Natalie's bruises

Several emails have asked me to describe once more what Dennis saw by way of bruising when he identified Natalie's body. What I wrote in GNGS is what Dennis told me and is what he saw. He saw lots of bruises, as exactly how he described it to me over 20 years ago. I never once questioned him about it, but apparently, because Roger Smith did not see the numerous bruises all over Natalie's body, it now comes into question what Dennis saw.

Fact: I did not order Natalie's autopsy report or see it until about 10 years after Dennis told me about the bruises he saw. The autopsy report is what substantiated Dennis's story for me, and then his passing of a polygraph test solidified what he had told me about the bruises.

I cannot answer for Roger Smith the way he apparently answered for Dennis. I "suggested" NOTHING about Natalie's bruises. They are clearly indicated -- all of them -- on the autopsy report, exactly in the areas Dennis told me he saw them, which is WHY I ordered a copy of the autopsy to substantiate his claim.

Dennis was taken to Natalie by men he didn't recognize. He was led into the decompression chamber divers on that part of the Island use. Natalie was lying on a table and Dennis saw her arm EXPOSED. He looked and saw her plain pair of blue wool socks, not high socks, but regular short wool socks, and near the socks on her LEG, near her ankle, he saw bruises. He counted bruises...it was easy to CONSCIOUSLY count what he saw....the bruises were hard to miss. Therefore, we have no way of explaining how Roger Smith did not see them. The bruises existed.

Perhaps Roger Smith did not have Natalie covered as completely as he thought or remembers. I don't know. Dennis saw the bruises on Natalie's face, arm, and legs. Don't exactly know how else to tell it.

Natalie's coat was across her body, and Dennis had no idea who was with her who showed him her face. That Roger covered Natalie with a blanket was not something I ever investigated....I did not talk with Roger until after GNGS was published. Dennis and I never talked about a blanket until I heard it from Roger, and Dennis says, yes, there was probably a blanket....what he recalls most was the horrible task of having to identify Natalie, and SEEING THE BRUISES. I included Roger's account in an epilogue for the paperback new version because I believe his version is important, too. Roger is adding information to his account he never told me. I reported what I was told.

Roger let me know long ago that he had issues with how Dennis could have seen Natalie's bruises...and Dennis and I were fine with that. I believe Roger recalls what he recalls, but I don't see how he can answer for Dennis, because Dennis saw bruises on Natalie's body. In fact, when Dennis saw the bruises, first thing to come to mind was the fight in the stateroom. I called Dennis today, and he is answering this very question for Tommy Garrett's next article as well. This all lends to the importance of having Natalie's case reopened.

Also, I had no qualms with Roger's account because it's how he "saw" it. Just as Marilyn Wayne says there was a party on the beach or on another boat. Lyndon Taylor swears there were NO parties. I don't know who is right. But I do know Dennis saw Natalie's bruises. Roger didn't. How did Roger miss what everyone else saw? I can't and won't attempt to answer for him.

Natalie had bruises all over her body. Dennis saw SOME of them on her ARM, her LOWER LEG, and her FACE, and Dennis saw how she was dressed...the way she was pulled from the ocean. Parts of her legs and arms were exposed. In our 48 Hours interview, Dennis was asked what he did after he identified Natalie. His answer was that he cried.