By Zanub Saeed
Actress Natalie Wood, who death by drowning in 1981 was announced as accidental, is now "open and ongoing" and "undetermined" in terms of the actual reason of her death, said The Hollywood Reporter and CBS this week.
The new inquiry of Wood's death off the coast of Cataline Island has been opened, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The investigation was opened again, though in January the sheriff's department said they it was very unlikely that there would be an update or news regarding Wood's mysterious death, and whether or not it was accidental.
The first story of the case being changed from "accident" to "undetermined" came last week from TMZ, though there is no solid proof yet that the case in question has actually been changed. The case was opened in November 2011 just days prior to the 30th anniversary of Wood's death, said the Hollywood Reporter.
"We have no information on whether that has happened or not," said forensic attendant Julie Bishop of the coroner's office when asked July 6 about the potential change in the stated cause of Wood's death, as noted by the Hollywood Reporter.
Wood and then-husband Robert Wagner, along with fellow actor Christopher Walken, were boating on the ship named Splendour off Catalina when the actress died from drowning. Both men are not considered subjects, noted the Hollywood Reporter, though it was recalled by boat captain Dennis Davern that Wood was fighting with Wagner prior to her death. Wood was 43 years old at the time of her death.
When the investigation opened again in November, sheriff's department Lt. John Corina said that they might go to investigate Walken and Wagner once again about the death, though information on what happened with that were never released.
"It's an ongoing investigation, I have no comment," said Steve Whitmore, spokesman for the sheriff's department, when they issued a press release on July 6 regarding the change of case.
