose of life.

It was Thanksgiving holiday November 29th. 1981, I secured the rescue boat in its normal spot next to the pier. Under the new rules I was the only one on duty. The harbor was about half full, and a wind was coming off the island at about ten knots that wind direction is normal when the wind is from the west, all of the yachts face the shore with there bows to sit in calm water. I lived in a mobile home about two hundred yards from the shore with my family. All seemed to be okay that night and I went to bed at the normal time around ten.

The phone rang at 5:11 am and the U.S. Coast Guard rescue coordination center was on the line and they were requesting our assistance to help search for Natalie Wagner, she has been missing for several hours, the Catalina cove and camp agency had been looking for her and can not find her. On the extension phone I heard my working partner say he had come home early and we could go on the call.

I got down to the rescue boat and found out that Natalie had been missing since 1:30 A.M.

I got a hold of the local Sheriff’s deputy and told him to call his station and get a shore line search started and send their helicopter over from the mainland, Deputy Kroll came onboard with me. When Robert Wagner was questioned by the deputy on why had they not called us sooner? He exclaimed that because we were a public agency he did not want it to get in the news, and he thought she might just be on another boat meeting some one.

So they had the shore boat go from boat to boat to see if they could find her. The inflatable shore boat for the Splendour was missing so I put on my diving gear to look under the boat in 85 feet of water to see if she may have slipped and drowned off the swim step. The water was very clear as usual and I found nothing.

Robert Wagner did tell the deputy that they had been arguing that evening in the main cabin of the boat with Christopher Walken, and Natalie got upset and went to bed. The dinghy on the back of the boat kept hitting the back and he remembered Natalie getting up to retie it and that was the last he saw of her. I decided to patrol more off shore and the Isthmus harbor patrol boat with Doug Bombard the manager of the Cove and Camp agency and his harbor employee Doug Odin followed close behind.

We were searching just out side the main cove where the wind starts to blow from the west again and blow down the island. We were off of Blue Cavern’s Point when we spotted the inflatable boat in question inside the cave, I swam into the cave to retrieve the boat and looked around for Natalie. As I was tying the boat off to ours the Sheriff helicopter was coming up from Avalon near Empire Landing. At about 1/4 mile off shore the helicopter started to hover and told us that they thought they may have spotted some thing just below the surface. The harbor boat sped down ahead of us and stopped Doug Bombard reached down in the water and pulled Natalie into his arms, at the same moment I was across from him on our boat’s swim step and ordered him to give her to me. There was no more words said and I laid her body on the deck of the boat and saw that she was obviously deceased.

My next problem was what was I going to do with her? The Isthmus area was already starting to buzz, about Natalie and I did not want to carry her through the yachting public, so I took her to where we used to take the diving patients at the U.S.C. facility. We laid her at the entrance to the chamber. I

helped deputy Kroll take off her red down jacket which did not help her in cold water. We than had to examine the body to make sure there was no foul play. She had on a burgundy night gown on with nothing underneath, her arms and fingers moved very easy as I removed her rings; she showed no signs of rigor mortis. We could not tell how long she had been gone? But we did know that she did not know how to swim. She must have been hanging onto the safety line on the boat drifting out of the harbor for hours. Her eyes were still open so I closed them and covered her with a blanket. I released her to the sheriff and returned to the Isthmus.

After I returned home the phone calls started pouring in. I refused to talk to the media about it. I was too upset that what I had predicted actually happened. About a week later when things settled down I received a call from a L.A. Times reporter lady named Ann Japenga. I then decided that some one must know what has happened to our service so more lives are not lost. She assured me that if there was any repercussion on me from my department for talking to her I would be protected by the Times paper.

I did some research on how long some one like Natalie could survive in the water holding on to the inflatable boat? It ended up to be 3.3 to 4.9 hours. Depending on her willingness to survive. That meant she was drifting with the boat being pushed by the wind and not being strong enough to pull her self back into the boat. She must have cried for help and no one could hear her that late at night with the wind blowing off shore. I thought that the harbor boats with Doug Bombard wanted to be the heroes, that is why they refused to call us sooner. Our Lifeguard boat was only 100 ft. from the Splendour on its mooring that night.

The Baywatch Isthmus boat was equipped with all of the rescue equipment needed to find her, if we had been called.

I do know but there must had been a lot of people feeling guilty, because I soon became the fall guy. I was shortly informed that I was to be transferred off the island, and lose my rank as the most senior person on the island and about 16 % of my pay was reduced. My family now had to move back to the mainland. I was told that L. A. Co. Supervisor Dean Dana was being questioned about his decision to make the cut backs that started it all. And that Doug Bombard of the Cove agency sat in on meetings with Dana to get rid of me. As for my fellow workers on the island they did not help, They were happy to take my rank and pay and my position as it was moved to Avalon. And the reporter from the L.A. Times she would not return my calls.

So the famous Natalie Wood is gone, she died because of politics and poor decision making on many peoples’ part, as she cried for help for hours that night.

Roger Smith, Supervising Rescue Boat Captain. Isthmus, Catalina Island.

Signed by Roger Smith 2011

Marianne Pesci Submitted With Public Petition to LACSD:

I, Marianne Pesci, a citizen of the USA, California, hereby state as follows: I make this declaration as a professional for the purpose of inducing the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to re-investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the death of actress Natalie

Wood, based on my professional opinion that her widower, Robert Wagner, has behaved curiously since the death of his late wife, Natalie Wood on November 29, 1981. Certain revelations and actions by Wagner, and his demeanor since the death, falls in the category of clinically suspicious behavior: Including:

7) When information immediately surfaced from a witness, Marilyn Wayne, who claimed to have heard a woman’s voice crying for help from drowning at the precise time music was playing from another boat, Wagner had the opportunity to contact a witness in Wayne, but did not. When he crossed paths with Marilyn Wayne in a restaurant two weeks after Natalie’s death, he avoided Wayne. He had no questions for her, just as he had no questions for the case authorities. This is highly unlikely behavior unless a person needs no answers because he already knows more than he had revealed.

8) Wagner has never denied or acknowledged any of the revealing details an eye and ear witness has publicly revealed (Dennis Davern).

9) Wagner did not tell the authorities he argued with Natalie before she went missing. He admits in his autobiography published in 2008 that he did argue with Natalie.

10) Wagner's actions and words do not reflect that of a man who tragically, accidentally lost the "love of his life" (as he claims). His book is incredibly full of narcissism and anecdotes akin to sociopath tendencies: Stunning examples include: (1) Smashing the wine bottle on the fateful cruise(2) His admission that he and friends "silenced" a photographer who snapped unsolicited photos of his friend David Niven, (3) Chasing Warren Beatty with a gun (4) As revealed in Lambert’s book, Wagner’s drunken rant as he threatened to hurl himself out of a hotel window because he was jealous of Natalie’s then co-star, William Devane.

11) Wagner's behavior and words are stunning examples of a serious fundamental character flaw.

12) In one of Wagner's interviews, he claimed that he and Walken have "gone over and over it" (relating to Natalie’s death), asking each other, "Did you HEAR anything?" Walken has publicly claimed to have slept throught the night Natalie went missing which is in accordance with Davern’s account. If Wagner wants to give the impression that he and Walken are friends who’ve "gone over and over" the death, as if they've tried to understand it on a number of occasions together, crying on each other's shoulders, why hasn’t Wagner "gone over it" with Davern who did witness Wood’s whereabouts before she left the yacht? Furthermore, why didn't Wagner demand in November 1981, and beyond, that there be a more thorough investigation? If you have supposedly tortured yourself, as Wagner would have us believe, in trying to figure it out, why have you done everything possible to discourage an investigation and to squelch others (Dennis, Rulli, Wayne, and Lana Wood) from talking about it and asking questions? It’s seems rather improbable that Wagner and Walken (or anyone else) have "gone over and over" the death, and tried to figure it out. The totality of Wagner's behavior and words scream otherwise.

13) Rational, intelligent people fully understand the gravity of Natalie's story and recognize the travesty of justice in her case. Davern’s version of the circumstances surrounding Wood’s death in the book "Goodbye Natalie Goodbye Splendour" rings true…Wagner’s story flounders.

14) Wagner claims to miss and have loved his late wife, yet he does not mention her or credit her in his acknowledgments in his autobiography…odd behavior for a "loving husband"—even one who has remarried, as, after all, he rasided Natalie’s two daughters, one from her marriage with Richard Gregson, and the other from her marriage to Wagner.

15) In Wagner’s autobiography, he comes across as very crass, mean-spirited, and self-serving. The book seems nothing more than an attempt to make himself look good, and innocent of any wrongdoing in his wife’s death. At certain intervals, his book his downright breathtaking (but

　

NOT in a good way). I was disturbed by his book and shocked that he did not dedicate it, at least partially, to Natalie. However, he dedicated it to the "six women in my life" of importance: his mother, sister, wife St. John, and his three daughters. Natalie didn't help to make his life meaningful? Stunningly, Natalie is not even mentioned in the TWO full pages of acknowledgments in the end of his book. If she had indeed been lost to him and her daughters accidentally, I can’t imagine why she was not mentioned. The omission of her name is more revealing than public readers may realize. He manages to thank sports figures and the friends of his daughter, but he doesn't have room for Natalie anywhere in his acknowledgments? The chapter on Natalie's death rang hollow and stale, as if it were written with the help of an attorney. He cried over his dead dog and his pals, but he did not get emotional over Natalie. Even the title of his book came from a tearful remembrance of Barbara Stanwyck, not of Natalie.

16) Though young when Natalie died, I still always doubted the official story. It just didn't sound right or thorough. I became more bothered when I saw Wagner gallivanting in public with St. John a mere six months after Natalie's death. According to Wagner and his wife Jill’s later statements, it turns out that St. John and Wagner were dating less than two months after Natalie's death, and they went out on a date on Valentine's Day, 1982. What "grieving" spouse does such a thing?

17) Wagner claims he loved Wood. "Investigation 101" has proven over and over that a wife is more likely to be killed by a husband than by a stranger. And many people get killed every day by someone they love and who supposedly loves them. It's called domestic violence. The bruises on Natalie’s body need be investigated. Davern’s account of a fight that sounded physical should be investigated. It is naïve to believe there could not have been a domestic fight the night Wood died. The fight could very well be related to why Wood "left" the yacht and drowned.

18) Other evidence pertaining to Wagner’s actions AFTER Natalie was no longer aboard her yacht are gravely suspicious. Wagner wanted to protect his image, according to witness accounts. That his image meant more than calling for professional help for his wife lost at sea is the MAIN REASON the Wood case should be reopened.

In summary, my evaluation can easily be investigated for authorities to discover how I’ve drawn my professional conclusions. I realize that "psychological profiling" is important to any death case. There are ample clues in Wagner’s autobiography of chauvinism, snobbery, crassness, and his overall insecurities, enough to substantiate all of my disturbing claims. Reading Wagner’s book was the big tip-off for me--I never believed the official story of how Natalie died, but I didn't think that he had directly done something to her. I thought there was more but couldn't imagine that he put her in the water. After Wagner started gallivanting with St. John and looking so happy a few months after Natalie died, I thought it was troubling. In the years that followed, I was always bothered by this case. After reading his book, I became convinced that he had never told the truth about Natalie’s death. His overall tone toward Natalie was bothersome. His lack of a dedication or even acknowledgement of her was striking. I’ve seen Wagner in interviews since Natalie’s death. He does not answer questions posed--he'll turn it into something else, and no one comes back at him with the same question or a rephrasing of it. I've seen him do this many times, and he looks and sounds very uncomfortable. There are so many "ums," "you knows," "wells," etc. that it just reeks of deceit. He stammers and pauses constantly. Any comments of his about Natalie's death also have reeked of deceit. Why wouldn't someone who married "the love of his life" TWICE want to know details about what happened to her? Just because someone drowns doesn't mean it was an accident.

Then, after reading "Goodbye Natalie" it all came together for me, and my suspicions were validated with Davern’s polygraphed details. Apparently, Wagner does know what happened the night his wife

"disappeared" and drowned. The authorities have thus far ignored all of the new information relating to Wood’s death, and I feel that is a discredit to the true mission of a justice department. I strongly recommend the reopening of the Wood case.

I declare that all of my statements and requests herein above are true and correct and are based on my personal ambition to bring justice to the late actress, mother of two, Natalie Wood.

I am willing to cooperate with authorities concerning the Natalie Wood case if there are any questions they believe I can answer that would provide professional, clinical input pertinent to the case.

signed by Marianne Pesci 2011

Kennir Robert Wagner um dauða Natalie Wood