L.A. County coroner changes Natalie Wood's cause of death

[ellisonz]

Source: Los Angeles Times

By Christopher Goffard, Kate Mather and Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times

January 14, 2013, 7:28 p.m.

Through three decades of fevered tabloid speculation and whispers of a deeper story, the official account never changed: Natalie Wood drowned accidentally. The 43-year-old star of "West Side Story," who couldn't swim, had been drinking the night before she was found floating face-down in frigid waters off Santa Catalina Island.

When the L.A. County Sheriff's Department reopened the case in November 2011, around the 30th anniversary of her death, skeptics questioned the timing and doubted whether there was anything new to be learned.

Instead of quieting speculation, however, the investigation has raised fresh — and probably unanswerable — questions about one of Hollywood's most enduring puzzles.

In a report released Monday, the coroner, Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran, questioned the original 1981 findings and changed Wood's cause of death from "accidental drowning" to "drowning and other undetermined factors."

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-01-14-natalie-wood-20130115,0,6854742.story

[Kalidurga]

1. The official story never seemed right to me.

Apparently it doesn't seem right with about 80% of other people either.

[siligut]

2. Same here

I keep thinking that Robert Wagner and Stephanie Powers were already together and somehow Natalie's death is related to that.

[Kalidurga]

5. That was my first thought.

I don't know that it was necessarily planned. Or if Natalie ended up in the water and because of a possible affair it just became a lot easier to not attempt to save her life.

[We People]

6. Don't you mean Jill St. John? I didn't know that Wagner & Powers ever really dated

even though they were in the show together.

He and Jill St. John got together rather soon, though.

[siligut]

11. Just from memory, I thought it was Stephanie Powers

They were all on the boat together.

[flamingdem]

3. Does this mean no more Robert Wagner hair commercials?

I loved "To Catch a Thief"

[ellisonz]

4. Nope. Not Yet.

I'm sure though there's some heavy drinking going on at the Wagner and Walken residences tonight.

[Paulie]

7. I remember Dr. Lakshmanan

From the OJ trial. Still working.

[Mimosa]

8. No one will ever know the truth. n/t

[Lydia Leftcoast]

9. Except those who were on the boat that night

maybe

[ReRe]

10. Knowing what I know now....

....and the passage of time, I have absolutely no doubt who was responsible for Natalie ending up in the water. No, I have no direct proof. Look it... it's either Robert Wagoner or Christopher Walken. Need I say more? I expect the guilty one to admit the truth on his death bed. Seriously. So be it. I hope he goes before I do, because I would love to know for sure. .