'America's Most Wanted' tip helped lead Ronni Chasen detectives to suspect, host says

The host of the Fox series “America’s Most Wanted,” said he believed a tip provided by his show helped lead Beverly Hills police to confront a man in the slaying of Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen.

John Walsh said in an interview that he was unable to provide specific details about the tip but said Beverly Hills investigators acted quickly on the information, although he was unable to give the precise timing.

“I believe they responded to a tip that we had passed on. BHPD reached out to us,” Walsh said. “We have been working closely with Beverly Hills [police].”

A segment on the Chasen slaying was featured Nov. 20.

Beverly Hills police have not said what prompted them to seek a search warrant for the Hollywood apartment of a man. When detectives arrived, the man shot himself to death in the apartment lobby.

It's unknown what connection, if any, the man had to the Chasen slaying. Law enforcement sources told The Times he was considered a suspect in the killing but did not provide any details.

Beverly Hills police had no immediate comment on Walsh's statement. It's unclear whether there was other evidence that pointed detectives to the man.

The publicist was shot to death early Nov. 16 while driving her Mercedes-Benz near Whittier Drive and Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills. She was on her way home from a party after the premiere of the movie “Burlesque.”

Chasen is believed to have left the event about midnight and been traveling west on Sunset. Friends believe she planned to head south to her condominium on Wilshire Boulevard near the grounds of the Los Angeles Country Club. Several residents called 911 at the time of the attack, saying they heard gunshots.

Moments later, another resident called 911 to report hearing the car crash into a light pole. People living on Whittier Drive who heard the crash ran to the scene and found Chasen slumped over the steering wheel, bleeding. The passenger-side window was shattered.

ALSO:

Suicide of suspect in Ronni Chasen slaying caught on tape

Ronni Chasen slaying suspect worried about police, talked of gun, $10,000 windfall

Suspect in Ronni Chasen slaying had been under police surveillance

--Harriet Ryan and Andrew Blankstein

Photo: Chasen's car being towed away. Credit: Los Angeles Times.

Comments

[edward allen]

Please, reporters: This story is getting even more confusing, at least to this reader. Please clarify with your police sources what the connection is between Chasen and the guy who committed suicide. Do the police believe Chasen knew this guy, or as previously suggested in an L.A.T. story, was there some financial consideration that made the guy look for Chasen.
Looks to me as if he was just some ex-con so scared of going back to the slammer when he found the police coming for him, and he committed suicide.

[Mike Mcnaulty]

This had setup written all over it from the jump.This was no way a random act whoever did this had this very well planned out.They made sure they had her alone on a deserted street late at night with no other cars around,they pull up and bam,bam,bam,bam,bam, and then just as quickly as they shot her dead they drive off.This was a planned hit not sure what their motive was butI have read that she thought she was being followed apparently for several months.She must have known why unless the person(s) who did this targeted the wrong person although that does not sound likely.

[Orange County Person]

The plot thickens.

[jane]

I read or heard on the news somewhere that the suspect had boasted he got $10,000 for the killing to neighbors - but from whom?

And that he was paroled a year early for no reason - sometime this summer - that will be a bonanza for the groups saying early parole of violent criminals is being passed off on us as only for "non-violent offenders." THAT is being ordered by the federal courts because of prison over-crowding: but at what cost? Those judges don't take the whole picture into account.

How about paying CA for the illegal immigrants our prisons house, some 1/5-1/4 the total as estimated, or take them off our hands into some special prisons? I'm not an "immigrant basher" and know that groups like the Police Protective Political League which represents cops and has thrown millions of bucks at electing mostly Republicans, often outsiders like Whitman or Chris Essel or Trutanich who are LOUSY candidates are fearmongers.

But this is ridiculous, we can't "afford" this cost. There have been numerous recent cases where felons released early commit murder and major crimes.

[ida]

Any one of those neighbors he had could've called the Beverly Hills detectives since he said to some of them that he killed Ronni Chasen, that nobody seemed to believe because he was known to make up stories.

Personally I don't think the guy had anything to do with her murder. The detectives got a tip and went for it and this guy just didn't want to be caught for whatever illegal things he was doing and go to prison again, so he shot himself, as he told a neighbor he would do rather than go to prison.

Since the BH detectives won't give us their motives and details, we use our imaginations and assume, which is really worse

[ida]

Plus there's a Reward for $125,000, so of course they will get tips from America's Most Wanted, however, the neighbors probably called because he yapped to them and they were all suspicious of what he said and how were they to know any different otherwise.

[Missy]

Anyone who can do a meticulously clean hit like this, doesn't go and brag about it. This was a professional hit and the suicide guy was an unstable patsy-follow the money...

[Ralph Simmons]

I agree with Mike this was no amatuers, there had to have been surveillance on her for at least a month. Knowledgeable people with special surveillance equipment like cell phone scanners and audio amplifiers where they could obtain the intelligence needed know where she was going to be that night ALONE. The shooter would have to be a experience marksman with the skill to shoot a small moving target in the dark. This was not a one person set up there had to be several people involved and I hate to say it but it may be military type precision, either way the real people behind it most likley will never be caught its always a scape goat that takes the rap. My prayers and deepest sorrow to the Chasen family.

[conraddobler]

"Anyone who can do a meticulously clean hit like this, doesn't go and brag about it. This was a professional hit and the suicide guy was an unstable patsy-follow the money..."

Of course....why would somebody who seemingly pulled off a flawless execution- complete with "tight" shot placement- then go around bragging? Of course this was a pro hit and the pompous spoiled pr*cks in BH just don't want to believe that "they" are capable of such a crime....

[Linda G]

This guy didn't kill her...this dude was a nut case only. Police know that now...and the media as usual blowing the story out of control.

[Bobby Hated]

if whoever paid to have her killed had paid $50,000 instead of $10,000 for the hit, they probably would have got a much more professional hitman than that looney. whoever they are i bet they're defecating bricks right now.

[bdflatlander]

What it sounds like to me is that Harold Smith followed the news about the Chasen murder and in his own disturbed mind concocted a fantasy that he was the hit man and went about bragging about it to his neighbors. One of the neighbors in his building then called America's Most Wanted who in turn told the BHPD.

I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out that Smith had absolutely nothing to do with Ronni Chasen's murder. This guy sounds like a major mental case.