wrote:
I’ve followed this story from the beginning. They were such a beautiful couple. West Side Story is still one of my favorite movies. At the time this happened, Natalie and Christopher Walken were doing a movie together. I’ve read she told her sister she had feelings for him. That night, Robert confronted them both in a jealous rage. IMO, knowing how frightened Natalie was of water and that she couldn’t swim, even if she was drunk, I don’t think she’d have gone into the water on her own. I just found out about the bruises on her body. Maybe, later, after her and Robert were alone, the argument continued and got physical. Somehow, she fell in the water and Robert couldn’t/wouldn’t help her. I agree with others here who think Robert knows more than he’s said. I felt it then and I still do. Sadly, after all this time, we will never know for sure exactly what happened.
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@SleeplessinSD, it is actually a myth that Natalie was so afraid of the water that she would not get into the dingy. This was all covered in the book "The Coroner" by Noguchi. He was the coroner at the time and his book covers the autopsies he did on famous people, including Robert Kennedy.
The examination and investigation conducted by him, established that Natalie the very day she drowned had taken the dingy to Catalina island by herself and it was witnessed by several people that day. I was glad to see this because I actually had family that lived in an apartment and had a boat docked at Marina Del Ray. They saw Natalie come back to the dock many times in the dingy while the boat was presumably out, so they personally knew that it was a common practice for her to take the dingy out by herself. Dudley Moore used to have a house right there by the marina and several times they saw her take the dingy toward his dock. In fact, I actually have a picture of "The Splendor" docked at Marina Del Ray from when we visited out there. So it just isn't true that she was so afraid of the water that she wouldn't take the dingy somewhere.
I read the book years ago,so I don't remember all the details, but one of the witnesses that saw Natalie come to Catlina Island was some type of legitimate coast guard or ocean monitor individual stationed there. There were multiple other witnesses as well that Natalie had arrived onshore at Catalina Island alone in the dingy earlier in the day.
In fact, if I remember correctly...this same person saw the party leave in the dingy after dinner that evening at Catlina Island and recognized that all of them were very drunk. He called and asked for an unobtrusive escort to follow them to the boat to make sure they got there safely. Which they did.
The examination also determined that the bruises she had were consistent with her trying to climb back up in the dingy. The book is far more specific on where the bruises were, what type they were, etc. They actually investigated the wind current and ocean current and were able to trace her path and the dingy from the boat. She and the dingy followed the same path away from the boat. This was significant because the normal current & wind pattern without any manuevering would have taken her and the dingy out to sea, instead of the opposite direction toward Catalina Island.
Her blood alcohol level was above the legal limit and determined she was intoxicated. The one thing she didn't do was remove her fur coat. Naguchi actually attributes that as a primary factor that contributed to her drowning. Her fur coat was weighing her down and she was too intoxicated to think to remove it.
Additionally, someone on a boat in the area off of Catalina island was having a party and playing very loud music. One of the other boaters that evening actually called in a complaint about the other boat, which wasn't The Splendor. That is probably the reason most people didn't hear her cry out for help. There were plenty of boats and people in that area.
There is quite a bit of information about her autopsy and the medical examiner's investigation in that book.
I remember thinking after reading the book, it didn't make any sense that if Robert Wagner was going to push her overboard that she would have a fur coat on or that the dingy would be untied and follow the path in the water that it did.
My impression and I have seen nothing over the years to change it, is that it was a tragic accident. They may have been arguing, etc. But that doesn't mean he killed her either purposefully or accidentally. And the evidence I read from the medical examiner doesn't seem support that theory either. Why would someone push someone overboard and then untie the dingy. Why would she not maneuver back to the boat and climb right back up the step on the actual boat or hold onto the boat while calling for help? She evidently struggled for quite some time with the dingy so even with the fur coat on, she would have been able to hold onto the boat's propeller or the step for some time. Just my thoughts after reading the book and the information obtain by the medical examiner's investigation.
But still, with all the evidence that people have that it was common practice for Natalie to take the dingy out all by herself, people today still cite her fear of the water that she would never do that. Some things just keep perpetuating itself, even when it is not grounded in fact. I just know that my family members saw her multiple times cruising around the marina in the dingy by herself and they scoff when someone says she would never do that because she was so afraid of the water since they saw her do it on multiple occasions.
* Freedom has a taste the protected will never know *
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