Natalie Wood

The shocking news that “The Shield” actor Michael Jace killed his wife of 10 years has shocked the entertainment world. For non-celebrities the life of famous people always seems so glamorous and stress-free, so it’s a surprise when it turns out their lives can be more troubled and complicated below the surface than anyone had ever realised.

Natalie Wood, pictured with James Dean, mysteriously drowned while on a yachting trip with her husband and Christopher Walken

The world was just as rocked by these shocking celebrity crimes as it was by Jace’s arrest and subsequent confession.

Continue reading: Michael Jace, O.J. Simpson: Hollywood's Most Shocking Murders

Robert Wagner is still not thought to be an official suspect in the death of his wife Natalie Wood, though the Hart To Hart star has "declined to be interviewed" by police re-investigating the strange drowning of the Hollywood star. The body of the actress was found a mile away from the yacht she had been aboard with Wagner and Christopher Walken in California, 1981, reports BBC News.

Wood's death was also presumed to be a tragic accident, though the case was reopened in 2011 when the yacht's captain Dennis Davern told various American television shows that he heard the Hollywood couple arguing on the night of her disappearance. Though Wagner suggested she could have slipped into the water after reaching overboard to tie down a lifeboat, Wood was known to be terrified by water. The actor's solicitor Blair Berk said Wagner had nothing to hide, "Mr Wagner has fully co-operated over the last 30 years in the investigation of the accidental drowning of his wife in 1981. He has been interviewed on multiple occasions by the Los Angeles sheriff's department and answered every single question asked of him by detectives during those interviews," read a statement. Earlier this week, coroner's officials released an updated autopsy report which reclassified the death from accidental drowning to drowning caused by "undetermined factors." Investigators are looking into bruises and marks found on Wood's body.

Lieutenant John Corina of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's office claimed detectives tried to interview Wagner on more than 10 occasions, but had been turned down each time. He said: "Most of the people we've talked to were never talked to 30 years ago. We've got a lot of new information."

The child star of the wonderful original of Miracle on 34th Street, Natalie Wood, died at the age of 43 way back in 1981. For the past thirty years it had been thought her death by drowning was an accident, but since the case was re-examined last year it appears there may have been foul play involved in her death.

As the LA Times reports "there were recent bruises to the back of the left thigh. A few day old bruises were on the back of the right thigh and knee but there were fresh bruises and scratches to the right posterior leg... The location of the bruises, the multiplicity of the bruises, lack of head trauma, or facial bruising support bruising having occurred prior to the entry into the water." 

Although this points towards further suspicious circumstances, the police say that nothing is conclusive. Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for Los Angeles County Sheriff said: "This remains an ongoing investigation... Yes this is a revelation to the public but this report was written in June 2012." 

Continue reading: Natalie Wood's Mysterious Death Re-Examined, But Cause Of Death 'Left Undetermined'

Natalie Wood And James Dean In The Classic Movie 'Rebel Without A Cause'

An explosive new report into the death of Natalie Wood by the Los Angeles County Coroner's report questions the original 1981 findings that led investigators to conclude Wood died accidentally, reports the Los Angeles Times. Wood - who was known to be terrified of the water - was assumed to have fallen overboard during a boating trip with husband Robert Wagner and the actor Christopher Walken.

A new report concludes that bruising on Wood's wrists and other areas are more consistent with injuries from an assault prior to the point in which she entered the water. The findings stop short of classifying her death as a homicide, though suggest it may not be as simple an explanation as accidental death. Additional sources who spoke with the L.A. Times said the bruises were originally overlooked in the accidental-death finding more than 30 years ago. At the time of her death, husband Robert Wagner told authorities that Wood fell off their 60-foot yacht Spendour possibly while trying to re-tie a dinghy that had been banging against the side of the boat, disturbing her sleep.

Continue reading: Natalie Wood Death: Bruises Suggest Hollywood Actress Was Assaulted