It didn't take long after word spread of the murder of Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen for the news media to start trying to connect the dots: Perhaps it was a professional hit, some wondered. Maybe it was road rage, others said. Or, it could have been related to a last will, still other outlets broadcast.
But what few apparently wanted to believe was that, perhaps, there were no dots to connect. Maybe Chasen's death was simply an act of random violence.
To some, that would be like trying to argue there was no conspiracy to kill JFK: that a lone gunman did manage to bring down a U.S. president without there being a sinister plot originating from Moscow or Havana or some Mafia clubhouse in Chicago.
And yet, that is exactly what Beverly Hills police seem to have concluded: that the killing of Chasen was the act of a former con, riding a bike through a rich neighborhood in search of someone to rob. That someone, the police appear to believe, happened to be Chasen, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
At a news conference Wednesday, police for the first time, and contrary to some earlier media reports, said they believe they can link the bullets that killed Chasen with the gun that Harold Martin Smith used to kill himself when police came to question him as a "person of interest" following a tip from a TV true crime show.
What's more, says David Snowden, the Beverly Hills Police chief, "We believe that Mr. Smith acted alone. We don't believe it was a professional hit."
The police said they have completed maybe 40 to 60 percent of their investigation, so more questions need to be answered.
But based on the news conference, it would appear that the police are satisfied that they have answered the key questions and have concluded the Chasen murder was random and that Smith was trying to hold her up when her car came to a stop before needing to make a turn.
And yet, listening to the reporters present hurling questions at the police, one can tell that the press is not satisfied and, my guess is, many people won't be either.
That's because, as many studies have shown over the years, we humans like to see patterns -- connect the dots, if you will, even when no patterns exist.
It is somehow more comforting, in a perverse sort of way, to think that Chasen was targeted for murder, perhaps by someone she knew, than to conclude that the victim could just as easily have been the driver of the car behind Chasen's, or the one making the turn just before. That makes people nervous; it makes the world feel much less secure. Targeted killings we can live with -- we know it could not have been us! But random murder chills us to the bone. It could have been you, me, our best friend, or our closest relative.
The police, of course, are wise in not totally closing the door, or their minds, to any new evidence that may emerge to change the picture considerably.
Some have pointed out that even if they can link Smith's gun to Chasen's murder, they still have not established that Smith even owned the gun the night of the killing. Guns, especially ones used for violent crimes, do tend to move around a lot. Is it possible Smith came to own the gun some time after the murder had already happened?
But, as in medicine, the most likely explanation is the most simple and logical one: If the bullets used to kill Chasen came from the gun Smith used to kill himself (not to mention, though I will, the not insignificant fact that Smith shot himself to death when the police came to talk with him!) there is a pretty good probability that Smith was the one who used the gun to murder Chasen.
No pattern. No dots. It just happened!
Charles Feldman is a journalist and media consultant and co-author of the book, "No Time To Think-The Menace of Media Speed and the 24-hour News Cycle." He has covered police and politics in Los Angeles since 1995 and is a regular contributor of investigative reports for KNX1070 Newsradio.
Follow Charles Feldman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/cfeldman1
Or is it just that the news media is so chummy with the public relations industry that this killing was like seeing one of their own done in?
I love how experts from LA police & County Sheriff's Dept were called immediately.
I love how the FBI was called since Ronni was involved in interstate commerce... the movie business.
I love how the gun, which could have been used by anyone the night of the murder, somehow ended up in Smith's hands.
I love how someone deranged riding a bike could calmly hit his target 5 times in a close pattern when experts sad they would have been hard pressed to show that much skill from a car.
I love how the police approached Smith in the hotel, knowing Smith was suicidal, knowing that suicidal folks like to have suicide-by-cop.
I love how Smith was able to pull his gun and not be shot by the police officers, since cops usually shoot any time a suspicious citizen reaches for a gun or a piece of gum.
What is the first thing many people ask when there is a tragedy, whether resulting in death or not? Often it is: "What happened? What caused it?" Many of us want to know: "Was the driver drunk? Where do you think the victim contracted AIDS? How? What caused the tsunami? Was he doing something reckless when the bad thing happened? Do sharks, and snakes, and snake-like tornadoes actually TRY to hurt humans? WHY was she in 'the wrong place at the wrong time' ?
Sometimes there is a traceable cause: certain chemicals do cause cancer in some people, driving drunk does cause some crashes, some assassinations were/are probably not random acts.
But there are some coincidences. There is a high probability that two people in a room of thirty will have the same birthday. Yet we are fascinated by coincidences, which is why puns are such a common form of humor.
At the same time, perhaps the reason why we want to find a "reason" is because without a reason, we feel powerless, like someone in a lightning storm, feeling powerless. If we can find "THE REASON", we can feel (rightly or wrongly) that we have some control over it. That's why some folks are afraid to fly in planes but drive on dangerous freeways.
And now, our culture and politics is based more and more on irrational fear.
We must oppose this.
The other thing I think is of interest is who had she repped was she repping? I still feel that there is a lot more to this. She dealt with actors, composers etc in an industry in which huge amounts of money depend on publicity, Oscars etc
I was starting up the mercedes at night, when the two perps approached and motioned at the car window that they wanted to get in. I complied with their wishes since they were pointing guns at me through the car window and then once in the car they asked for my cash, & asked me to drive them to the nearest freeway. I only had seconds to think...
On Sunset Blvd as I drove guns and knives were pointed at my throat, a gun was pointed at me from behind, but I had DECIDED that if I was going to DIE I was going to DIE on Sunset.
I escaped since I jumped out of the car while I was driving it on Sunset, & the perps did not shoot. 


I did not know the perpetrato rs, nor they me. I was visiting USA. 

Accordin g to LAPD one was a psychopath , the other a kid, & I would have been a murder statistic if I had not jumped out of the car while driving it, even though guns and a knife were pointing at me. 

These armed men approached me to pillage & murder me since they immediatel y got my cash. 

They were arrested April Fools morning & convicted in LA, thanks to imy dentifying them & thanks
Do you happen to remember what part of Sunset? Sunset runs from downtown LA to the ocean.
One unusual feature of the Chassen murder is the location of Sunset at Whittier in Beverly Hills and by a guy on a bicycle. People are not saying it could not have happened in this fashion, but before they accept the official version many questions need to be answered. One question deals with the strange location. Not just because it was in the wealthy area of Bev Hills, but in an area where Chasen could so easily escape from a robbery by a guy on a bike.
On the other hand, a hired killer on a bike lying in wait in the park on the S/W corner of Sunset and Whittier might pedal diagonally from the park to the Mercedes which would be in the left hand turn pocket and fire 5 quick shots before Chassen knew what was happening.
A robbery scenario, however, requires the robber to let the driver know that is a robbery, which means he has to stop his bike and then he is at a big disadvantage and Chassen could speed ahead up Sunset and the steep hill making it impossible for to follow.
There are too many legitimate questions by people who live and work in Beverly Hills and know this area quite well to accept the official version.
In response to what Scott said about a robber with a gun on a bike being at a disadvantage, through the lens of my own experience - if the intent was to rob Ronni, and if the robber was next to Ronni's stationary car window with a gun,
for instance if Ronni was stopped at a traffic light, then the robber on a bicycle would have been able to shoot Ronni if the robbery turned into rage when Ronni did not comply with the robber's demand to open her car door or car window at a traffic light.
I am not saying this did happen in Ronni's case, only pointing out - perhaps a possible scenario.
Scott said A robber on a bike is required to let the driver know that it is a robbery, which means he is at a big
I was starting up the mercedes at night, when the two perps approached and motioned at the car window that they wanted to get in. I complied with their wishes since they were pointing guns at me through the car window and then once in the car they asked for my cash, & asked me to drive them to the nearest freeway. I only had seconds to think...
On Sunset Blvd as I drove guns and knives were pointed at my throat, a gun was pointed at me from behind, but I had DECIDED that if I was going to DIE I was going to DIE on Sunset.
I escaped since I jumped out of the car while I was driving it on Sunset, & the perps did not shoot. 


I did not know the perpetrators, nor they me. I was visiting USA. 

According to LAPD one was a psychopath, the other a kid, & I would have been a murder statistic if I had not jumped out of the car while driving it, even though guns and a knife were pointing at me. 

These armed men approached me to pillage & murder me since they immediately got my cash. 

They were arrested April Fools morning & convicted in LA, thanks to imy dentifying them & thanks to the adrenalin rush.
Intersection Sunset and Whittier? Do we even know if she was shot there? How do we know? If she was shot 5 times how did she manage to turn left and drive down Whittier.
with all the thousands of chances to rob people from all the clubs on Sunset and Santa Monica Boulevard, the idea this guy would chose Sunset and Whittier is bizarre.
Is he even left handed? From the alleged facts, it appears he had to be on her side of the car strongly indicating that the shots had to be fired with his left hand.
If she accelerated and drove away, why are all shots to her front and none to her side or back?
The idea that this guy could bicycle from 5640 Santa Monica Boulevard to Sunset and Whittier and never be captured on some video camera is highly unlikely. That intersection has a camera trap and if Chassen accelerated before the light changed, it should have triggered the camera, but they are silent about this aspect.
They never found the shells? Really? How would that happen? Did he use disappearing shells like disappearing ink?
People cry foul because the facts contradict the conclusion.
If it were a hit, then it is possible -- if he were left handed and a good shot. The hit man would then come at Chassen at pretty high speed for a bicycle, most likely from the small park on the S/W corner Sunset and Whittier. She would be in the left hand turn pocket and confused by a bicycle coming at her. That gives him the element of surprise and he could get off 5 rapid shots before she could react.
If it were to be a robbery, then everything changes. The object of a robbery or car jacking is to obtain control of the vehicle and the person. That requires the bicyclist to stop and communicate with the driver -- even if it is to waive a gun. When he is stopped and straddling a bicycle, the advantage shifts to Chassen who could rapidly accelerate up Sunset and up the steep hill. She was in a Mercedes! And from all accounts, Ronni Chassen was a very sharp woman.
Thus, the robbery at the intersection of Sunset and Whittier does not make sense, but a hit job is plausible. We lack the facts to draw any conclusion except that the official version requires a lot of explanation
In a perfect world it would be nice to have stronger evidence against Harold Smith, and just because someone has alleged that Harold said he was the murderer, does not necessarily mean that that witness is telling the truth or heard correctly.
How do we know for sure that Harold said this, and if he did say it, what about the other half of the story that Harold was going to get paid for the hit?
Also I am not sure that Harold's suicide is admission of guilt in Ronni Chasen's case. If Harold Smith's story really is his story, and not just made up or embellished by unknown alleged witnesses some of whom stand to receive $125,000 !!!
If Harold said that he killed Ronni and was going to get 10K after - then why aren't the Beverly Hills police pursuing this, even though the idea of waiting to be paid after a murder does sound silly when Harold was not paid before the murder, and was forced to carry out the "planned" murder using a bicycle.
Why is only half of a witness's story alleging Harold Smith admitted killing Ronni being used by the Beverly Hills Police, since the witness alleged Harold said
1) He killed Ronni
2) He was waiting to be paid.
http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2010/12/ronni-chasen-murder-solved/
Also, she turned left away from the Hills southward on to Whittier, she it is unlikely she lived in the hills