Police have little evidence in Ronni Chasen slaying
Beverly Hills detectives investigating the slaying of Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen believe she was shot moments before her car crashed and came to rest off Sunset Boulevard early Tuesday.
Authorities on Wednesday stressed that they have few leads in the case and that the motive for the attack is unclear. But they are focusing heavily on forensic evidence gathered from the spot where Chasen was found shot several times in her Mercedes coupe. Residents who heard the crash found Chasen slumped over the steering wheel bleeding, with the passenger-side window of her car shattered.
Beverly Hills police Sgt. Lincoln Hoshino said that while investigators are not sure exactly where the shooting occurred, their working theory is that it happened before the crash. Police are also trying to determine whether the shattered window was caused by gunshots or by some other type of force.
One resident who lives near where Chasen’s car came to rest said she heard several shots, followed moments later by what she believed was the sound of a car crashing. The woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said she and several other people raced outside to see Chasen’s car crashed into a light pole.
At least two witnesses have said the interior of Chasen’s car appeared to have little visible damage or evidence of gunshots. Moreover, they said they noticed no bullet casings either near the car or inside it. Police would not say whether shell casing were found at the scene.
Calling the investigation “wide open,” detectives are also seeking video surveillance footage from businesses and residents along Sunset Boulevard, hoping it might shed light on what happened.
Chasen had attended an after-party following the premiere of the movie “Burlesque” at the W Hotel in Hollywood. She is believed to have left the event for home sometime around midnight, traveling west on Sunset Boulevard. Friends believe that she had planned to swing south to her condominium on Wilshire Boulevard near the grounds of the Los Angeles Country Club.
The 6-mile drive would have taken Chasen along the Sunset Strip, an area potentially stocked with surveillance video from clubs and restaurants as well as mansions with sophisticated security systems. That could allow investigators to pick up a crucial clue.
In examining video, investigators face potential challenges. Some cameras work better in the day than at night. Even cameras that can pick up images at night can be blinded by bright light. Some cameras may have blind spots, and video quality is often poor.
Chasen, 64, was found shot multiple times at the intersection of Whittier Drive and Sunset Boulevard near the border of Beverly Hills and the city of Los Angeles about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday. She was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center about an hour later, officials said.
Investigators spent much of the day removing potential evidence from Chasen’s Westside condominium, including hard drives, compact discs and file boxes. Investigators also scoured her Westwood public relations company for similar evidence. It’s unclear whether any of those searches yielded evidence.
Times staff writer Martha Groves contributed to this report.
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