The Murder of Ronni Chasen: Solved or Screaming for Resolution?
The Sassy Gazette Proudly Presents
Dicking Around With Richie: A True Crime Feed
The Murder of Ronni Chasen: Solved or Screaming for Resolution?
The murder of Hollywood power publicist Ronni Chasen is one of those true crime cases that crawls under your skin and stays there.
Ronni’s case is partially solved. Or is it?
The official story from the Beverly Hills Police Department (BHPD) is that Chasen was killed in a random botched robbery by a desperate man on a bicycle. Case closed. Nice and neat.
But folks, it’s not nice, and it sure as hell isn’t neat.
Instead, it’s full of contradictions, suspicious gaps, and a police department that seems more obsessed with their closure rate than the actual truth.
So let’s dig into the murder that turned Tinseltown upside down and still leaves us asking:
Is Ronni’s case solved… or does it need to be resolved?
Who Was Ronni Chasen?
For those who don’t know, Ronni Sue Chasen was Hollywood’s ultimate old-school publicist a real mover and shaker in the entertainment industry.
She masterminded over 100 Oscar campaigns, working with stars like Michael Douglas and composers like Hans Zimmer. She was respected, feared, and beloved in equal measure. At the time of her death, she was working on Disney’s Alice in Wonderland Oscar run.
She wasn’t someone who had enemies lurking in alleyways. Which is why her brutal murder in the middle of Beverly Hills made zero damn sense.
A Night of Violence and an “Expert Marksman”
On November 16, 2010, Ronni Chasen was shot multiple times while driving home from the premiere of Burlesque.
Her Mercedes-Benz crashed into a light pole on Whittier Drive. Neighbors heard shots. Police arrived to find her slumped over the wheel, bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds.
Early on, police thought the killer might have been an “expert marksman” firing from an SUV or truck because who else pulls off that kind of precise, multi-shot attack from a moving vehicle?
This initial theory immediately clashed with the idea that this was just some random street robbery gone sideways. And it set the stage for years of suspicion and skepticism.
Enter Harold Martin Smith And a Convenient Suicide
Here’s where things get messy.
Four days after the murder, America’s Most Wanted aired a segment on Ronni’s killing. A tipster came forward and told cops that Harold Martin Smith, a career criminal living in a Hollywood flophouse, had bragged about killing Chasen for a $10,000 payout.
So let’s be clear: the tip specifically alleged Smith was a hired gun. Not some petty thief on a bicycle.
When police finally confronted Smith on December 1, 2010, he pulled out a gun and shot himself in the head right in front of them.
BHPD seized the weapon. And suddenly, they seemed eager to wrap this case up with a shiny bow.
BHPD’s Rush for Closure
Let’s talk about the Beverly Hills Police Department.
They declared the case solved on January 19, 2011, insisting Harold Martin Smith acted alone in a random robbery.
But here’s the thing:
- On December 6, 2010, BHPD said Smith was no longer a person of interest.
- Two days later, on December 8, 2010, they did a complete 180 and announced that Smith was their lone suspect.
How’s that for a headspin?
This whiplash, combined with BHPD’s insistence that there was no conspiracy, makes it feel like the department was chasing one thing above all else: their closure rate.
High-profile murder. Major press coverage. Pressure to “solve” it fast.
And Harold Martin Smith dead and unable to talk was an all-too-convenient way to close the books on a case that was rapidly becoming an embarrassment.
Lies, Inconsistencies, and the Bike That Wasn’t There
The bicycle story is one of the case’s most glaring problems.
According to BHPD, Smith rode up to Chasen’s car on a bicycle, tried to rob her, and shot her.
But hold up:
- Witness statements in the autopsy report say a vehicle pulled up next to Chasen’s car, and shots were fired from inside that vehicle.
- Early police theories focused on an SUV or truck, not a bike.
- A police officer told the coroner there was a “second vehicle” involved.
Let’s be real. Pulling off a precise, multi-shot kill from a bicycle while rolling alongside a moving Mercedes is straight-up implausible.
The initial “expert marksman” theory fits a professional hit far better than a random robbery.
So why push the bicycle story? Because it was simple. And it closed the case. Closure rate, baby.
The Ballistics Debacle
BHPD’s other big claim was that the gun Smith used to kill himself was “definitely” the same weapon used to murder Ronni.
But here’s the problem:
- Chief David Snowden told the public that ballistics proved Smith shot Chasen.
- Investigative journalists like Gary Baum from The Hollywood Reporter found documents suggesting the ballistics “don’t match.”
- Experts said the tests only indicated the gun “could be” the same weapon not that it definitely was.
In criminal investigations, ballistics are supposed to be rock-solid evidence.
If BHPD lied or exaggerated about the ballistics, that’s not just sloppy. That’s deeply deceptive.
And yet, the department stuck to its story. Closure rate, remember?
A Motive That Makes Zero Sense
BHPD insists Chasen’s murder was a botched robbery.
But nothing was stolen from her.
Meanwhile, the tip from America’s Most Wanted claimed Smith bragged about getting $10,000 to kill her.
A random robbery makes no sense for someone like Chasen a high-profile target, shot with precision. A contract killing fits the facts far better.
Yet BHPD practically shrugged off the idea of a professional hit. Why? Because digging deeper would mean acknowledging their case might still be wide open and that’s not good for the closure rate.
No Direct Evidence Ties Smith to the Scene
Let’s not forget:
- There’s no video footage of Smith anywhere near the scene.
- No eyewitness places him there.
- The only link is the gun which, as we’ve established, might not even match.
Even in 2010, Beverly Hills was loaded with cameras. So why no footage of a guy on a bicycle lurking near Sunset and Whittier?
The truth is, there’s not one piece of direct evidence proving Smith killed Ronni Chasen. And that’s why the case still feels unsolved.
BHPD’s Bigger Problems
This case also highlights a broader issue: the Beverly Hills Police Department has been embroiled in multiple scandals over the years racial profiling, harassment claims, and questionable handling of high-profile cases.
Many wonder whether their handling of Chasen’s murder was driven more by PR than by pursuit of justice.
The Autopsy Report Bombshell
One of the biggest game-changers was the autopsy report which BHPD kept sealed for three years.
It only came out because filmmaker Ryan Katzenbach fought a legal battle to make it public.
And when it finally dropped, it exposed:
- Conflicting witness statements
- Evidence of a second vehicle
- Details that completely contradict the “lone bicyclist” theory
Why was BHPD so desperate to keep that report hidden? What else are they hiding?
Hollywood Still Wants Answers
Even now, Ronni Chasen’s murder remains a Hollywood mystery.
People close to Ronni and many in the industry still believe she was targeted, not randomly robbed.
Whispers of a professional hit have never died down.
The public wants the truth. And the BHPD’s fast-and-loose storytelling hasn’t convinced anyone that we’ve heard it yet.
So… Is It Time to Reopen Ronni’s Case?
The contradictions are impossible to ignore:
- Bicycle or SUV?
- Random robbery-or $10,000 contract hit?
- Ballistics match-or inconclusive?
- A lone gunman-or something bigger?
Ronni’s case is officially closed. But for many of us, it’s anything but solved.
If justice really matters more than PR, the BHPD should reopen the investigation.
Hollywood and the world deserves to know the truth about what happened to Ronni Chasen.
Until then, we’ll keep digging.
Because here at The Sassy Gazette, we’re not afraid to keep dicking around for answers.
Stay tuned, true crime junkies. The Ronni Chasen mystery is far from over.
Comments
Post a Comment