Newly Released Autopsy Report Raises Questions About Death Of Hollywood Publicist Ronni Chasen
MIRACLE MILE (CBSLA.com) — The official coroner's report was released Thursday night in the murder of Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen, more than three years after her death.
The coroner's report published by the Hollywood Reporter indicates Chasen died from four gunshot wounds fired from what police initially described as a "secondary vehicle".
The L.A. County Coroner's Office has withheld the report, citing a security hold, for three years.
It was released following a lawsuit filed by documentary filmmaker Ryan Katzenbach, who has launched a fundraising campaign for his film about Chasen.
"Nobody seemed to buy the idea that this lone guy in Beverly Hills on a bicycle shot this woman four or five times," he said. "So I started to realize we had a story. We had something we should definitely pursue."
Beverly Hills police have said an unemployed felon, Harold Martin Smith, acted alone.
They say he rode his bicycle to Beverly Hills, where he shot and killed Chasen in her Mercedes on Whittier and Sunset in November 2010.
Weeks later, Smith shot and killed himself at the Harvey Apartments as police entered to question him and the case was closed.
It remains unclear if that second vehicle is Smith's bike or another vehicle.
Katzenbach says he's still working to get the full investigative file from the Beverly Hills Police Department.
Spokespersons for the L.A. County Coroner's Office and Beverly Hills police have yet to offer comment on the case.
Click here to read the full Coroner's report.
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Beverly Hills Police: Case Closed On Publicist Ronni Chasen's Murder
