Natalie Wood's Death Boat Ransacked! Robert Wagner Hired Thugs To Trash Key Evidence

Natalie Wood's yacht is being torn to shreds, destroying critical evidence in her mysterious death — and multiple sources suspect her husband, Robert Wagner, is behind it! RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively vandals have ripped out antique lanterns from the Splendour’s stateroom, a ladder from its wheelhouse and a pump that prevents flooding. Now, investigative journalist Marti Rulli believes Wagner — who’s been named by cops as a “person of interest” in the beauty’s death — may have hired “drifters” to damage the yacht! “Wagner knowing that the boat is a crucial piece of evidence could easily make it a target to be destroyed,” said Marti, noting the former “Hart to Hart” hunk has a “dark side.”

Private investigator Vincent Parco told RadarOnline.com: “It goes without saying crucial evidence has been compromised!

“If investigators ever wanted to use that boat again to do any forensic tests, they won’t be able to because it’s being trampled on and destroyed.”

The Splendour’s current owner, Jean Riley, has docked the craft at the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor outside Honolulu, and is stunned at the damage. “The gate is never locked, and I once went there and found people on the Splendour in the middle of the night,” Jean told RadarOnline.com exclusively. “People were just breaking in and vandalizing the boat! It’s literally falling apart! It occurred to me that it may have something to do with the Natalie case. I wonder if it’s all connected?”

As photos exclusively obtained by RadarOnline.com reveal, the damage to the case may have already been done.

Vandals have also plundered the ship’s steering wheels, and the boat’s mechanic removed the captain’s chair after he spotted evidence someone was trying to pry it loose, Jean told RadarOnline.com. Large gashes have opened on the 60-foot ship’s starboard side after crooks swiped the bumpers protecting the vessel from crashing against the pier.

What’s more, Jean can’t afford to dry dock the Splendour to preserve it for investigators, and she’s desperately trying to sell the yacht before it sinks. Despite its current condition, the Splendour was once a haven for the late “West Side Story” siren and Wagner. The couple, along with Natalie’s “Brainstorm” co-star Christopher Walken, were aboard the boat off California’s Catalina Island for a pleasure cruise on Nov. 28, 1981, when she mysteriously vanished.

As RadarOnline.com has reported, Natalie and Wagner had gotten into a violent argument that evening. The 43-year-old actress’ body, clad in a nightgown, red jacket and socks, was found the next morning, floating facedown about a mile from the yacht. The Los Angeles coroner initially ruled Natalie’s death an accident by drowning and hypothermia.

In February, cops officially named the 88-year-old actor a “person of interest,” noting he was the last person seen with Natalie while she was alive. As RadarOnline.com recently reported, L.A. County Sheriff’s Department Det. Ralph Hernandez said Natalie was beaten to a pulp before she was heaved unconscious into the sea.