Hollywood's Darkest Mystery: Natalie Wood's Daughter Natasha Begs for the 'Falsehoods' About Her Stepfather Robert Wagner, 96, to Stop, 45 Years After Her Mother's Mysterious Drowning Off Catalina
Natalie Wood died by drowning after falling off a boat.
Oct. 27 2026, Published 1:58 p.m. ET
Natalie Wood's daughter, Natasha, said she wants the rumors that her father, Robert Wagner, was involved in her mother's death to stop, Breaking Celebrity News can report.
The beloved actress died between 12:00 a.m. Nov. 28 and 1:00 a.m. Nov. 29, 1981, at only 43 years old. She passed away after going overboard from the boat she was on with her husband, Robert, Christopher Walken, and Captain Dennis Davern. In the decades since her mysterious death, there is still little explanation.
Natasha Speaks Out in Defense of Robert Wagner
Natalie Wood's daughter he said her father wasn't involved in her mother's death.
"I think it’s reckless and dangerous when people make up lies or make assumptions that end up circulating as if they were the truth. My dad is 96 and a half, he probably doesn’t have much time left, and I don’t want his legacy to be tarnished by those falsehoods," Natasha told Vanity Fair Spain.
She said that throughout her childhood, Wagner – who adopted her after Wood's death – kept her late mother's memory alive. He'd give her daughters her jewelry and often speak of Wood.
"He has been a force of love and protection for me: he raised me as his own daughter and has loved me as if I were his flesh and blood. I know he would have done anything to protect my mother," Natasha asserted.
Reopened Investigations and Updated Cause of Death
Wagner was cleared by investigators.
Wood's death was originally ruled an "accidental drowning" in 1981. But in 2011, the investigation was reopened after Davern confessed to lying to the police in 1981, admitting he witnessed a fight between Wagner and Wood.
The next year, in 2012, Wood's cause of death was updated to "drowning and other undetermined factors."
When Wood was found, there were bruises on her body that couldn't definitively be explained. Additionally, how she landed in the water was "not clearly established."
In 2018, detectives looked into the case again and Wagner was declared a "person of interest," but in 2022, he was cleared of wrongdoing.
Wagner's Memoir Account of the Tragic Night
Wagner blamed himself for Wood's death.
Years prior, in 2008, Wagner released a memoir called Pieces of My Heart, wherein he wrote his recollection from that night.
The actor said he grabbed dinner with his wife and Walken, which resulted in a heated argument between the two men. Wood went to bed at some point as they fought.
He admitted that during the exchange, he picked up a wine bottle, smashing it into pieces.
Eventually, Wagner headed to join his wife in bed. When he got to his room, his wife was not there.
"I went back up on the deck and looked around for her and noticed the dinghy was gone... I remember wondering if she'd taken the dinghy because of the argument, and then I thought, no way, because she was terrified of dark water," he explained.
With the Coast Guard's help, Wood was eventually found floating in the ocean, deceased.
Her widower wrote he felt he was at fault.
"Yes, I blamed myself. Natalie would have felt the same way had it happened to me. Why wasn’t I there? Why wasn’t I watching?" Wagner wrote, adding he would've "given his life" for her.
Sister Lana Wood Blamed Wagner
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Natalie Wood's sister has blamed Wagner for her death.
While Wagner has maintained he was not involved in Wood's death, and Wood's daughter believes him, the late actress's sister has blamed the widower.
"They had a bad fight. Dennis said it sounded like furniture was being thrown around," Lana told Megyn Kelly in 2018.
Lana said the captain told her he went on the deck and put on music to drown out the fight. But when he got back to the boat, Wagner "was standing there and Dennis said, 'Where's Natalie?' And he said, 'She's gone.'"
Additionally, Lana said Wood was "terrified" of water because of their mother. The actress's mother was allegedly told by a psychic she'd have a child known globally, and "someone was going to die from drowning."
