TRUE CRIME
More than 30 years after the death of glamorous movie star Natalie Wood, an investigative podcast uncovers shocking new evidence
The mysterious death of Hollywood siren Natalie Wood gets a fresh examination
It’s an unsolved mystery that’s continued to make headlines for 35 years: The drowning death of dark-eyed Hollywood beauty Natalie Wood stunned fans around the world, and nagging questions remain about how she met her end in a watery grave off the coast of California’s Catalina Island on Thanksgiving weekend in 1981.
Now, for the first time, the real story behind the film icon’s life and times in Hollywood is being told in a new podcast, Fatal Voyage: The Mysterious Death of Natalie Wood. The 12-part series will launch on July 20, the day that the doomed star would have celebrated her 80th birthday.
Hosted by internationally renowned investigative journalist Dylan Howard, the series will explore Natalie’s final hours in intimate detail — tracking her fateful, booze-soaked night on her yacht, Splendour, with husband Robert Wagner and actor Christopher Walken. “Did Natalie jump? Did she slip? Was she unconscious before going overboard? Or was she pushed? And if so — by whom? And why?” Howard tells In Touch. “It’s a hell of a story. Forbidden affairs. Twisted lies. And murder.”
Howard and his team have spent the last seven years investigating Natalie’s fateful final hours — and their immediate aftermath — sifting through hundreds of pages of testimony and official police statements.
Although the initial coroner’s verdict was “accidental death by drowning,” the investigation into Natalie’s death was officially reopened in 2011. The following year, the Los Angeles County chief medical examiner amended her death certificate to say “drowning and other undetermined factors” after the ship’s captain changed his story.
For the first time ever, the beloved actress will speak from beyond the grave in never-before-heard interviews and excerpts from her unpublished memoir — and dozens of her friends and family members will
open up in candid new interviews.
Using modern forensics, the podcast will take another look at Natalie’s original autopsy, analyzing the many bruises on her body, the drugs in her system and her blood alcohol content.
“This is not a retelling of Natalie’s sad story: It is an active investigation of the case,” Howard explains. “It will be the most comprehensive investigation since Natalie’s death. And in the end, the listener can decide what happened to the ultimate screen siren…and just who was responsible for her death.” ◼