Questions raised in brutal murder of Hollywood publicist

Tonight marks the 5 year anniversary of the brutal killing of Hollywood Publicist Ronni Chasen. Chasen was pivitol in bringing A-list movie stars to the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Police say Chasen was gunned down in her car while at an intersection in Beverly Hills. The suspect, a transient on a bike.

One man who has poured over police reports, and conducted interviews with family and friends of both the victim and the suspect is not convinced Chasen’s death was a random act of violence.

Tonight, he shares with us some of the unanswered questions that make this, in his opinion, a real murder mystery.

“I was watching the footage and the story unfold of this Hollywood publicist gunned down, no apparent motive, no apparent reason and I was just intrigued,” says Ryan Katzenbach.

Ryan Katzenbach is an independent documentary producer, his most recent work, a portrayal of the Amityville horror murders. He wasn’t looking for another project, but just couldn’t shake the inconsistencies as the story surrounding Chasen’s death began to unfold.

“There were no bad business deals, no jilted ex-lovers, there was just nothing, her life was so clean, so pristine and that intrigued me even more because now it’s either something bigger, you know something that was orchestrated, something that was planned for some reason that no one knew or it was just completely random,” says Katzenbach.

The Beverly Hills Police Department went with the “Random act of violence” theory after getting a tip from “America’s Most Wanted” that an informant suspected one of his neighbors had something to do with Ronni Chasen’s murder. The informant, who doesn’t want to be identified, told Katzenbach why he believes a man named Harold Smith was the triggerman.

“It was 90 minutes after Ronni Chasen was murdered, Harold was at my door asking me, “have the police been here, have the police been here,” I said no.”

“He never said he was paid $10,000 to kill Ronni but he did say he was waiting for $10,000 for a job for an auto wreck.”

This is the first time we actually hear from the informant who lead Beverly Hills Police Department to the Harvey Apartments in Los angeles where suspect Harold Smith lived. A man with a lengthy criminal record, known as a petty thief, not a killer. The complex, known to house undesirables fronting santa monica boulevard. Days after Chasen’s murder, Smith was the number one suspect and law enforcement agencies went looking to talk to him. They never got the chance.

Katzenbach explains to Karen Devine what happened when authorities surrounded the Harvey Apartments. When they entered the building, Smith killed himself in the lobby.

“We are now inside the Harvey Apartments, right inside the front door and this is where Harold shot himself in the head, 5 years ago this was the scene, his body was splayed out right here and he had put the gun to his head right in the presence of BHPD and probably LAPD and shot himself and accordingly it was all captured on surveillance camera which is right there.”

Police have yet to turn over any footage, in fact, it’s been such a fight for Katzenbach to get information on the case, he’s filed several lawsuits including one to get a copy of the closed case file, but after a three year fight was able to get Chasen’s autopsy report.

“Of course once we got the autopsy then that really didn’t do much to answer questions it raised more of them,” says Katzenbach.

Questions that take us back to the night Chasen was murdered. Katzenbach helps us re-trace her steps after she leaves the premiere of the movie burlesque, attends an after party at a club in the “W” Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard and picks up her car from the valet and leaves just after midnight. That was the last place anyone saw Chasen alive.

Minutes later police found Chasen dead in the driver’s seat of her Mercedes after crashing into a light pole, Chasen had been hit by four bullets. The location of the car, a quarter of a mile from where police believe she was originally shot, the intersection of Sunset and Whittier.

Katzenbach explains to Karen Devine how police think the shooting happened.

“Ronni Chasen 12:25 a.m. is heading from the east bound on Sunset, pulls right into this turn lane supposedly comes to a stop, it’s at this point the perpetrator comes from across the street from the passenger’s side of the car after being hit four times Ronni makes the left turn at the light heading down Whittier in this direction.”

Which only raises more questions from Katzenbach, if this was a random crime, perhaps an attempted robbery, why was Chase’s purse, wallet and cell phone still on the passenger’s seat after the crash. Also, he wonders how Chasen was able to drive after being shot? The autopsy report revealed she had four bullet wounds, one to the heart and three that were considered rapidly fatal.

“This woman who had a shattered humorous bone here and was losing massive blood through artery supply and had another bullet that ended up I her bicep here, turned a car and drove a quarter of a mile down the street before losing control,” says Katzenbach.

Katzenbach has enlisted some help in the search for answers including, the chairman of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Harold Matzner who worked for Chasen for years. Matzner, has put his Los Angeles attorney on the case. you may recall, Matzner put up the $100,000 reward money to help with the arrest and conviction of Chasen’s killer.

“At the end of the day, Harold Smith may have done it, that’s a definite possibility, as a documentary producer, I do not have a horse in this game and I am out to tell a story in the fullest most comprehensive manner possible it just doesn’t seem like we have all the facts to do that yet,” says Katzenbach.

Katzenbach is working on a documentary entitled: 6:38: The Death of Ronni Chasen, a reference to the time between Chasen’s last cell-phone call and the response by the Beverly Hills police.

We reached out the Beverly Hills Police Department asking for a copy of the case report on Ronni Chasen. Below is the response:

“At this point we are not releasing the crime report. We are in the process of reviewing the requests that we have received and will be making a decision soon as to release of information. I will keep you updated as to the progress of your request.”

Thanks,

Sergeant Subin