Robert Wagner DID kill Natalie Wood on luxury yacht then stopped the search for her body, vessel’s captain sensationally claims
Skipper Dennis Davern's story has reportedly passed a number of polygraph tests
THE captain of the yacht where star Natalie Wood died says he believes her husband, Robert Wagner, is responsible, and claims he stopped search efforts.
Dennis Davern was one of only four people on board the Splendour in November 1981 when the 43-year-old actress disappeared.
Wood, Wagner, and actor Christopher Walken were the only guests.
From the offset, Davern, who had been captaining the couple's boat for six years, said he had an ominous feeling about the voyage.
During the weekend Davern recalled terrible fights, with Wood even asking the captain to take her ashore.
Davern reportedly told podcast the pair left the yacht in the Dinghy, and described the woman as petrified.
Davern and Wood took up rooms at a hotel, and the next morning he convinced her that if they returned to the boat the situation would have calmed.
On the night of her disappearance he recalls Wood storming out after another argument, and going to her room.
Davern claims Walken also stormed out and went to his cabin, while Wagner stayed where he was, and began to drink with the captain.
Eventually, Wagner went to check on his wife, and Davern claims the two had a scuffle.
When Davern went to investigate, he claims Wagner told him to go away.
Davern said he made his way to the back of the ship.
He claims to have found Wagner at the swim steps, and noticed Wood and the dinghy were missing.
He said: “I saw the dinghy was missing and fired up the engines to start searching.
”But RJ [Wagner] said ‘no, no, let's not do that. Let's just stay, let's have another bottle of wine’.”
Today, he believes Natalie was killed and thrown overboard.
Davern says when Wood's body was found, it was left to him to identify her.
"The next morning, Natalie's body was found near the dinghy - about half a mile from the Splendour."
"RJ and Walken went by helicopter back to the mainland, and I had to identify Natalie's body."
At Woods' wake, Davern claims he was introduced to Walken's lawyer.
Soon, he claims to have been stuck in Wagner’s home, getting around only by a limousine that would wait out the front of wherever he wanted to go.
Davern said Wagner spent these weeks drinking and crying in his bedroom.
"Later, it crossed my mind they didn't want me to say anything about what happened on the Splendour."
Davern's description of events do not match his statements to police at the time, but have passed several polygraph tests, according to the podcast.
Police re-opened the case into Woods' death in February 2018, and Wagner has been named as a suspect, but has so far declined to speak with authorities.
Audiences would know Wagner from films including The True Story of Jesse James, The Pink Panther, and the Austin Powers franchise.
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The official cause of death was accidental drowning, with a coroner suggesting it had occurred as she tried to get on the dinghy.
She had a scrape on her cheek, and no injuries consistent with foul play, officials said.
Wood was also found to have blood alcohol higher than the limit.
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