Suicide of suspect in Ronni Chasen slaying caught on tape

The suicide of a suspect in the slaying of Beverly Hills publicist Ronni Chasen was captured on a security videotape at the Hollywood apartment where police confronted the man.

According to law enforcement sources, police are reviewing the tape and also interviewing several witnesses who were in the lobby at the time.

The shooting occurred about 6 p.m. at the Harvey Apartments on Santa Monica Boulevard as Beverly Hills police officials arrived to serve a search warrant at the unidentified man's apartment.

When police officers approached the man in the lobby of the apartment building, he backed up and refused their orders to raise his hands. He pulled out a pistol and shot himself in the head, the sources said. He died at the scene.

Law enforcement sources said the man, known to neighbors as Harold, had been under police surveillance and that Beverly Hills detectives had planned to talk to him, but he took his own life.

One neighbor told The Times the man had been evicted from the apartment building but returned several times to ask whether police had been looking for him.

Resident Brandon Harrison said Harold described himself to other tenants as an ex-convict who served two stints in state prison, the most recent for firearms and drug convictions. Harold vowed that he would never go back to prison, according to Harrison.

"He told me several times, 'If it ever came back down to me going to prison, I would die first,' " Harrison said.

He said Harold told him that he was supposed to be getting $10,000, at one point saying it was for a job he did and on another occasion saying it was from a lawsuit.

Terri Gilpin, 46, who lived on the same floor as Harold, said she had heard him on one occasion brag to her husband, Brandon Harrison, that he killed Ronni Chasen. Gilpin said her husband told her not to listen because the man would frequently make up stories.

Harrison told The Times on Wednesday night that Harold had told him on different occasions that he was expecting $10,000 from a job or a lawsuit settlement but did not mention hearing the man brag about Chasen’s killing.

Harrison could not be reached for comment Thursday to confirm whether the man had referred to Chasen.

Gilpin said she had contacted the police about Harold in the past, not in relation to the Chasen slaying, but because of other incidents, including one in which he entered her apartment without permission and had to be chased off by her husband.

Building resident Robin Lyle, 44, who said Harold would occasionally stop by to talk to him, also said the man had been talking about money he expected to receive from a lawsuit settlement. “He said, 'I’m working on this money, and then you’re not going to see me anymore,' " Lyle said.

Sources, who spoke on the condition that they not be named, said that although the man is considered a suspect in Chasen's slaying last month, the investigation remains active. It's unclear whether authorities  believe the man shot Chasen or was an accomplice.

Ronni Chasen's slaying shocked Hollywood and sparked endless speculation.

The publicist was shot to death early Nov. 16 while driving her Mercedes-Benz near the intersection of 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 dialed 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.

RELATED:

Suspect in Ronni Chasen slaying had been under police surveillance

Ronnie Chasen slaying suspect takes own life

Homicide Report: Share a thought or memory about Chasen

-- Andrew Blankstein and Abby Sewell

Photo: A body is removed from the Hollywood hotel where a suspect in the slaying of publicist Ronni Chasen shot himself to death Wednesday as police ordered him to surrender. Credit: Jay Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[uncle_vito]

Suicide caught on tape? Wow, that might be more interesting that Dancing with the Stars.

[Minnesota Mike]

I didn't think the cops shot him, as a few people suggested elsewhere. In the age of video cameras everywhere, I prefer to hold off on wild speculation until more details are released - silly, I know...

[F. Drebin]

Yeah, he was gittin $10,000. He be movin on up.

[SoCalBeachDude]

Unless the Beverly Hills Police Department (BHPD) has other information to tie this Harold Smith to this case, it would appear there is no connection at all. Based on all of the reports I've read so far it appears that this Harold Smith was a down and out ex-convict (if true, he should have been monitored by a parole officer) who was mentally ill (talking to himself, making bizarre statements) and engaging in the use of illegal drugs such as crystal meth.

It appears he had no means to even own a vehicle and all he had for transportation was a bicycle. Some reports state he was a resident of the Harvey apartment building for 3 months. Other reports stated he was evicted after a month but was still hanging around the lobby. Why wasn't he reported by the building management to police? Or was he? Did the others report his statements claiming he killed Ronni to the police? Did they report he claimed to have a gun? If so why would BHPD not go in with guns already drawn?

It is likely that it will turn out that this Harold Smith person had no actual connection whatsoever to the Ronni Sue Chasen (Veronica Cohen) murder but just made bizarre fantasy connections of himself to it in his head.

[Ryan D]

Had all the makings of a hit from day 1, and this nearly confirms it.
Another PR group or a jilted client?

[Larry]

There are things here that don't add up.

This guy is described as possibly mentally unstable. The shooter was obviously a crack shot marksman. Those two attributes are not usually in sync. It takes a lot of mental stability to control your body and manage to shoot a target as the victim was in this case.

He was expecting $10,000? Even if a partial payment for a killing, that seem very low to me, and maybe a made-up story by someone looking for attention.

I don't think this is the right guy. The real killer is still at large.

[Texasfirst]

Regardless of what other posters say. This looks like the suspect. This is someone who would commit a crime for a relatively small amount of cash. He has a gun on his person, and this probably will be the gun used in the murder. This subject will have had some formal military training or security training. Travels by Bicycle. Perfect for a clean getaway. Also allows someone to get up close to the vehicle and shoot a tight group of shots. I would imagine that the Police have tape from the neighborhood of this subject traveling out of the area on his bicycle. Or the suspect may have been snitched out by the same person or persons who hired him to do the hit. The question will not be whether or not he did it but who hired him to do it.

[Benny F.]

so you're saying this guy was a "patsy" ?

[bdflatlander]

It will be interesting to see what he ballistics test shows. Is the gun used in the suicide the same one used in Ronni Chasen's murder?

[Joe Shea]

Could Harold be the man who threatened six casting agents in the days before Chasen's death?

[Cara D]

They'll plant the whole thing on this guy and sweep the real killer aside. Big money tied in here.

[harley]

wow..seems like so cal beach dude knows alot about the case...well from living on the street experience..I think this guy was either the driver or the actual shooter....but the whole thing was masterminded bye someone else...with alot of money....10,000.00 is alot of money for someone who lives day to day..

[Rocco]

This sounds very much like murder for hire. Get an ex con and dangle 10k in front of him to do the dirty deed and provide a layer of insulation to the people that wanted her dead.

To me, it seems odd that he hadn't been paid. They usually don't kill on credit, even in the movies.

There's a lot more to this story. I hope it gets solved.

[Anonrighter]

Okay, if this guy is the hitman (and I think he is), one thing puzzles me. HOW did he know that Ronni would have chosen to go down that particular route home? Working a premiere is not part of your normal routine -- even for a publicists-- as premieres happen different locations and your route home can change w your mood or traffic or errands along the way (market for milk). A person like this doesn't have a routine -- most people don't have a routine working in Hollywood, that's part of the appeal.

So, she would have to have been followed. But this guy doesn't sound like he has a car -- only a bike -- so that means there were accomplices (a la "the driver"). He couldn't have easily biked from east-Hollywood to BH and he would not have known how she was going home that night.

Thoughts?

[scully]

we haven't had a really good Hollywood mystery in a long time.

[shadyking]

witness saying they heard him speak of $10000.0 for a job he recently had done is not evidence he shot Ronni Chasen. Add a zero to that I maybe you have a point. She was worth $6 mil plus. This is not the guy... just a cover up story paid for by the person or people that know the TRUTH. Hollywood controls your mind and the police. The name of merlin's staff was called hollywood. Illuminate your mind to see the TRUTH. lol

[Minnesota Mike]

Still lots of wild speculation going on here I see. Well, I'm just going to hold off on stating anything with great certainty, or even winging a theory, and wait until we're all told more by the real investigators. Will this become a book? A movie? An off- Broadway play? All of the above? This'll get worked into possibly a dozen books, perhaps a few films, and that's a 'maybe' on the stage play. Life imitates art imitates life. I thought everyone in the L.A. area understood that...

[boil]

this whole thing sound like a hit, and i would be the guy who owns the building has something to do with it.... i have heard he live in BH, and there was some sort of soured deal that ms chasen put together..... or maybe the star whackers are real...

[tgfov]

He appearses to be a severly troubled young man no one will ever know what drove him to do such bad deeds. I send my condolences to all who lost love ones in tragic events.

[shadowpark]

A very tidy end hosted by the L.A. times and bev. hills lames.
This guy was at best a fall guy the real killer is still at large and the person behind the killing is still out on the street what a bunch of pr bull!!

[Ludovic]

IF, this is in fact the shooter, the Police already have an idea who probably hired this guy to carry out the hit on Ronnie Chasen. Who had the most to gain from her death? (Heirs). Who would benefit from her death? (Heirs) and among her heirs, take a look at their finances.....or drug problems. Who needed the money and couldn't wait another 20-25 years for her to live out the rest of her life? They will be caught. Karma is real.

[sitdownandbequiet]

Wow, it took all of ten minutes for the crazies to start throwing their conspiracy theories around like they were facts.

[DERMOT]

My money is on CAA. As Jackie Lewis I beleieve said: You can take all the sincerity in Hollywood and put it in a gnat's navel and still have room for two caroway seeds and a CAA agent's heart.

[AdoptiveFather, Los Angeles CA]

Did anybody check to see if his concealed weapon permit was current?

Crimminals don't really use guns do they?

[Siamese cats]

Lots of conspiracy theorists in Los Angeles. More than a few seem to be wearing their tin-foil hats.