THE SPLENDOR OF IT ALL: NATALIE WOOD'S DEATH STILL A MYSTERY

NATALIE WOOD: A GLITTERING CAREER OVERSHADOWED BY DARKNESS ABOARD "THE SPLENDOR"

Thirty years ago, on the night of November 29, 1981, the body of actress Natalie Wood was found floating in the dark water beside a yacht called "The Splendor" off South Catalina Island following a night of intense partying among Wood, her husband, Robert Wagner, and Christopher Walken, who was co-starring with Wood in a film called "Brainstorm." The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office ruled Wood's death an "accident", but eight months ago, amid reports of becoming "privy to new information", officials changed the cause of death to "Undetermined" and reopened investigation into the case. Although they have remained generally tight-lipped about the details of that "new information", a spokesman for the department mentioned that bruises were found on Wood's body that night, underneath the jacket that the star of "West Side Story" and "Splendor In The Grass" was wearing over her nightgown at the time of her death. Wood's sister Lana had previously tried, unsuccessfully, to get the case reopened.

ROBERT WAGNER: DOES HE KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT NATALIE HE HASN'T BEEN TELLING?

Among the odd facts surrounding Wood's death were the testimony of a woman on a nearby yacht who claimed that she heard a woman scream for help around midnight on the night that Wood died, reports that Walken and Wagner were engaged in a loud argument around the same time, and Wood's well-known fear of water, which puts a decided damper on the theory that she drowned accidentally whilst trying to stop a dinghy from banging against the side of the yacht and interrupting her sleep. The captain of the yacht, Dennis Davern, has stated publicly that he believes Wagner was responsible for the 43-year-old actress's death, saying that, on realizing that Woods was missing, "We didn't take any steps to find her." He added, "I did lie on a report several years ago."

DENNIS DAVERN: CAPTAIN OF "THE SPLENDOR" AND (APPARENTLY) RESTLESS SOUL ON A MISSION

So far, law officials haven't come up with anything that they believe will "shed new light on the case." But the investigation remains open...as does the mystery that continues to surround the untimely death of one of Hollywood's most beloved actresses.