How Firearm Balisics fit into the Ronni Chasen Murder

Beverly Hills, CA--Here is some theory, science and investigative issues police must deal with is this killing of Hollywood publicist, Ronni Chasen.

Someone could have searched for and recovered the empty brass ejected by a semi-automatic pistol but at night that seems unlikely. The reality is that the cops simply never determined the shooting location so they did not know where to look for the brass.

Ballistic firearm identification science can be easy or impossible. In the case of revolvers there are only the expended projectiles. Soft lead that had been sent into flesh, bones and heavy clothing are often damaged beyond recognition. This is especially true for smaller caliber high velocity ammunition.

Slower moving larger bullets suffer less damage and are more easily identified.

Most of the modern center-fired ammunition have copper jackets covering the softer lead. This material is more likely to have identifiable rifling marks for the examiner’s microscope.

With semi-automatic firearms, examiners get a second bite at the apple, so to speak. They have the projectiles to compare but also the ejected shell casings that also have their own characteristics.

Some criminals will recover all the empty casings before the leave the scene or they can employ something called a brass catcher that makes searching for the empty brass unnecessary.

Result possibilities are that the items submitted for identification are:

1. Inconsistent and excluded as having been fired from the weapon
2. Consistent with being fired from the weapon
3. Consistent with and having been fired by the same weapon.

It is much easier to rule projectiles and shell casings out than make a match that is consistent to a scientific certainty as having been fired by the same gun.

Because of the delay and confusion in the Chasen case I suspect that there were only enough similarities in the comparisons for police to draw conclusions, but would not be surprised to know that the certainty is significantly less to 100%. Remember they don’t have to prove to a jury in any courtroom that this was in fact the same gun.

I don’t know the make or model of the gun nor the caliber and type of ammunition used in the Chasen murder or the Smith suicide.

Had police found the actual scene of the Chasen shooting it’s most likely they’d have recovered some or all of the expended brass. There is an additional possibility and that is the gun was fired from a vehicle and the brass stayed inside that murder car. If the killer put his gun and arm out the window there would have been brass hitting the asphalt.

I can’t really imagine anyone that just fired those deadly shots scrambling around in the dark trying to recover the empty brass.


Here are pictures of two S&W 940 9MM revolvers.

Those little revolvers use full moon clips to hold the five rounds so these rimless cartridges don’t fall through the cylinder.

I don’t think that this or the even more rare Ruger 9 MM revolver were used in this crime. These guns do not eject brass like semi-automatic pistols.

Ronni Chasen Murder Solved, Again!

Beverly Hills, CA—In fairness to the Beverly Hills police they don’t have lots of homicides they can use to hone their skills. They must rely on help they ask for from other agencies.

First the BHPD thought that ex-con, Harold Smith’s gun was not involved in the Chasen killing. Today, they’ve changed their story saying that it was the same gun.

It seems on its face that Smith was not a hit man but a habitual criminal that among other crimes served time for robbing two Beverly Hills women in the past. Police now think that Smith shot Chasen from his bicycle in a botched robbery. That is their best guess right now until they finish their investigation.

I have problems with that theory in that it looks like Smith shot Chasen through her closed passenger door window rather than threaten or rob her. I’m not buying the robbery angle.

Smith strikes me as an irrational, dysfunctional and violent criminal. He’d be a really poor choice as a hired hit man. Smith may have had an accomplice and ruling out that angle at this point is as premature as establishing the motive with no more than a guess.

The investigation will continue. Murder investigations are about circumstantial, physical, and eye-witness evidence along with confessions and the ruling out of Reasonable Doubt.

Where is Murder Victim, Ronni Chasen’s Latest Will?

Beverly Hill, CA—When Hollywood publicist, Ronni Chasen was gunned down in her car last month police had a mystery on their hands. The sad truth is that these days with all our technology and tools there is not more that a 35% chance that this or any other murder will be solved.

To get to the bottom of this investigation we have to speculate whether this was, or was not a random crime.

There is at least one woman e-mailing and making comments on my site suggesting that there was a similar random gun assault where she was the victim. There is no such reported attack and I refuse to buy into this diversion.

Crimes like the Chasen murder are almost never random. There is a motive that led to this killing. Greed, jealousy, revenge, hatred are common in every murder since Cain killed Able.

This is no carjacking since Chasen was safely locked in her car. No carjacker wants to take a car with a shot out passenger window and a dead or gravely wounded driver strapped in a seatbelt behind the wheel. Carjackings always happen at the driver’s door that is usually already open.

The suggestion of road rage is also baloney since those events usually happen in areas where traffic is heavy and drivers are frustrated. Gang warfare is also attributed as road rage events when in fact those were premeditated attacks.

Frankly even very disturbed people drive on our streets and never use their car or any other weapon to kill and maim people except in very rare circumstances.

So far only a 1994 Will has surfaced and the suggestion of a more recent will is very unlikely. Unlikely, simply because people of means use probate lawyers to draft such instruments and they have their staff sign as witnesses. Somebody with knowledge of such a document would have stepped forward. The cops would have been making contacts with every lawyer Chasen ever used looking for any information that would indicate a conflicts, insurance policies or wills from day one.

If they have not found an updated will or witness to one actually being made by now, there is no new will.

I am back to looking at all of Chasen’s relationships with enemies, friends, acquaintances and relatives. Perhaps the killer is a boyfriend of somebody who wanted Chasen dead.

Somewhere inside the circle of those close to Chasen is the answer. This was not a random crime.

I also think by now the Beverly Hills police homicide detectives have zeroed in on a potential suspect and are gathering the evidence they need to make their case.

I remain convinced this murder will be solved.

Harold Martin Smith, Ronni Chasen and Wild Goose Chases

Hollywood, CA—It was apparently defective information supplied to the TV Show, America’s Most Wanted and talkative but unreliable neighbors that made an ex-con an unlikely suspect in the Ronni Chasen murder.

When police obtain search warrants they are placed under oath. The rub is those who provide such information to police are never under oath. Accordingly search warrants are routinely issued on unreliable hearsay or even gossip. We will have to wait until the Smith search warrant is unsealed to know for sure. California’s public records laws are some of the worst in the nation. It’s unlikely that warrant will ever see sunshine especially now.

Had there been a connection between any weapon in Harold Smith’s possession and the Chasen murder, Beverly Hills police would know by now and they’d be interrogating other investigative leads and closing in on the real story.

Smith was already a two time loser and apparently his ongoing criminal conduct was making him a solid candidate for California’s, Three Strikes Law. It looks like he reached the point of no return when he saw police. Just having a gun in his possession was enough to put him behind bars for life. Smith took the easy way out and taxpayers should thank him for that.

Smith became a big time, Red Herring and a diversion in the Ronni Chasen murder investigation. Police have now returned to looking at old conflicts in Chasen’s personal life. Somebody was motivated enough to make her really dead.

Chasen’s killer exercised skill and discipline in committing this murder. On its face it seems like a contract hit. Road rage cases nearly always result in bullets being sprayed everywhere because of uncontrolled anger and emotion. It’s obvious that Chasen’s car was stopped at the time shots were fired. The killer was either shooting from another vehicle or was standing in the street while firing the murder weapon. The presence or absence of shell casings in the street may help shed some light on this angle assuming a semi-automatic pistol was used.

There are big factors that need examination and they are the trade-names, partnerships, contracts, insurance policies and of course litigation of any kind involving Chasen or her business enterprises.

The only thing we know for sure is that someone thought they’d be better off with Ronni Chasen being dead. Ether they’d profit from Chasen’s death or have found some sweet revenge. The murder of Ronni Chasen was anything but a random crime.

No, Murdered Publicist Ronni Chasen Was Not Loved By All

Beverly Hills, CA—When Ronni Chasen was gunned down in her car last month in Beverly Hills it became obvious there was some very bad blood between her and someone else.

TMZ.com has published a report that included a copy of the 1994 Last Will and Testament of the murdered women. This very wealthy murder victim stiffed her niece, Jill Gatsby, a near-do-well actress, singer etc. in the Will.

Chasen willed her a measly ten-spot as quoted in the document, "I have intentionally and with full knowledge of the consequences omitted to provide for my niece, Jill Cohen, also known as Jill Gatsby, except for the gift of $10."

It is customary to leave something to relatives you hate so they can’t later claim they were somehow forgotten and get a piece of your pie from some sympathetic probate judge.

Gatsby chose an entertainment career that has been stuck in park just as many thousands of others seeking fortune and fame in Hollywood. Ronni Chasen had the ability to promote anyone with minimal talent into a lucrative career. It is obvious Chasen was of no help to her niece.

On the other side of the coin Chasen had the ability to destroy a career in the entertainment business. Whatever created this rift seemed anything but insignificant.

As we speak Beverly Hills police detectives are looking for any connection between the dead murder suspect and Jill Gatsby. Any evidence of financial support would of course be incredibly damning. Of course the police are looking at every other possibility too.

Will there suddenly be a parade of witnesses coming forward telling police about this family feud? I don’t doubt for a second this whole ugly affair will become the best current show in Hollywood. The venue will be the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

One thing for sure this case is getting spicier by the minute.

Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen's Murder has been Solved

Beverly Hills, CA—My analysis of the scant publicized facts connected to the November 16th murder of Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen has proven to be correct. I said this was no random killing and that Ms. Chasen had pissed off someone in a big way. I properly predicted police would quickly zero in on the offender and clear this case.

Tonight the Associated Press published the story that the yet to be identified suspect shot himself dead as police were closing in on him to serve a search warrant. I call him a suspect rather than that nebulous. “Person of Interest” term because of the existence of the search warrant.

In order to obtain a search warrant police need to establish Probable Cause under oath that a crime was committed and provide the judge with, the who, what and where facts of the case. There is a very thin line between obtaining a search warrant and making an arrest.

Now we know the police have at least one gun in their possession to rule in or out of the Chasen murder. That search warrant affidavit information submitted by the Beverly Hills homicide detective will tell us about the motive along with the rest of the story.

The motive for the killing will be unfolding along with the name of the dead suspect. I won't rule out additional suspect/s in this case.

I got several responses some of which I deleted strongly criticizing my rejection of the random shooter theory. Somehow I felt that was the suspect trying desperately to promote that phony idea.

What we know right now is the dead suspect was confronted by police in low rent Harvey Apartments on Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood. More information below the picture:
Thursday morning UPDATE:

Neighbors at the Harvey Apartments have shared gossip about the dead suspect with local media.

They described the African-American suspect they knew as Harold as somewhat of a braggart and self-described ex-convict. He reportedly told be people he was expecting $10,000.00 and also bragged that he killed Ronnie Chasen.

Was Harold merely a braggart that wanted to seem important who brought police attention on to himself? The reward money did not go unnoticed in Hollywood’s underbelly.

There are a lot more questions than answers right now.

A Murder In Beverly Hills is Always Big News

Beverly Hills, CA—Last night they found a Mercedes-Benz E-350 crashed into a light pole on Whittier Drive, just south of Sunset Boulevard just after midnight.

Inside the car was well-known Hollywood publicist, Ronni Chasen, 64 who was well-ventilated with five gunshot wounds. They pronounced Chasen dead on arrival at the nearby Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Cedars-Sinai is the last stop for so many of Hollywood's rich and famous.

Police say they’re looking for a motive but they’ve confessed anything is possible. Was it road rage perhaps? Somehow this looks to me like a targeted act of revenge.

Somewhere in Chasen’s background is a sour business deal, a failed relationship or someone with a career destroyed by bad publicity. You can bet the Beverly Hills cops are going through all of Chasens’s files and computers at this hour. They will be paying very close attention to her client list.

It was not even a year ago when Chasen named senior VP of worldwide publicity at MGM. MGM was in the news recently involving the filing of a bankruptcy petition.

It’s the publicists in Hollywood that know all the dirty secrets. The publicists must be kept well-informed so they can quickly move to defuse those nasty scandals involving their clients.

To get to the bottom of this case police need to get to the bottom of just who this woman was and who she pissed off. These kinds of cases usually end quickly in an arrest.

I suspect whoever gets put in the courtroom defendant’s chair will have some a top- drawer legal and investigative team to challenge the case brought by the cops and prosecutors. STAY TUNED!