Ex-con acted alone in publicist slaying, police say
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- A Hollywood publicist was shot to death by an ex-con on a bicycle in a robbery gone awry as she drove home from a movie premiere last month, police said Wednesday after reviewing ballistics tests.
The break in the case came as tests linked the gun Harold Martin Smith used to commit suicide with bullets that killed Ronni Chasen.
It came a week after Smith killed himself in the lobby of a seedy apartment building as investigators acting on a tip tried to question him.
"We believe that Mr. Smith acted alone. We don't believe it was a professional hit," said Beverly Hills Police Chief David Snowden.
Chasen was shot multiple times in the chest Nov.16 as she drove through Beverly Hills while heading home after the premiere of "Burlesque."
