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Case Closed: Ronni Chasen Was Killed With Gun Stolen From Cop
It's over, solved, and at last, closed: Ronni Chasen, the publicist gunned down behind the wheel of her Mercedes in Beverly Hills last November, "was murdered with a gun stolen from a police officer," reports The Wrap. The Beverly Hills Police Department say the killer was indeed ex-con Harold Smith, and that their investigation is now closed.Chasen was shot four times, the victim of random violence by Smith, who engaged Chasen in an altercation that was part of a robbery or road rage, say investigators. It was not a professional hit.
Smith committed suicide in front of police officers about two weeks after the killing.
The weapon used was "a revolver stolen from a police officer during a burglary in the San Fernando Valley," however it has not be made known from which department the burglarized officer hails, or when the burglary took place.
The police are likely to declare the case closed today, after months of detective work; the case was considered "solved" in January, though it remained open much longer than it seems the BHPD anticipated.
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