22 Nov 2011 17:46:21
"Increasing news media attention likely is what caused more than one person to recently come forward with several pieces of new information," Lt. John Corina told TheWrap on Saturday morning. He said that a 2-year-old book by captain Dennis Davern and co-author Marti Rulli did not "have an impact in the decision."
Police decided to reopen the investigation just as CBS producers were finishing a "48 Hours" program spotlighting Wood's death that originally was intended to air November 26. Since then, the captain for Wood and husband Robert Wagner's boat has gone on the interview circuit, and CBS moved the program up, airing it this past Saturday night.
Police, meanwhile, are talking with the current owner of the Splendour in Hawaii.
It's a fast-moving story sparked by a 10-year-old article in Vanity Fair that is the basis for the "48 Hours" investigation. The magazine, which tied a special edition about Hollywood scandals to the CBS program, quickly took credit for its role in the reopened investigation. But the "48 Hours" program seems to have really accelerated the process.
"We're grateful for the opportunity to drive the discussion and motivate the L.A. County Sheriff's Department to take a second look," "48 Hours" executive producer Susan Zirinsky told TheWrap during a break from the editing room on Saturday afternoon, where they were rushing to prepare the segment for air.
At the very least, she believes their show compelled the Sheriff's Department to hurriedly announce the new investigation -- which, in turn, compelled "48 Hours" to move things up by a week.
Zirinsky said that as of Tuesday, "48 Hours" was prepared to report that "the L.A. County Sheriff's Department was looking at the material and they would decide, based on their assessment, whether or not they would reopen the case.
"On Wednesday, we were clarifying and checking in again, because we were doing the final post-production on the show that would air Thanksgiving weekend -- and they flagged us and said, 'Well, you know what, you don't have to say 'looking at it to assess.' Call it 'opened.'"
Explosive allegations about the actress's death have been out in the open for two years -- ever since Davern, the captain of her ill-fated voyage, collaborated on tell-all book "Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour" with Rulli. Both figure prominently in the "48 Hours" piece.
