For more than four decades, one night has followed Robert Wagner everywhere. On November 29, 1981, his wife, Hollywood star Natalie Wood, drowned off California’s Catalina Island while aboard the yacht Splendour with Wagner, Christopher Walken and the boat’s captain. What happened during those final hours has remained one of Hollywood’s most enduring mysteries.

Wagner has described an argument with Walken over Wood’s acting career, admitting that he became angry and smashed a wine bottle. According to Wagner’s account, Wood eventually went below deck while the two men continued talking. Later, when Wagner went looking for her, Wood was gone—and so was the yacht’s dinghy. Her body was discovered hours later. Wagner has maintained that he does not know exactly how she entered the water.

Years later, investigators reopened the case, and in 2018 authorities publicly described Wagner as a person of interest. Wood’s death certificate had also been amended, with the manner of death changed from accidental to “undetermined.” Investigators said questions remained about how she ended up in the water, while Wagner’s representatives have denied that he was responsible for her death.

When Wagner revisited that devastating night with Wood’s daughter Natasha in the 2020 documentary, his emotions were unmistakable. He said the night had gone through his mind countless times and became tearful remembering learning that Wood had been found dead. More than four decades later, the central question remains unanswered: exactly how did Natalie Wood end up in the dark waters off Catalina Island?