Natalie Wood's death: Here's why the decades-old case is making headlines again

The mysterious death of actress Natalie Wood in 1981 has been thrust into headlines once again, thanks to a new podcast that looks at the incident, "Fatal Voyage: The Mysterious Death of Natalie Wood."

The 12-part series promises to "break new ground" on the case and offer "new evidence that suggests a larger conspiracy," per its description on iTunes. Dylan Howard, who oversees publications like Us Weekly and OK! as the chief content officer at American Media, Inc. Celebrity Group, hosts the podcast that premiered on Friday, which would've been Wood's 80th birthday. 

The death of the actress, who had starring roles in movies like "Miracle on 34th Street," "West Side Story" and "Splendor in the Grass," was originally ruled to be an accidental drowning. Wood, 43 at the time, had been on a boat with her then-husband Robert Wagner and her "Brainstorm" co-star, Christopher Walken, anchored off Catalina.

On Nov. 29, 1981, Wood disappeared from the boat and her body was found floating in the Pacific about a mile away from the yacht, dubbed Splendour, off the island's Blue Cavern Point.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reopened the case in 2011; the following year, the cause of death on her death certificate was changed to "drowning and other undetermined factors." In February, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department named Wagner a person of interest in Wood's death and labeled her passing "suspicious." Wagner has previously denied having anything to do with Wood's death and charges have not been filed.

The first two episodes of "Fatal Voyage" are now available for listening. On the debut episode, Wood's sister, Lana, 72, reiterated her sister's fear of water, stemming from a fortune teller telling their mother one of her children would drown.

"Neither one of them would swim," Lana recalled of her mother and sister. "They just wouldn't, and I said that's not a good way to prevent drowning. Knowing how to swim is a far better way to go."

Lana also told Howard what she believed happened that November night on his podcast "All Rise" ahead of the premiere of "Fatal Voyage."

"I believe that there was a horrible fight onboard the Splendour," she told him. "I know Natalie can verbally push... She did not put up with a great deal that she felt was harmful to her."

"I think it escalated to a point where she was either struck or pushed," she added. "I don’t believe that it was planned."

Lana also expressed her desire for Wagner to talk to police.

"He has always refused," Lana said. "How long has the case been reopened? It wasn’t reopened yesterday, was it?"

"Seriously I don't want to think that (Wagner) was a part of this, I don't want to," she said. "I never have wanted to but I don't have anymore choice. I no longer have a choice."

Wagner's rep, Alan Nierob, declined to comment on "Fatal Voyage" or Lana's request he speak with investigators to USA TODAY Monday.

Contributing: Maria Puente, Maeve McDermott

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