Natalie Wood - Boat Captain Blames Wagner For Wood's Death

The Rebel Without a Cause star died off the coast of California in November, 1981 during a trip on a luxury yacht with Wagner and their guest, actor Christopher Walken. Her death was ruled an accident.

However, Los Angeles officials re-opened the case on Thursday (17Nov11) after detectives learned of new developments in the mystery, and boat captain Dennis Davern is pleased to see the circumstances surrounding Wood's death re-examined, because he wasn't completely forthcoming in his original depiction of the night's events.

Appearing on U.S. breakfast show Today on Friday (18Nov11), he said, "We didn't take any steps to see if we could locate (Natalie)... I made some terrible decisions... I did lie on a (police) report several years ago. I made mistakes by not telling the honest truth."

And when asked whether he believed a fight between Wood and Wagner ultimately led to her death, Davern replied, "Yes, I would say so. Yes."

Wagner has been fully co-operative with officials throughout the case, and on Thursday his spokesperson expressed the star's support for the new investigation.