Extended Book Summary
Brainstorm: An Investigation of the Mysterious Death of Film Star Natalie Wood. This Natalie Wood book is an ingenious first-person account of Sam Perroni’s investigation of Natalie’s case as if he were a prosecutor. In doing so, Perroni obtained unseen and confidential original official files, documents, photographs and information from long-lost witnesses revealing the true circumstances surrounding Natalie’s death. The personal side of what drove and fueled the author to keep investigating when officials tried to shut him out adds a new and unsavory dimension to a persistent mystery.
In this Natalie Wood book about her death, Perroni’s extensive background helped him take a fresh look at reports and discover new witnesses — to reveal never before recognized facts and forensic evidence, inferences and motives pointing to homicide and the only possible suspect — is fascinating. And the red flags that appeared along the way to help him discover a cover-up, orchestrated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and powerful Hollywood insiders during the initial investigation, helped to make this Natalie Wood book glaringly sensational. In exposing an ulterior motive for reopening the case in 2011, Perroni provides an answer to an explosive question: Why weren’t criminal charges filed over Natalie Wood’s death?
And Perroni presents a convincing case for the reader using powerful evidence that was either locked in Los Angeles County archives or that he uncovered in the official files of the Los Angels County Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner – Coroner’s office. The book also includes never before seen or heard of motive evidence discovered in North Carolina where Natalie shot scenes for her last movie, Brainstorm, a month before she drowned in deep, dark water off Catalina Island.
“If you have any interest in deciding for yourself whether someone got away with the murder of Natalie Wood — this book is for you.”
— MARILYN WAYNE, Eyewitness
Seeking Justice
Why would I take years of my life and spend a small fortune to investigate the death of someone I had only known through movies, television and books? I didn’t need the attention and publicity. I had garnered more than my fair share while actively trying criminal cases. And, I didn’t need something to keep me busy. I had plenty to do.
My answer to your question is openhearted. It was the sheer travesty of it all and my admiration for a woman who had the temerity to want everything a good life consists of—a happy marriage, healthy children and a successful career doing something she was born to do.
What’s more, I believed people like me needed closure. We needed something more than a news conference, sensational sound bites or vague accusations by a spokesman from the Los Angeles County coroner or sheriff’s department. We needed the truth, and if it was possible, we needed justice.