Dennis Davern, the captain of Robert Wagner's yacht Splendour who was aboard the night that Natalie Wood died, was loaded on the night of her disappearance, he admitted to TMZ on Friday.
During an interview, Davern admitted that he'd had "quite a bit" to drink, including scotch and wine, but that his memory of the night's events are clear despite all the booze, and the passage of 30 years since Wood's death.
Also read: Sheriff's Department: Robert Wagner Not a Suspect in Natalie Wood's Death
"I think even if somebody's intoxicated, if something happens where it's startling, I think you can remember different things," Davern, who wrote a book, "Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour," about Wood and her death.
He recounted a weekend of tension between Wagner, Wood and her co-star Christopher Walken, with Wagner at one point smashing a wine bottle on the table and asking Walken whether "he was trying to 'blank' his wife."
The captain also said he searched for the 43 year old actress after she went missing — to a point. He said that Wagner told him not to call the Coast Guard when he suggested doing so.
"I was thinking that maybe he was thinking about his image," Davern said.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's department announced Thursday that it was re-opening the investigation into Woods' death, after receiving new information from sources.
During an interview on the "Today" show Friday, Davern said that he had lied to investigators during their initial investigation.