L.A. County Detectives say Robert Wagner is a 'person of interest' in the 1981 death of then-wife Natalie Wood. Investigators made the revelation in an interview with CBS News' 48 Hours
"As we've investigated the case over the last six years, I think he's more of a person of interest now," Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Lieutenant John Corina told correspondent Erin Moriarty. "I mean, we know now that he was the last person to be with Natalie before she disappeared."
Wood drowned while on a weekend getaway near Catalina island on board the Splendour, her family's yacht. The actress was found floating in the water, one mile away from the boat.An autopsy later revealed Wood had multiple bruises on her body, as well as an abrasion on her left cheek.
Wood's death was considered controversial at the time, with many suspecting foul play on board. Other people on board that night included Captain Dennis Davern, and Wood's co-star in the film Brainstorm, Christopher Walken.
Wagner has refused to speak with police since the investigation was reopened detectives say.
The case was reopened in 2011 after Davern revealed he had lied to police during the initial investigation and that Wood and Wagner had been arguing that evening. Davern went on to allege he believed Wagner was responsible for his wife's death.
Wagner wrote about the argument he had with Wood before she disappeared in his memoir, Pieces of My Heart. In it, he describes the fight as being with Walken over Wood's career at one point writing, "I picked up a wine bottle, slammed it on the table and broke it into pieces."
In 2013, the Los Angeles Coroner's office amended Wood's death certificate staying Wood may have sustained some of the bruises before she went into the water and drowned but that could not be definitively determined. The autopsy showed Wood's blood alcohol level had been 0.14%, as well as traces of a motion-sickness pill and painkiller - both of which are known to increase the effects of alcohol.
The full 48 Hours episode "Natalie Wood: Death in Dark Water" is set to air Saturday night at 10 p.m. on CBS.