Officials ruled that Wood's drowning death while boating off Santa Catalina Island was an accident. But there has been much speculation about the circumstances surrounding her death. 
 
 A law enforcement source added that the department had recently received a letter from an unidentified "third party" who said that the captain had "new recollections" about the case. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case was ongoing. 
 
 L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca told The Times that homicide detectives want to talk to the captain based on comments he had made recounting the case on its 30 th anniversary. Baca did not detail what the captain said regarding the case 
 
 Detectives decided to reopen the investigation into the death of actress Natalie Wood in part because of statements made by the captain of the boat Wood was on at the time of her death. 
 
 "Recently sheriff’s homicide investigators were contacted by persons who stated they had additional information about the Natalie Wood Wagner drowning. Due to the additional information, Sheriff’s homicide bureau has decided to take another look at the case," the department said in a statement. 
 
 Wood and Robert Wagner first married in 1957 and divorced five years later. Both went on to marry other people -- and have children. They remarried in 1972. 
 
 ARCHIVES: Natalie Wood's death 
 
 On Thanksgiving weekend 1981, Wagner and Wood had invited actor Christopher Walken to be their guest on Catalina aboard their boat, the Splendour. On the evening of Nov. 29, they had dinner and drinks at Doug's Harbor Reef. They returned to the boat and continued to drink until a heated argument erupted between the two men. 
 
 Wagner told The Times in 2008 that the argument concerned how much of one's personal life should be sacrificed in pursuit of one's career; he was upset that Walken was advocating that Wood give her all to her art, even at the expense of her husband and children. 
 
 Wood left to go to the master cabin's bathroom. Wagner says he and Walken eventually calmed down and said good night. When he went to bed, he says, Wood wasn't there. It is believed that the yacht's dinghy had come loose and that Wood came up on deck to tie it up. 
 
 "I have gone over it so many millions of times with people. Nobody heard anything," Wagner told The Times in 2008. 
 
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 ARCHIVES: Natalie Wood's death 
 
 Robert Wagner supports inquiry into Natalie Wood's death 
 
 Natalie Wood investigation prompted by boat captain's comments 
 
 --Andrew Blankstein, Richard Winton and Sam Allen 
 
 Photo: 1981 Los Angeles Times front page. ||||| 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."
– 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.