Taken To The Grave- A Sacramento Mystery

Alice Louisa Curtis' grave

Over 110 years ago, lived a young, beautiful and ambitious young lady named Alice Louisa Curtis. In 1902, she was 25 years of age and in the prime of her young adult life when her life was taken, far too soon.  The secrets as to why or how exactly she died have been shrouded in mystery still to this day.

Alice was the daughter of William Roland Curtis Sr. and wife Susan Potter Curtis, of Oak Park. The Curtis' were originally from Massachusetts, arriving in Sacramento in 1852. Within two years time, Curtis had taken over his brother's homestead. Later after acquiring even more land, Mr. Curtis eventually donated some of the south-eastern portion of it to the city, naming it "Curtis Park."

In 1893, William Curtis, a devout Republican, was elected as a County Supervisor where he served for nearly eight years. The last two years of his service on the Board of Supervisor's he was elected Chairman.

William R. Curtis, Sr.

Curtis had five children, a son William Roland Curtis, Jr. , another son Frank (who died from a childhood illness) and three daughters, Carrie, Alice and Edna.  Their oldest child, William Roland died at the young age of 17 on August 23, 1880 from a scything accident on the farm, to which he unfortunately bled to death. I was able to find his death notice via the archived newspapers (Sacramento Daily Record Union, 8/24/1880).

The younger children were Carrie M. Curtis (Born 1865)  Alice Louisa Curtis (Born 1876) and the baby, Edna Curtis (born in 1884). In 1892, on December 26th, Carrie M. Curtis, the elder of the two daughters, married George Cutter.  George H. Cutter was one of the leaders of establishing the fruit growing industry in Sacramento, even becoming the President of the California Fruit Exchange for 20 years.

As far as Alice, she was one of the youngest and certainly, "Daddy's Little Girl."  Nothing was withheld from Alice due to growing up in such a prestigious family. Certainly, being among the youngest of the children was to her advantage during her young life.  It was stated that her father always made sure that she had "all the comforts money could procure."  So then that leads us to ask ourselves, why would this terrible tragedy have occurred at all?

Alice Curtis (c/o Dan Murphy)

THE MYSTERY

When I first learned of this story, a friend of mine had mentioned it to me. You see, both he and I share a similar passion for uncovering the truth about the lives and deaths of people who have long since passed on. Just as I go from cemetery to cemetery to stumble upon interesting stories and tales to research, he does as well.  I guess many years ago, he had found Alice's grave at the Historic Sacramento City Cemetery located at 1000 Broadway, in Sacramento. He then looked into the archives there and found some interesting information.

According to him, he found information that stated that Alice had been shot in the stomach, later dying. Speculation had spread that she had been involved in a secret relationship with a man that her father did not approve of. In fact, this man was someone her father despised. In fact, according to the Sacramento Bee, dated August 21st, 1902 states, "From one source the story has gone out that the reason for the opposition was that the young man had opposed Mr. Curtis in a political campaign, but those intimately acquainted with the Curtis family assert that this is not true and that all Mr. Curtis would exact from any applicant for a daughter's hand was that he should be of good and industrious character and able to support a wife as soon as he should assume the marriage obligation." 

Regardless of the story of her forbidden love, somehow Alice ended up shot and later died. My friend came to me wondering what else I could find out about this young woman, and I certainly was up for the task.

THE STORY

On August 19th, 1902 Alice Louisa Curtis was found at home with a wound to her chest, having been shot with a revolver. She was conscious when she was found, claiming that she alone had inflicted the wound by attempting to shoot herself in the heart. Unfortunately for her, the bullet passed through her breast and penetrated her left lung, completely missing her heart. Instead of a sudden death, she lingered for 3 days until finally dying.

Top: Alice Curtis, Below: The Curtis' Ranch House

Now during those three days, several people questioned her as to why or what exactly happened. She vowed she would never reveal why she did it, but continued to take the blame for her attempted suicide.

The San Francisco Call dated August 20th reads:

“ Attempts To End Life Of Promise” – Talented Young Woman in Sacramento at Death’s Door

“Sacramento, August 19- Alice Curtis, 25 years of age, the handsome and talented daughter of ex-Supervisor William Curtis shot herself in the left breast at a late hour this afternoon and is in a precarious condition. The Curtis family occupies a beautiful country home about a mile beyond the city limits. Mr. Curtis owns broad acres and he has been able to provide for his family all the comforts money can procure. Miss Curtis, still conscious, admits that she inflicted the wound, but gives no explanation for it, and the only theory that has been assigned is that she committed to the act while in a fit of melancholia due to a slight illness.

By all of her neighbors Miss Curtis is held in the highest regard and they are praying that she may be saved from death. But little is known concerning the details of the sad occurrence, the family being almost as completely mystified as are outsiders.

Miss Curtis was about her duties as usual this morning and seemed in ordinary health. She visited the home of a relative and there procured a revolver. Returning to her home, she placed the pistol against her heart, as she supposed, and fired. The bullet penetrated the lung, but did not touch the heart. Medical and surgical aid was promptly summoned and the patient made as comfortable as possible. She admitted the act, but gave no other reason than that she wanted to die.

Miss Curtis is a graduate of the Sacramento High School and a young woman of refinement, devoted to literary and musical studies. It is not known that she had any love affair, and as her relations with the rest of the family were of the happiest, today’s tragedy is all the more inexplicable.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

(August 21, 1902 San Francisco Call)

“Love Affair May Be Back Of The Tragedy”

Sacramento, Aug 20.- 

"Miss Alice Curtis, the handsome young daughter of  ex- Supervisor William Curtis, who shot herself yesterday afternoon, the bullet piercing her left lung, remains in a critical condition. It is still impossible to foretell the outcome. She is conscious, and it is said she has given no explanation of her attempt to take her life.

It appears to be the belief of many acquaintances of the young woman that a love episode had entered into her life, and that she grew despondent when her father, to whom she is greatly devoted and whose business affairs she manages, opposed the proposed match.

It is said that Miss Curtis formed the acquaintance of a young man living at Oak Grove and that a warm attachment followed. This her father did not favor owing to the fact that the young man gave no promise of ability to support a wife."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

(August 22, 1902 – San Francisco Call)

“Takes Her Secret To The Grave”

Sacramento, Aug. 21-

 "Miss Alice Curtis passed away at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Curtis, early this morning as a result of a self-inflicted bullet wound. The young woman died without revealing the cause of her act.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Why did Alice choose to end her young life?

Did she really shoot herself?   

Or was she covering for someone? 

Love @ Turn of the Century

One more thing to think about was that her body was not examined by doctors in Sacramento, but instead William Curtis had her body brought to San Francisco to be cremated before being brought back to Sacramento and buried in the family plot.  Now, if you think about that for a moment, why wouldn't a prestigious man like Curtis allow the local doctors to examine his daughter post-mortem or furthermore cremate her there? Well, one question that arose was that perhaps they would have noticed her in a delicate condition? Remember, it was 1902 and that could have brought reproach upon the entire family. Rumors spread around town like wildfire that she had been in an illicit affair with a man from Oak Grove, one whom her father did not approve of.

Now to me, if that was the case, that changes everything. Imagine what her father may have felt or wanted to do to that man had he learned of her condition and the fact that the man had not "made a promise to support a wife." In other words, the guy didn't want to marry her. Could Alice have tried to end the eminent shame she knew she would bring upon her family name, had she gone on with life and had a child out of wedlock? Could her father have been mad enough to attempt to shoot the man who had violated his daughter's virtue? What if Alice had jumped in front of her lover and took the bullet herself, continuing to preserve the truth of what really happened that afternoon all the way up to her last breath? For the record, I am not accusing that William Curtis did anything of the sort, this is just a simple theory.

Could it be that she was just so heartbroken that she was not able to be with the man she loved, that she felt that she had nothing left to live for? Or worse yet- what if the man she loved had no desire to make a life with her? Could that have brought on this 'melancholia' that the doctors diagnosed her with?

William Roland Curtis was never the same after Alice's death, only 5 years later he died at the age of 75 on January 27, 1907 (via The Sacramento Bee, 1/28/1907). His wife Susan also passed away 4 years after the death of Alice. I am sure it killed him inside knowing that he was unable to save his daughter, despite all the doctors he had dispatched to care for her during those painstaking last 3 days of her life.

For the record, we do not know for sure if Alice was pregnant or not, that is just another possible theory.  The only other possible scenarios were that either she was so heartbroken of the fact she could not be with the man she loved, that she took her own life or she was accidentally shot and didn't want to say by whom.

Sadly, the true secret as to why Alice ended up with a bullet in her chest, later dying from such injuries, will be one that literally was taken to the grave with Alice. She and she alone holds the key to solving that mystery, a mystery we shall never truly solve.

No matter why, how or who truly pulled the trigger that hot August afternoon in 1902, let us never forget the story of Alice Louisa Curtis.

Alice's final resting place

TO READ MORE ABOUT ALICE'S LIFE AND DEATH, AS WELL AS MANY OTHER MYSTERIOUS AND BIZARRE TALES, PURCHASE YOUR COPY TODAY OF: "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered." Available now on Amazon!

(Original Copyright- 10/30/2012, J'aime Rubio)
Also published in the book, "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered" by J'aime Rubio, 2016. 
www.jaimerubiowriter.com

SOURCES:
(2) PHOTOS: of Alice Curtis c/o Dan Murphy
Sacramento Bee, 1/28/1907
Sacramento Bee, 8/20/1902
Sacramento Bee, 8/21/1902
Sacramento Daily Record Union, 8/24/1880
San Francisco Call, 8/20/1902
San Francisco Call, 8/21/1902
San Francisco Call, 8/22/1902
Curtis Park House History
"Sacramento, Happenings in History's Spotlight"-
Sacramento Bee via Pete Basofin (4/8/2012)

A BIG THANK YOU TO:
Find A Grave (website) via Roland Boulware, contributor/freelance photographer
Thank you Sacramento City Cemetery, Archives (and the lovely ladies who work there!)
Thank you to Dan Murphy for photos of Alice, and to Tuula Laine from the Sacramento Library!

Jeanne French & The Red Lipstick Murder- Los Angeles 1947

It was a cool, dewy morning that Monday out on “The Moors.” It was a lover's lane of sorts. A place where hills once stood overlooking Los Angeles, near Indianapolis Street and Grand View Avenue. Just as a young bulldozer operator was travelling near the site of a new housing project that morning, he stumbled upon the body of a woman.

The name of the victim was Mrs. Jeanne French. The details surrounding the events prior to her death remain a mystery to this day. Many claim to have tied her murder to the infamous Black Dahlia Murder of Elizabeth Short that took place just one month prior to Jeanne French’s death. As much as people like to speculate, there are NO TIES to Jeanne French’s murder and Elizabeth Short’s.

LET ME EXPLAIN-

When Jeanne French’s body was found, the media had made it there probably just as soon as the police did. Being that the local papers and reporters listened in on the same radio frequency as the police dispatch, the crime scene was not kept a secret for long. It was well known that the reporters took photos of the body and quickly tied this murder to the Dahlia case based on one thing, initials.

The body of Jeanne French was literally stomped on to death. She had been stomped in such a vicious manner that her ribs fractured and her liver among other internal organs had hemorrhaged so badly that she internally bled to death. She had also been knocked in the head with an object but that did not kill her. It was the stomping of her upper body that ultimately did poor Jeanne in.

On her naked and exposed body was written, “F--- YOU P.D.” and then “TEX” just below it. What many people think based on misguided information is that the body said “B.D.” as in BLACK DAHLIA, however the Coroner’s report even explained that the lipstick spelled out P.D. not B.D.

Let’s stop here and imagine we could go back in time, to the moments before she died. Let’s really think about this for a second. Here is Jeanne French, lying there probably dying a slow painful death. She was naked and exposed to the elements. Her murderer had stomped on her with his shoes, the same shoes that walked through the dirt, rocks and grassy areas to get her body there. Imagine now it is around 2-3 am and the morning dew was setting in all around. Imagine all the dirty foot prints left all over her body and then he decides to write on her body with her red lipstick. 

It appears as if he wrote “P” (see mark 'A' on photo) and then attempted to write “D” (see mark 'B' on photo) but perhaps her skin was too slippery from the dirt, the morning dew and grass to accept the texture of the lipstick, so he moved over a space and now he finally completed the letter “D” (see mark 'C' on photo). That is why it looks like an extra loop in between the P and the D. If you look closely enough you will see that it really doesn’t look like a “B” at all, in fact the bottom part of the B would look significantly larger than the top. What do you think he is going to do, wipe it off and start writing all over? It’s not like he had a great margin for error…

Another conclusion is that the bottom part of the B is quite simply a muddy heel mark that curves perfectly and happened to have been on the right part of the skin that during the photograph taken appeared to show a B instead of a P. Nevertheless, the Coroner stated that the writing “in lipstick” was “F--- YOU P.D.” and “TEX.”

JEANNE FRENCH- THE WOMAN, THE WIFE, THE MOTHER

 

So who was this lady Jeanne French? She was a 45 year old woman who lived in Los Angeles. She had once been known as one of the first “flying nurses” during WWII, where she gained much recognition for her contributions to the country. She dabbled in acting, only nailing small roles in her younger years, using the stage name “Jeanne Axford Thomas.”

Jeanne had married young to a rich oil tycoon named David Yandell Wrather of Amarillo, Texas. In 1920, Jeanne gave birth to her first and only child, David Yandell Wrather Jr. By 1924, the marriage between French and Wrather had fell apart and records show that French gained full custody of the young boy who was only four years old at the time.

Between the years 1924-1938, while her son was a minor, it is unknown as to what she did for a living and how she supported her son. She was good friends with oil heiress Millicent Rogers, so it is logical to think she was in a socialite lifestyle during her young adult years. It is possible that she continued her small acting jobs or went to school to be a nurse, but I have not been able to locate any other information about this. I did find that by the time that WWII had broke out she was long gone serving her country all over the globe travelling with “The International Set.”

In 1945, French met serviceman Frank French, who was a veteran of two wars. They had only been married for two years before the marriage began to fall apart. French, probably being resentful for the fact her new husband couldn’t provide that lavish lifestyle she had been accustomed to, began drinking heavily to ease her pain. She became a mean drinker and would often take it out on her husband after she had a few drinks in her.

Frank French, on the other had was dealing with his own personal problems. Coming home from the war, the experiences he dealt with first hand at Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attack obviously had taken its toll on him mentally. In fact, he had agreed to a six month marital separation and that he would admit himself to a psychiatric ward of the V.A. Hospital just days before his wife was killed.

Frank & Jeanne French

THE DAY BEFORE THE MURDER-

The day was February 9, 1947 and it was a Sunday evening. Just nine days prior French and her husband Frank had got into a bad argument where Frank ended up punching her in the face and giving her a black eye. French then had her husband arrested on domestic violence charges. Soon after that incident, Frank moved out to a small apartment in Santa Monica near his job while, French remained at their residence alone.

The night of Sunday, February 9^th, Jeanne was seen visiting her estranged husband’s apartment at 1547 Stanford Avenue, Santa Monica around 11:45 pm. The couple argued outside the front porch for awhile before Jeanne was seen leaving without her husband. Her husband was questioned later where several articles in the paper say that he had been out drinking with her earlier in the evening, but then other statements say that he remained home for the evening and even had his landlady vouch for his alibi.

Jeanne then went out after visiting Frank and ended up at The Picadilly Drive-In at 3932 Sepulveda Avenue, in Los Angeles between 12:00 and 1:00 am. A carhop was stated later saying that he saw French eating with a mystery man, later leaving her car parked there. A janitor later claimed the car was still parked there well after 2 am. It is obvious to conclude that Jeanne then left in the car of her murderer, unknowingly of course. 

WHO KILLED HER? 

When you think of the classic whodunit tale you must first come up with a motive. In this instance, many would first think it had to be her husband, right? Wrong!!

Did he have a motive? Sure he did, but did he do it? I don’t think so.

From all the interviews it seems that Jeanne was more the violent type than Frank was. Yes, he “allegedly” beat her up nine days before she died, but do we know what Jeanne did leading up to it? Even Detective Gene Bechtel said after questioning Frank, that he could see Frank couldn’t have done it, “His story stands up.” There was no evidence pointing to him anyways. 

The footprint of the killer was significantly smaller than Frank’s shoe size and he wasn’t getting anything out of her dying anyways. Yes, Jeanne’s death cancelled their court appointment that morning for the domestic violence charges he was being charged with along with an impending divorce. But one thing many do not mention was that Frank had already applied for admission to the psycho-neurotic ward of the V.A. Hospital to help him cope with all the issues he had experienced during the war just to show Jeanne was trying to get better. You see, he wanted to get better and see if it helped matters.

From the articles and interviews, Jeanne was not exactly the perfect person either. She was a drinker, and mean one, too. Her own son David Yandell Wrather Jr. made remarks to that effect when his step father was quoted saying, “She was mean when she had been drinking.”

MORE TO THE STORY-

Well, to go further into the story we then have to dig a little deeper. Remember Jeanne’s body also had the name “TEX” written on the left side of her waist in red lipstick?

Why doesn’t anyone ever bring this up? Simple, no one has ever figured it out.

TEX is obviously standing for Texas. Jeanne was from Texas originally, and her first husband was from Texas as well. After her marriage to David Yandell Wrather was over, she ended up a single mother with custody of their son, David Y. Wrather Jr.

So what became of her ex-husband? He remarried a lady named Lucille and records indicate that in 1932 they had a son, who they also named DAVID YANDELL WRATHER! 

Back up a second, did you notice something?! Why on earth would a father name his second son, after the first son he had? That doesn’t make any sense to me. Does it make sense to you?

So he was married to Jeanne and had a son in 1920, who he named David Yandell Wrather. Then they divorce and Jeanne takes the boy. 1930, he remarries this time to a lady named Lucille and has a son in 1932 and names him David Yandell Wrather, too?! Too weird.

It almost seems as if this man was replacing the son that French took away. I did some records checking and I found the death information of David Wrather Sr. and his second wife. There are no records of their son on their graves or funeral notices, only the mention of a daughter they had, but no son. I find that quite strange, also. I am not saying this has anything to do with who killed Jeanne or that any of them did it, but I did have to state this because it just struck me as odd. Just an extra tidbit of trivia for you!

BACK TO THE STORY!

Could it have been possible that someone that Jeanne knew from Texas, even possibly a past relative or friend could have taken out revenge on her for something from the past? I think it is quite possible.

Her very own son David, when he was told the news that she had passed, was said to have collapsed from the emotional stress. He then told the police he wanted to speak to his step father alone without them listening, saying “He will tell me things that he won’t tell you.” Of course Captain Donahue declined his request.

As David Yandell Wrather Jr. came in to speak to his step-father he shouted, “Well, I have told them the truth.”

I don’t know about you but that sounds strange. Does that sound like something you are going to blurt out? Especially, the minute you walk into a room to speak to a person that is being held for questioning on the murder of your mom? 

When Frank French replied “I swear to GOD I didn’t kill her,” then Wrather replied back, “You know I loved Mom very much.”

Now I don’t want to start blaming people and accusing them of anything, but I still find Wrather’s comments to be strange and out of place. (Again, I am not accusing anyone!)

Later on David Y. Wrather Jr. was interviewed for various newspapers saying, “She made friends easy, awful easy. She went out alone sometimes. She's gone now, and I'm sure she would want me to say the right thing. She made a lot of her own trouble. Her husband tolerated a lot from her. He was a tolerant man, a very tolerant man."

Was her son insinuating that his step-father did it? But then why didn’t the evidence point to Frank? Remember this, her own son said “She made a lot of her own trouble.” Could this mean he was insinuating that she often pissed people off? How many enemies then do you think Jeanne may have made?

Who then could have had such a resentment to Jeanne that he could have just lost it and murdered her? It was said that the murder of Jeanne French was a murder of hate. Whoever did this to her was very mad at her, to the point of insanity. I believe that whoever killed Jeanne had some connection to Texas and was mocking the police, as if they had some deep pockets and weren’t going to get caught.

I also find it interesting that there was a mystery man questioned later but all records remained sealed, so no one knows who it is. It was as if the whole thing was covered up due to deep pockets and people in high places. Smells like rich people with lots of money to me. 

MY CONCLUSION

The murder of Jeanne French was an atrocity of mass proportions, there is no doubting that. The connection people claim it has to the Black Dahlia is a nonexistent one.

There have been people such as the likes of writer, Steve Hodel that claim his father Dr. Hodel was in fact the murderer of Jeanne French as well as all the other unsolved murders of women in Los Angeles during that time period. Despite the fact that the Modus Operandi in each murder is significantly different, except for the murder of Georgette Bauerdorf and Elizabeth Short, Steve Hodel still claims his father is the serial killer.

Jeanne French was not killed by the same person who killed the Black Dahlia. There is no way. The killer cut Elizabeth Short up and literally butchered her. Her body was not precisely dissected, but upon a closer examination you would see that a common butcher knife was used to cut her up like a piece of meat. There was no ingenious mad surgeon going around killing just a few women with knives and scalpels and then later choosing Jeanne just to stomp to death.  Dr. Hodel is not some omnipresent person who saw all and was everywhere at all times. It is ludicrous to even think that Dr. Hodel was the killer of the Black Dahlia let alone also the Torso Murders of Cleveland and the Lipstick Murders of Chicago as some claim.

With ending, I have to say that Jeanne French’s murder was just a murder by someone who apparently knew her and had a strong hatred for her. Could it have been her son? No, I don't think so. But even if I did think so, I won't stoop to such lows as to accuse him of it.

 

I just found out that Jeanne French's son passed away this year, according to my research. I also find it in poor taste to accuse someone of murder (a) without evidence and (b) who doesn’t have the capability to defend himself.   I do think that the killer of Jeanne French was someone who had been close to her at one point or another and more than likely had ties to Texas (given the TEX found on her body).

In the end, the answer to who killed Jeanne is inconsequential being that they are long dead by now and thus have to account for their sins with GOD on their own. 

What I bring to this story is the truth. Jeanne French was a woman who had a story. She was a wife and a mother. She lived a short while in the social limelight and had her dreams crushed later as age took its toll on her. She became bitter and sad and went to alcohol for relief. Perhaps too many drinks that night led her to poor judgment and poor reflexes, which didn’t help her fight off her attacker.

Her body was then left to be humiliated out in the open, exposing her to the elements. The killer wanted to make a statement, he wanted to show her for who he thought she was…..obviously he hated her if he chose to stomp her to death. All the while her poor cold body lay there on the dirt and rocks and grass, slowly dying. Each breath growing shorter and shorter until no breath at all. Somehow her story became entangled with another high profile story that had a life of its own, leaving Jeanne's story to fade to black and be forgotten.

This story is to remember Jeanne French as an individual with a story of her own. Not to be a stapled attachment to the Black Dahlia Case, but to show that her murder was as significant as Elizabeth Short’s, just different. A woman was killed, a murder was committed and a mystery left unsolved.

J'aime Rubio 2011 (copyright)

Sources:

The Pittsburgh Press- 2/11/1947

Tonawanda New York Paper- 2/11/1947

The Gazette- 2/12/1947

The Evening News- 2/11/1947

Reading Eagle- 2/11/1947

Personal Research-Archives

Beaten Before Death- Natalie Wood Investigation

One of Hollywood’s most eluding mysteries has resurfaced just a few days shy of the 30 year anniversary of actress Natalie Wood’s untimely death. Speculation has always surrounded her death from the very beginning. It is known now that the Sheriff’s re-opening of the investigation has sparked even more controversy.

I think I can speak for many out there that are happy that some new information has come “to light.” However, I cannot help but wonder why this is all coming out now? I am not saying that it’s not a good thing, because I agree that her death was not investigated thoroughly and perhaps even covered up. But even if the investigation is done for a second time, it doesn’t’ mean that people won’t get “paid off” again. After all isn’t that how Hollywood works?

I was speaking to one of my friends, who happens to be an actor, and we were just talking about this very subject awhile back. Since I love to look into mysteries and cover-ups he had encouraged me to look into the story and write about it on my blog. I put in on my list of many stories I had planned on doing over the course of the next month or two.

To my surprise, since there was a floodgate of information just spewing in front of me on the internet because of the police finally deciding to reopen the case, I suddenly felt the urge to stop working on my other stories and get to work on this story. Earlier this week, I read about Dennis Davern, the Captain of Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood’s yacht “Splendour”. He recently came forward with information regarding that fateful night in 1981.

I have also read a few news articles that a woman by the name of Marilyn Wayne, (a verbal witness- you could say) claimed to hear Natalie’s cries for help on the terrible evening of her death. I have gone over the stories each person has stated and the stories that the Medical Examiner Thomas Noguchi stated for the news media in 1981, I have even pulled Natalie’s 34 page autopsy report and went over it.

I am going to go over each person’s statements and also the facts I have uncovered and let you decide for yourself. After is all said and done, you can make your own opinions of whether you think she just “slipped and fell” or if you think something more sinister took place.

Remember, as much as you want to believe something, the facts and stories can be two different things. Just because you want to believe or don’t want to believe something , it doesn’t mean it did or didn’t happen. The facts speak for themselves and one discrepancy or mistake is all one needs to find that can send an entire story unraveling before your very eyes.

Robert Wagner’s Story: 

According to Natalie’s husband, Robert Wagner, he said that fellow actor and friend Christopher Walken had joined them for the evening on their yacht, “Splendour”. They had enjoyed dinner and drinks on the island to the point that they were all “tipsy.” Later on in the evening a heated argument between the two men had taken place where Wagner claimed that Walken had been encouraging Wood to put her career first instead of devoting energy and time to her personal life. Wagner explained that this infuriated him and lead to their fight which led up to Wagner slamming a bottle of wine down and breaking it out of anger.

According to Wagner, his wife had retired to the Master Stateroom for the night. He claimed that when he came to their room he found that it was empty and assumed she had gone back up on deck, but then he noticed that the dinghy was gone. He said that he couldn’t imagine that she would have gone being that she was deathly afraid of the dark waters and could not swim.

He also claimed that the engine of the dinghy was very loud and that he didn’t hear it turn on, but goes on to admit that he thought she may have taken it anyways. It was reported that he admitted that the dinghy’s engine was so loud that they would often hear it through the soundproof walls of the yacht. When asked why Wagner didn’t signal for help to the coast guard for several hours he claimed "We had just run out of options, but I didn't allow myself to actually contemplate what that meant – it was too unthinkable."

So if we are to believe his story, then we are to believe that he just couldn’t come to grips with the fact that she was gone so he didn’t do anything? That they were on a boat just off the coast of Catalina and his wife, the love of his life was no longer on it so he doesn’t bother to call for help or report her missing for three hours because he was wishing she would just magically appear or what?

“Nobody knows,” Robert Wagner wrote in his book “Pieces of My Heart.” Really Robert? Nobody?

The Captain’s Story:

Dennis Davern claims that Robert Wagner became enraged at Walken and even cursed at him during a heated argument saying “What do you want to do, f**k my wife? Is that what you want?”"

Walken then went to his room and Woods went to the Master Stateroom. About a minute later Wagner joined Woods in the room and there was loud yelling and the sounds of breaking glass and throwing of objects and then complete silence. 

According to Davern’s book “Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour” he goes on to say “We didn’t take any steps to see if we could locate her. It was a matter of don’t look too hard, don’t turn on search light, don’t call anyone.”

Why Davern decided to come forth now is still a mystery, as he claims it is his conscience. His book was published a few years ago so I am figuring that it has taken some time for the police to find any credible reason to re-open the case? I find the timing to be quite interesting since it is nearly the 30 year anniversary of Natalie Wood’s death. Nevertheless, the story is out now and the case has been re-opened.

According to the Co-Author of the book “Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour” Marti Rulli stated that she had been working on this book since 1983 when a “distraught Dennis” contacted her. In her own words she goes on to state that she believed that this book was Dennis’ way to tell his account of what really happened. That the book was his way to redeem his character for letting his friend Natalie down for not speaking up for her.

In an interview done in 2008, Marti Rulli goes on to state that Dennis Davern was threatened directly by Wagner’s publicist, George Kirvey. This happened when Dennis had considered giving an interview back in 1984. The threats started out as a career interference and ended up as an ultimatum that “other things could happen” if he talked about Natalie’s death.

When Rulli was asked if she thought a crime took place the night Natalie died, she stated “The police are well aware of the controversy surrounding Natalie’s death and are now privy to information that had been withheld. They continue to look the other way.”

According to her interview she goes on to state that Dennis obeyed his boss’ demands to let attorneys draw up the official statement that Dennis signed regarding the events that took place that evening. Dennis claimed that every attempt he made to look for Natalie was shot down by Robert Wagner. Dennis even claims that Wagner said “absolutely not” when requested by Dennis to turn the search light on to find her in the water. It was as if Robert Wagner didn’t want to find her. After all, he did take three hours to call the Harbor Master to get the Coast Guard to send a search for her.

The Witness’ Story: 

According to Marilyn Wayne, she and her boyfriend were approximately 40 yards away from the “Splendour” that evening and could hear a woman’s cries for help. Marilyn goes on to say that her boyfriend heard the crying first and woke Marilyn up. She immediately called out for her son and she looked at his new digital watch that showed it was a few minutes after 11:00 pm. They tried to shine their lights out on the water to see where the sound was coming from but they could not see the person in the water because it was too dark.

Her statement goes on to say “While listening to the cries, we called the Harbor Patrol but no one answered. Then we called the Sheriff’s office in Avalon, 12 miles away, and whoever answered told us a helicopter would be sent, but it did not come. We heard loud music coming from somewhere, so thought there was a party on a nearby boat,” the statement said. “Then I heard a man’s voice, slurred, and in aggravated tone, say something to the effect of, “Oh, hold on, we’re coming to get you,” and not long after, the cries for help subsided, but we heard the cries for up to 15 minutes. We returned to bed, terribly disturbed.”

She later learned of the death of Natalie Wood and put the pieces together. She volunteered her information to the Police, however no one contacted her to question her. Three days later Marilyn found a scribbled note in her inbox at work threatening her to keep quiet about what she knew. It literally read, ‘If you value your life, keep quiet about what you know.’

Lana Wood- 

Natalie’s sister Lana Wood has always thought that the death of her sister was questionable. However I believe that her fear of “powerful people” had always kept her from making too big of a scandal in regards to this case. Now that the story has broke and people have come forward in this case she has opened up some to interviewers, however I can still feel a sense of fear and hesitation in her comments.

In all the interviews before she never really directly pointed the finger at Robert Wagner, even when you get the sense that she wanted to. In other interviews she had complained that Robert Wagner kept Natalie’s daughters from her as they were growing up but it didn’t look like she fought him on that. It seems she was always afraid of the “long reach” Wagner may have.

In a new interview Lana opened up, claiming that Dennis Davern confessed to her that when Natalie ended up in the water that Wagner (RJ) had forbidden Davern from helping her out of the water and back onto the boat. He claimed that (RJ) said “Leave her there, teach her a lesson.”

It is clear to Lana now that she believes Robert Wagner played a key role in the death of her sister, and she doesn’t seem to be backing down from her claims now, fear or not.

There were also some rumors that Wagner mentioned that he thought Natalie had left to another person’s yacht to have casual sex, and that was why he took so long on contacting the Harbor Patrol. Lana Wood claims that Natalie was very traditional as a married woman and sometime even frigidly so. Lana seems unconvinced of the alleged rumor that Natalie was going off to sleep with an unidentified person that night.

Back to Natalie- 

According to the reports, Natalie enjoyed her dinner and drinks on Catalina Island with her husband Robert Wagner and fellow actor/friend Christopher Walken on the night of November 29, 1981. According to employees at the restaurant, the three of them left around 10:30 pm from the restaurant back to the yacht.

Now whether Wagner and Walken fought about sex or careers we will never truly know, but we will always know that Natalie was alive when she boarded the “Splendour” that night after dinner. Sometime later she died in those coastal waters that evening around 11 p.m., the same time that Marilyn Wayne claims to have heard cries for help in the dark.

Natalie did not like the water, in fact she was deathly afraid of it. She often told her sister Lana that she believed she would die from drowning. I am a great swimmer and I am not afraid of the water, yet I wouldn’t even attempt tie a loose dinghy to a boat in the dark after a couple drinks. Natalie was not a young teenager who did stupid things while drinking, in fact she was in her forties. Do you really think a woman in her forties, who is aware of how she feels when “tipsy”and who is afraid of the water would risk that? I don’t think so. I am pretty sure that Natalie, being as verbal as she was about her fear of the water, made it clearly known to those around her how afraid she was of drowning.

Doug Bombard is the person who found Natalie’s body, and happened to also be friends of Wagner and Woods. He also owned the restaurant that they ate the night of Natalie’s death. They also frequented the spot while boating in Catalina on other occasions. He claimed that he saw something red in the water and came up to it on his boat, realizing it was the red down jacket that she was wearing that kept her floating towards the surface of the water due to its buoyancy. She was wearing a nightgown, red down jacket and wool socks. When her body was removed from the water they removed the jacket.

What I find interesting is the fact that Doug Bombard has been interviewed and claims that he believes that Natalie died by accident, as he never saw Wagner and Wood ever fight or act anything but “in love.” Of course he is going to say that, Wagner was a paying customer of his.

What I would like to know is why instead of calling the Harbor Master, Wagner called Bombard’s restaurant “Doug’s Harbor Reef” and allegedly requested that two employees start searching for Natalie? And isn’t it convenient that the restaurant owner just happened to be the one to find her body?

Another thing I would like to point out is the fact that the autopsy report from the medical examiner states that the body was spotted via helicopter but Bombard claimed that they all were searching different areas and that the red coloring of her down jacket was visible from the boat because of the sun shining on it while floating in the coastal waters. Bombard claims that is what drew him to her body, not the helicopter. So which story is right?

What about Natalie’s body?

It was obvious that she had suffered a terrible beating as she was covered in “numerous bruises” literally from head to toe. Also, Natalie had suffered from some sort of head injury as the autopsy report diagram shows from the markings. The doctor made notations that there was “Superficial Abrasions” above her left brow/forehead area and bruising on her left upper cheek bone area. The diagram goes on to state “probable upward direction”, meaning that the blow came from below and moved upwards inflicting injury. Why is this not noted in the actual written report? It seems like Medical Examiner Thomas Noguchi just chose to leave that one out.

He had no problem noting the rest of her body as being bruised on the written report, yet failed to mention it in his television statement on the news when he came forward initially to notify the press of Natalie’s cause of death. In fact, he didn’t mention one thing about the actual autopsy report, nor did he mention anything in medical terms. Instead he gave his “opinion” of how she died, which seemed more scripted than anything. Everyone seemed to have the same answer that Noguchi ended up stating practically verbatim, “She apparently attempted to get on to the dinghy, slipped and fell into the water, unable to return to the dinghy or the boat.” When asked whether alcohol had anything to do with her death he answered, “It was one of the contributing factors.”

Why didn’t Noguchi actually explain the injuries she sustained prior to her death?

Natalie’s right forearm had a “fresh” bruise that was approximately four inches by one inch in diameter on the very part of her arm that would have been bruised if you held your arm up to your face to block off an attack, it was a defensive bruise.

In fact the autopsy report reads:

“Right forearm shows a diffuse recent bruise over lateral aspect measuring approximately four inches by one inch above wrist. Left wrist slightly deformed on the lateral condyle of the ulna and it is very prominent, no fresh fracture. Bruise in this area is half inch in diameter.”

The report goes on to state that there were significant bruises on the front and back of both legs. Right and left lower legs had “numerous” bruises of half inch to one inch in diameter. Her right ankle had bruising that was two inches long. Page 27, Section 20A shows marked to her left cheekbone and the left forehead area above the brow, yet there are NO notations within the entire 34 page report explaining what it was from.

Medical Examiner Thomas Noguchi’s written opinion stated: 

“The autopsy findings are consistent with drowning in the ocean. The time of the death is difficult to pinpoint, but it appears to be at about midnight of November 28, 1981. Most of the bruises on the body are superficial and probably sustained at the time of drowning.”

Really Dr. Noguchi?

For one moment do you think I am going to believe that she sustained bruising that appears to have been from a beating but you expect the world to just accept it was from drowning in a large body of water? I don’t think so.

Also, the report mentions that she had two undigested pills in her lower intestine. In no way was it mentioned that these were drugs of any sort. In fact the report claims they appeared to be vitamins based on the look and the smell. In her blood tests the chemical Cyclizine was found in trace amounts, suggesting that she was suffering from motion sickness, as Cyclizine is treated for motion sickness such as various medications like Dramamine.

She also had a small amount of Propoxyphene (a pain killer) in her system, suggesting that she was suffering from mild to moderate pain. Is it possible that she took it after being beaten? I would say so.

Natalie was not on cocaine or any other illegal drugs as some sites like to throw out there. I have also read news articles suggesting that Natalie had taken a deadly cocktail of pills and alcohol and would have probably died whether she fell in the water or not. I beg to differ on that one.

However, it does show that her blood alcohol level was reportedly at 0.14 percent at the time of her autopsy. Think about this, when our bodies die they naturally start producing ethanol in order to start the process of decomposition. The production of ethanol within the body begins shortly after death. As the hours go by the bacteria begins to grow within the body and the bacteria itself produces the ethanol by converting it from sugars such a glucose. Natalie’s body was dead for about eight to nine hours before being recovered.

Another thing to consider is the fact that alcohol distributes itself unevenly through the body after death. Because of the fact that alcohol production in the body after death is the same as that from drinking, the blood-alcohol level alone cannot determine precisely whether or not the deceased was actually intoxicated at the time of death.

Blood plasma has a higher water content than whole blood, therefore it can show as 10 to 15 percent higher in an alcohol level test. The most accurate way to differentiate between levels of consumed alcohol in the system and the postmortem produced ethanol, would be by testing the vitreous humour (gel-like substance inside the eye). Testing that part of the body shows to be most accurate due to the fact that the vitreous humour collects little to no postmortem alcohol (the kind the body produces on its own).

According to Dr. Noguchi’s report, the samples taken from Natalie Wood’s body never reported having had tested the vitreous humour. In fact, it specifically states “The blood, urine, bile, stomach contents, liver tissue and kidney tissue are submitted for toxicologic investigation. The blood from the right and left chambers of the heart are separately submitted for the chemical tests.”

Yes it was reported that she had been drinking and was even “tipsy”, but was she really drunk? I have just proven to you that Wood’s alcohol content could have been caused by her own body’s production of ethanol after death.

Also, who is it that claimed she had been drinking? Think about it: Wagner, Davern and who else…the employees of the restaurant they ate at the night Wood died. The same restaurant whose owner pulled her body out of the water. The same owner who was “friends” of Wagner’s. Think about that.

So now that I have given you the facts of the story, what do you think? Is it possible that what the three men on the yacht originally said happened really was a lie? It is possible.

Personally I feel that Natalie was beaten before death. Perhaps she was thrown out in the water against her will, or perhaps she was so overcome by fear of what was going on in the yacht that she tried to swim to shore for help. Maybe the dinghy was untied on purpose and sent off to drift in the sea so that she couldn’t escape onto it. Has anyone ever thought of that? Maybe she ran out to get onto the dinghy, only to find that it wasn’t there.

Who really knows the truth? The men who were on the yacht that night know. I think it is great that the Captain of the yacht has come forward, but it seems that his interviews have been quite vague. There were at least two men on the deck when Natalie was drowning, obviously if Davern claims that Wagner wouldn’t let him save her.

Lana Wood claims that Davern confided that to her. What about Marilyn Wayne who heard the aggravated voice of a man saying “WE are coming to help you?”…..WE meaning more than just himself.

Where was Christopher Walken that whole time, passed out in his stateroom? Really? Why has he been so quiet all these years?

Whatever happened that night will probably be speculated forever unless the entire truth comes out. So it will go on and on, year after year while people murmur their opinions of whether she fell in and drowned by accident or was killed.

Natalie didn’t get those bruises by floating in the water, that is for sure. I find it quite interesting that no one ever seems to want to mention how badly beaten up she was. Celebrity "Cover Ups" have been going on forever…look at Paul Bern’s death, George Reeves and even Bob Crane for goodness sake. It doesn’t seem like they are going to stop either, and thus true justice still hasn’t been found, yet.

After all the research I did on this story and after all of the endless articles and videos I watched, I had to take a step back. 

I had to reflect on the meaning of this story to me, as a writer.  This story isn’t to defame anyone or to slander anyone, this story is to speak TRUTH and let the truth be known. Nothing I am writing on here hasn’t been said or documented already, as far as opinions of guilt or innocence is concerned. I am not the only person on earth that is convinced that Natalie Wood’s death could have been prevented.

Whether she was a battered wife who was victim to a jealous rage, a victim of some sort of sinister secret society plot, or murdered for knowing too much about William Holden’s real cause of death (another article I am working on)- we may never truly know. We can assume to know, we can come up with our own opinions and theories but we were not there. We did not see with our own eyes what did or didn’t happen.

The facts outweigh the stories that have been told throughout the years. Natalie was beaten before death, her bruises show this. She drowned in the ocean, the foaming of her mouth and nose as reported on the autopsy report shows this.

The witness Marilyn Wayne heard her cries for help and the time of death coincide to the time Marilyn heard the cries. Marilyn heard a man, an angry man, saying he was going to help her- but didn’t. Marilyn’s life was threatened to keep quiet. How do you think the person who threatened Marilyn, got her work information?

She did contact the Police and told them she was a witness. She obviously gave them her contact information. Seems a little sketchy if you ask me, since they had her info and then three days later she gets a note in her inbox at work threatening her? It is obvious that people in high places had a long reach in their methods of shutting people up.

Facts About Thomas Noguchi, Medical Examiner.

Have you ever wondered why Thomas Noguchi handled all of the “high profile” deaths of celebrities? He did Natalie’s autopsy and just two weeks before he did William Holden’s too. What about Robert F. Kennedy, Sharon Tate and of course the most notable, Marilyn Monroe. Are you aware that upon the autopsy of Marilyn Monroe, that Dr. Noguchi basically became famous overnight? Fame and fortune “followed” him after his autopsy on Monroe. Don’t you find that a bit interesting as well? Think about that.

Conclusion

Poor Natalie, she just wanted to juggle her schedule to be a good mom, wife and actress. She was full of life and love for those she opened her heart to. It is such a shame that her memory has been overshadowed by her untimely death. Whatever truly happened to Natalie is still a mystery of sorts for now. Possibly in the near future more information will come out in the wash, and I truly hope that is the case.

No matter what though, I have full confidence that Natalie’s memory will live on through her countless fans and her beloved family. Justice may not always come as soon as we hope, but eventually the truth does come out…it always does.

J'aime Rubio (Copyright 2011)

Sources:

"Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour" by Marti Rulli & Dennis Davern

"Pieces of My Heart" Robert Wagner

Natalie Wood's Autopsy Report

Natalie Wood Mystery In The News Again- Debbie Sklar (Laguna Niguel Patch)

Thomas Noguchi Interview

Alcohol Metabolism After Death

Forensic Science: Fundamentals and Investigations 2010 Update

CBS News, Examiner.com