Autopsy Results Finally Out in Odd Hollywood Murder

Publicist Ronni Chasen died of multiple gunshot wounds in 2010
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 13, 2013 10:54 AM CST
Autopsy Results Finally Out in Odd Hollywood Murder
This image provided Chasen and Company shows Hollywood publicist Ronni Sue Chasen.   (AP Photo/Chasen and Company)

Autopsy results have finally been released in the mysterious 2010 murder of Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen. Chasen, who was driving home from the Burlesque premiere at the time, was killed by "multiple gunshot wounds" to the body, according to the newly-released coroner's report. She was hit four times, likely by a suspect on foot or on a bike; there was no sign of alcohol or drugs in her system. One bullet, "the most rapidly fatal," went through her heart. Police had blocked the report's release, saying they wanted to protect Chasen's family's privacy, NBC News reports.

But a documentary filmmaker sued weeks ago, claiming that police cooperated with a book, Beverly Hills Confidential, that included materials related to the case that only officials should have had access to; lawyers then advised the coroner's office to release the report. Main suspect Harold Smith committed suicide a few weeks later as police tried to question him, and testing revealed a match between the gun he used and the gun that killed Chasen. Police didn't think there was any connection between Chasen and Smith. The filmmaker who sued is making a movie about Chasen's murder, according to the Hollywood Reporter. (More Ronni Chasen stories.)

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