Natalie Wood's Eye-Witness Reveals Hearing Her Eerie Final ‘Screams’ Before Death: "Banging on..."

The tragic death of Hollywood icon Natalie Wood on November 29, 1981, remains one of Tinseltown’s most enduring mysteries. Decades after the West Side Story actress’s body was discovered near Catalina Island, new accounts have surfaced that shed chilling light on her final moments. According to author Marti Rulli, who has dedicated years to investigating Wood’s untimely death, witnesses are finally coming forward to share what they heard that fateful night. One witness, a then-17-year-old California fishing boat worker, recently contacted Rulli to reveal he had heard an argument and Wood’s desperate screams emanating from the yacht.

As per OK Magazine, the teen, now an adult, explained why he initially stayed silent. Rulli revealed, "The reason the witnesses didn't speak out earlier is because, at the time, the case was declared an accident so fast they just ignored what they saw or heard." The memory, he admitted, has haunted him for over four decades. Rulli spilled, "He heard an argument, and he told me he heard Natalie's screams that made him feel uncomfortable. But he didn't report it to police because he thought it was an open-and-shut drowning case."

Rulli revealed that his testimony aligns with accounts given by the yacht’s captain, Dennis Davern. Davern has consistently maintained that tensions brewed aboard the yacht the night Wood disappeared, culminating in a heated altercation between the actress and her husband, Robert Wagner Wood’s marriage to Wagner was far from smooth sailing. Reports of jealousy, infidelity rumors involving her Brainstorm co-star Christopher Walken, and a history of conflict painted a volatile picture of their union.

According to Davern, Wagner smashed a wine bottle in a jealous rage, accusing Wood of an affair with Walken. Witnesses claim his chilling shout of "Get off my f***ing boat!" echoed shortly before she vanished into the dark waters, as reported by Daily Mail. Rulli revealed another incident regarding violence and shared, "She said she saw Wagner come into their dressing room [before the incident].”  A neighbor from the 1950s recalled a harrowing memory of Wood banging on their door in the middle of the night, seeking refuge from Wagner, whom she reportedly feared might kill her. 

It was revealed, “He remembers Natalie banging on the door in the middle of the night. She was asking for a place to stay for the night because [Wagner] was going to kill her.” Wagner was declared a person of interest in 2018 but was cleared in 2022 due to insufficient evidence. Rulli, however, remains hopeful. Rulli exclaimed, "The case will remain open as long as Robert Wagner is alive because he is the suspect…I still hold hope the Los Angeles DA will see fit to let the strong previous evidence, and the new evidence I have gathered, bring justice for Natalie's murder…It still bothers him and he wanted to tell me what he knew.”