Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen may have been killed with cop's stolen gun
(CBS/KCBS/AP) LOS ANGELES - Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen was murdered with a gun stolen from a police officer, entertainment website TheWrap.com is reporting.
TheWrap says the new piece of information emerged as police completed their investigation and closed the case in last November's shooting death of Chasen as she drove her Mercedes-Benz through Beverly Hills after the premier of the movie "Burlesque."
According to police, Chasen was killed by ex-con and career criminal Harold Martin Smith during what was apparently a botched robbery.
Police say the gun used to murder Chasen was the same weapon Harold Smith, the accused gunman, used to commit suicide Dec. 1, before police could question him regarding the fatal shooting.
"That man is the man that shot her, there is no conspiracy, nothing else was involved," Police Chief David Snowden told The Hollywood Reporter. "I know a lot of people don't like to see it end like that - they'd rather have something more dramatic, but that's just the way it is. The facts are the facts."
The police revolver was stolen during a burglary in the San Fernando Valley, reports TheWrap.
An official statement from the Beverly Hills Police Department is expected Friday, according to CBS station KCBS.