Robert Wagner has turned into a recluse as more damning details about his involvement in his late wife Natalie Wood’s mysterious drowning in 1981 come to light, sources say.
“There’s new scrutiny on the case that could have dire consequences for him,” says an insider.
But sources tell the National Enquirer that the 95-year-old Hart to Hart heartthrob is too tortured and consumed by guilt to face the truth.
Robert — R.J. to his friends — has always actively interacted with fans on social media, but has been keeping a low profile in recent months. On July 4, instead of the usual friendly video chat, he just posted an old photo of himself on Instagram.
An insider says the recently uncovered evidence has “shattered him in body and spirit” and left him feeling isolated.
As readers know, the West Side Story star drowned after spending a weekend on the yacht Splendour with her husband and Brainstorm costar Christopher Walken.
Homicide detectives now have reason to believe that R.J. was cheating on Natalie before her death — with future wife Jill St. John.
Jill, 85, maintains she didn’t start dating R.J. until three months after his wife’s death. The two have been married since 1990.
“I think Jill stepped into the program prior to Natalie’s death,” Splendour’s skipper, Dennis Davern, previously told the National Enqurier. He claimed he was kept inside R.J.’s mansion after the tragedy to keep him silenced — and that Jill was also there.
“She was at Wagner’s house instantly, but I couldn’t see what was going on because I was trapped in that room,” he said, adding that he could only leave when accompanied by the actor’s “thugs.”
“I think there was something else going on beside just feeling sorry for him,” Davern said of the Diamonds Are Forever star.
According to the insider, “Natalie’s death is still an open, unsolved case. R.J. may have been ruled out as a person of interest, but this new revelation that detectives believe he was cheating on Natalie is damning.”
“He’s been warned that the L.A. Sheriff’s Department will investigate any piece of new information. And now he’s scared and doesn’t want to show his face.”
“The memories won’t leave him alone, but he’d rather crawl into the woodwork than confront the past. He knows he doesn’t have a huge amount of time left, and he’s worried something will come out to damn him forever!”
