Natalie Wood Death Book Triggered Homicide Investigation 
 
 Natalie Wood's Death -- Marti Rulli's Book Triggered New Homicide Investigation 
 
 's death has been reopened as a homicide investigation, primarily because of a book written by the captain of the boat where Natalie Wood spent her last minutes ... a book suggesting foul play ... this according to sources close to the investigation.We've learned Marti Rulli -- who co-authored the book -- has been in regular touch with the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. over the last few months. She has given Sheriff's investigators documents supporting material in her book, and we're told the Sheriff is so impressed he has assigned 2 full-time homicide detectives to the case.In the book -- "Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour" -- Rulli and Splendour Captain Dennis Davern write about the night Natalie drowned. They say before Natalie disappeared from the boat, she was drinking and taking Quaaludes with her husband,and actorAccording to the book, Wagner became enraged when he saw Wood and Walken speaking, and smashed a wine bottle, yelling at Walken, "What do you want to do, f**k my wife? Is that what you want?"At that point, Walken returned to his cabin and Natalie and Robert went to their state room. According to the Captain, he heard a loud argument between the couple and thumping sounds, and eventually silence.A short time later, the Captain went to the deck and was told by Wagner, "Natalie is missing."The book claims Wagner refused to let the Captain call the Coast Guard.Wagner told the Capt. the dinghy was gone, along with Natalie, but some doubted that because she was deathly afraid of dark water.The death was ruled an accident, but Rulli was like a pit bull since the book was written in 2008.We're told the homicide investigators have already traveled to Catalina, as well as New Jersey to interview Rulli. They've also gone to Augustine, Florida to interview the Captain, and they're going to Hawaii to look at the Splendour.A source familiar with the investigation tells TMZ the Sheriff's Dept. has not called anyone a suspect in Wood's death. It is a general homicide investigation for now, and will take "a long time to complete." The source adds, supporting documentation in several books about Wood's death -- including Marti Rulli's book -- triggered the investigation because the witnesses accounts of circumstances surrounding Wood's death did not square with what they told officials immediately after her death.We're told no one from the Sheriff's Dept. has spoken with Wagner, nor has an interview been requested ... at least so far.-- Robert Wagner's rep released a statement to TMZ ... saying, "Although no one in the Wagner family has heard from the LA County Sheriff’s department about this matter, they fully support the efforts of the LA County Sheriff’s Dept."The statement continues, "[The Wagners] trust they will evaluate whether any new information relating to the death of Natalie Wood Wagner is valid, and that it comes from a credible source or sources other than those simply trying to profit from the 30 year anniversary of her tragic death." ||||| Nearly four decades after the unexplained drowning death of Hollywood star Natalie Wood, Los Angeles County Sheriff's investigators tell "48 Hours" that her then-husband, actor Robert Wagner, is now a person of interest. Investigators want to speak with Wagner about the circumstances surrounding her death one night in 1981, they say in interviews for "Natalie Wood: Death in Dark Water" to be broadcast Saturday, Feb. 3 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. 
 
 "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 says of Wagner in an interview with "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty. "I mean, we know now that he was the last person to be with Natalie before she disappeared." 
 
 Wood drowned off the coast of Catalina Island in California in November 1981 after she went missing from the Splendour, her family's yacht. Also aboard that night were Captain Dennis Davern, Wagner, and Wood's friend and fellow actor, Christopher Walken. The next day, the actress was found floating in the water wearing a red down jacket and flannel nightgown. After a two-week investigation, the death was ruled an accident. But, in 2011, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reopened the death investigation. And in 2012 the Los Angeles Coroner's Office amended the death certificate, changing the manner of death from an accidental drowning to "drowning and other undetermined factors." 
 
 Now, six years after the investigation was reopened, "48 Hours" talks with the investigators about new witnesses, new evidence and new theories as to what happened that night. 
 
 Rumors of foul play have long surrounded Wood's mysterious death. At first, the three men aboard the boat -- Wagner, Walken and Davern -- told detectives that Wood, famously terrified of dark water, took off in a dinghy and went ashore. Over time, however, Wagner and Davern's accounts have shifted, a red flag to the investigators. 
 
 Investigators say Wagner has refused to speak with them since the case was reopened. Corina tells Moriarty he doesn't believe Wagner has told the whole story. 
 
 "I haven't seen him tell the details that match ... all the other witnesses in this case," Corina says of Wagner. "I think he's constantly ... he's changed the -- his story a little bit. ...and his version of events just don't add up." 
 
 Walken has spoken with investigators. 
 
 Was it an accident or something more? 
 
 Investigators today note the autopsy report indicates there were a number of bruises that appeared to be fresh on Wood's body. 
 
 "She looked like the victim of an assault," says Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Detective Ralph Hernandez. 
 
 Los Angeles Coroner's Office 
 
 "Do you believe Natalie Wood was murdered?" Moriarty asks. 
 
 "I think it's suspicious enough to make us think that something happened," Corina says. 
 
 "Do you believe Robert Wagner knows a lot more about what happened to his wife than he's ever said?" Moriarty asks. 
 
 "Well, I think he does because he's the last one to see her," Corina replies. 
 
 Moriarty and the "48 Hours" team have been covering the Wood case for six years and was the only news organization to capture the detectives searching the Splendour for clues. "48 Hours" reports on the latest information in the case through interviews with the detectives leading the case, with Wood's sister Lana Wood, as well as archival interviews with Wagner, Davern and others. "48 Hours"' efforts to get comment from Wagner and Walken were unsuccessful. 
 
 "We have not been able to prove this was a homicide. And we haven't been able to prove that this was an accident, either," says Hernandez. "The ultimate problem is we don't know how she ended up in the water."
– Los Angeles County homicide detectives have reopened an investigation into the 30-year-old mystery of actress Natalie Wood's death. The star's 1981 drowning was ruled an accident. But her last evening, which she spent on a yacht with husband Robert Wagner and movie co-star Christopher Walken, has long been the subject of speculation. Law enforcement officials have now decided to take another look at the case after receiving fresh information, and they plan to interview the boat's captain about comments he made about the case recently, the Los Angeles Times reports. In the captain's book Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour, he recalls that on the night she drowned, Wood was drinking and taking Quaaludes with Wagner and Walken. An argument erupted between the two men, apparently over Wood, followed by shouting between the couple in their room—and thumps, according to the captain. He says he was later told "Natalie is missing" by Wagner, who allegedly refused to let him call the Coast Guard. The captain's co-author, Marti Rulli, has been in touch for months with police, reports TMZ. An investigation at the time determined that Wood apparently fell into the sea after attempting to climb into the yacht's dingy or trying to secure it. Wagner has issued a statement saying he supports the new investigation.