BEVERLY HILLS—Natalie Wood is remembered today for her amazing screen presence, astonishing beauty, and almost every actor who worked opposite the legendary actress soon fell in love with the beautiful spirit of the young star who captured the attention of audiences around the world. Born Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko in 1938, Natalie shot to stardom in films such as “Miracle on 34th Street.” She is credited for becoming a star at such a young age, from the hard work of a very ambitious stage mother. By the time the 1950s rolled around, Wood was a huge star, and she worked opposite the top leading men of her time in Hollywood. In 1955, Natalie starred in “Rebel Without a Cause” opposite James Dean, which earned her an Academy Award nomination for the role. The longtime Beverly Hills resident died on November 29, 1981 with very suspicious circumstances surrounding her death.

Natalie Wood

Wood co-star Christopher Walken, a boat captain and husband Robert Wagner were all aboard the yacht called Splendour, just off the coast of California’s Catalina Island. The yacht was anchored in Isthmus Cove. Wood reportedly fell into the water, and recently there have been witnesses who have come forward to claim they heard Wood scream around midnight while in the water. The official theory is that Wood either tried to leave the yacht or to secure a dinghy from banging against the hull when she accidentally slipped and fell overboard. When her body was found, she was wearing a down jacket, nightgown and socks. The L.A. coroner at the time wrote that he found Wood’s fingernail scratches on the side of the rubber dinghy, indicating she was trying to get in. However, author Marti Rulli, who wrote the book “Goodbye Natalie Goodbye Splendour,” spoke exclusively with Canyon News, along with Natalie’s beloved sister Lana, and they are planning to have an official letter delivered to the authorities with Los Angeles County Police Department this week requesting that the case be reopened and thoroughly investigated this time around, and both have serious questions about the ruling of accidental death of the iconic star.

“Tommy, I’ve spent the past 26 years working toward this day to officially request this legendary star’s case be reopened, and I am finally working with other people who agree that this needs to happen,” said famed author Marti Rulli. “There has been interest in this case for quite some time, but now we are finally seeing things happen in this case again. Maybe this time there will be truth told and facts revealed that many have been afraid of saying publicly over the years.”

On the eve of the 30th anniversary of Natalie Wood’s death, Rulli and Wood both want something to be done to finally blow the lid off what they consider to be a cover-up by those close to Natalie, who both women (Rulli and Wood) feel should be more forthcoming with their secrets surrounding the case. Rulli wants to know why Wood’s husband Robert Wagner allegedly waited four hours to report his wife missing. “Tommy, you are the first to see official statements from various people surrounding this case. Some of these people have previously been afraid to come forward, so until the statements are delivered this week to the LAPD, I ask you not to print their names,” Rulli said.

The witness statements are extremely compelling. They are the most engaging 20 pages I’ve read in my career in Hollywood. I had to ask Rulli why she has been so dogged in spearheading this request for an investigation to be reopened in the case. I also asked her questions, and she and Natalie’s sister Lana Wood agreed to answer all of my questions without anything being off the record.

Rulli was pressed on why she wrote the book about Natalie’s death, and also why she refuses to let the case go away. “I hoped to help the public understand the convoluted mystery surrounding Natalie’s death. Being a close friend of Dennis Davern’s,　the Splendour captain on board the night Natalie died, I knew if any of the three cruise survivors were ever to talk, it would be him, not Robert Wagner or Christopher Walken; both with celebrity images to protect. Dennis was the only link to truth, yet he remained conflicted. In 1983, when he finally revealed the shocking truth that there had indeed been trouble the night Natalie ended up in the ocean, my long　journey began and continues to this day,” said Rulli. “I felt compelled to give Natalie the voice she never had, although the circumstances of her death spoke volumes. ‘Goodbye Natalie’ contains the truth of why Dennis slept in Natalie’s final bed with her the Friday night of the voyage, why Wagner smashed a wine bottle in anger, and why Natalie fought with her husband in their stateroom, all details backed by Dennis’s certified polygraph test. The new paperback and E-versions, published by E-Reads (NYC, NY) contains new, shocking information from the Coast Guard Captain who recovered Natalie’s body. My amateur investigation answers questions the authorities never asked. They need to reopen Natalie’s case to restore her dignity. She did not ‘get drunk and fall off a boat while adjusting a banging dinghy’ and one little overlooked detail in the initial investigation would have proven it could not have happened that way.”

Author Rulli is far from an amateur investigator. After three decades, she’s unearthed some shocking new information, which will be offered on a major TV network on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the tragedy.

Rulli describes what her witness told her occurred. These are the words of author Marti Rulli. “My suspicions are based on facts. Natalie had been entertaining Christopher Walken aboard her family yacht like she had numerous times before with other guests, but her husband, RJ, was jealous of Christopher. Tension mounted and Natalie spent the very first night of the cruise in a hotel Avalon with Dennis. The yacht was taken to the quiet end of the island on Saturday. After an angry RJ shockingly smashed a wine bottle in the main salon that night, right after the foursome returned from dinner on the island, Walken went to bed in his forward cabin. Natalie stormed off to her rear stateroom. RJ followed and a terrible marital argument ensued that carried over to the rear outside deck. Minutes later, Natalie and the dinghy disappeared. My research shows that RJ refused to search or to allow Dennis to turn on the searchlight or call for help. Dennis worshipped this couple and felt uneasy disobeying but insisted they do something, but RJ was adamant he couldn’t destroy his image. He poured scotch and convinced Dennis to wait it out with him. It took over two hours before RJ radioed a lame announcement that ‘someone is missing.’ Six men from the island got involved in a makeshift search and all deferred to Wagner’s plea to not involve the Coast Guard. More than four hours later, the harbormaster insisted on involving the Coast Guard,” said the author.

“RJ, more than anyone, knew of Natalie’s deathly fear of dark water. He told the harbormaster she was wearing a nightgown, a contradiction to his later comment that he hadn’t seen her. When discovered early Sunday morning, Natalie was found floating facedown in her nightgown, wool socks, and a down jacket. There were over 25 bruises, abrasions, and scratches on her body," Rulli said.

"Instead of being treated as a crime scene until proven otherwise, Wagner and Walken were immediately provided a helicopter to escape the tragic scene, while Dennis was left behind to identify his beautiful friend’s body. The iconic Natalie Wood was dead, under bizarre circumstances, but the three cruise survivors were not checked for corresponding bruises, nor interrogated. Wagner had insisted Dennis say nothing except to the attorney hired for him. Natalie was buried within days, the case virtually closed by the morning of her funeral. Her grieving family, friends, and fans were offered the scantest details, but many always suspected something sinister. Natalie’s case is one of the most botched investigations in not only Hollywood history, but American history as well. She deserves better. The public deserves better. All of the evidence is available. It’s high time and long overdue for the authorities to own up to it and give Natalie the dignity she deserves by attaching the truth to her untimely death,” concluded Rulli.