Hollywood mystery comes ashore

Investigators from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will be in Honolulu early next month to see whether they can uncover any new leads in the mysterious death of actress Natalie Wood 30 years ago, according to the current owner of the 60-foot boat on which Wood was last seen alive before she drowned in the ocean off Catalina Island, Calif.

Ron Nelson, who bought Splendour 25 years ago, brought it to Honolulu 15 years ago. It has been docked at Kewalo Basin Harbor in recent years.

Nelson said Los Angeles sheriffs called him several weeks ago informing him that they had reopened the case and wanted to visit with him and the boat the first week of December.

Nelson said sheriffs did not tell him the specific nature of their visit, but it appears "they want to get a better feel of the boat."

New criminology techniques might also be used, he said.

Wood died Nov. 29, 1981. Los Angeles coroner Thomas Noguchi determined Wood’s death was an accidental drowning and that she had alcohol in her system.

Los Angeles sheriffs confirmed Friday that their homicide bureau chose to take another look at the case after being contacted by people who said they had additional and "substantial" information about the drowning.

They stressed that Wood’s husband, actor Robert Wagner, was not a suspect. They also said the case remains classified as an accidental drowning.

Wagner, who owned the Splendour, was on the boat with Wood, actor Christopher Walken and Dennis Davern, Splendour’s longtime captain.

The renewed investigation comes as CBS’ "48 Hours Mystery" news show, in conjunction with Vanity Fair magazine, is about to air a segment in which Davern said he lied to investigators when he was interviewed after Wood’s death. Davern said Friday on NBC’s "Today" show that Wagner had a fight with Wood before she went missing and delayed searching for her after she disappeared.

After Davern began speaking to media this week and the sheriff’s public acknowledgement that it was reopening the case, CBS decided to move up the broadcast of the "48 Hours" segment to tonight. It was initially scheduled to air Nov. 26.

A CBS crew spent a day filming on the boat for the segment about a week ago, Nelson said.

The new developments are timely for Nelson since he is slated to begin a charter business with Splendour in two weeks.

"It’s funny all this is happening now because for the last two years, I’ve been wanting to put it into charter and I’ve been refurbishing it," he said. "The timing couldn’t have been better."

Nelson said he bought the boat at an auction in Long Beach. He would not disclose the price, but noted he has spent years attempting to refurbish and restore the 50-year-old vessel.

"It’s an old wooden boat. It’s expensive to upkeep," he said. "It’s a unique design. It was custom-built. You won’t see another one like it."

The boat has four staterooms and three bathrooms, and the Wagners shared the largest stateroom in the back. There is a door from the stateroom to the stern of the boat. Most believe Wood entered the water from a landing there.

The original plan was to have the boat run charters in California, but after a business partner backed out, Nelson said, he moved it to Oahu because he was living here. "The climate here is better, and you can charter all year around," he said.

Nelson said that when he brought the boat from San Diego, "we made a one-night stop in Catalina to say aloha to Natalie’s spirit before two weeks across the ocean to Hawaii."

There are portraits of Wood in the main room, and several biographies of the actress are scattered on coffee tables. The crew also keeps several scrapbooks with clippings of Wood’s life and mysterious death.

"I knew of Natalie Wood. I really liked her work and she was a good actress," Nelson said. "When the boat became available for chartering, I just thought it was a good idea because of the history and everything. I wasn’t looking to get into the business or anything, but it just seemed like a good idea at the time."

Splendour was reportedly named after the movie "Splendor in the Grass," one of three films for which Wood was nominated for an Academy Award.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Hawaii News Now video: Investigation of Natalie Wood’s death will include Hawaii yacht