This has been the number one subject in Hollywood this week, and five days after the murder we still don’t know much. From day one, the police suspected it was a deliberate hit instead of a random act, and nothing they’ve discovered has changed that assumption. But why wouldn’t an assassin TRY to cover up the motive and make it LOOK like a robbery? The Beverly Hills police are scrutinizing the videos they picked up from sources near the killing, but they’re dead silent. It’s interesting that the BH police have refused help offered from other agencies and insist they will solve the crime themselves. (Granted, they don’t get many opportunities to solve crimes in that town.) Everybody assumes there’s a juicy story behind this murder – involving big money, ego, sex, who knows WHAT. Did Ronni harbor a piece of volatile information? TMZ seems to have dropped the ball on this one – with all their legal connections, we’d expect SOMETHING. The New York Post says Ronni told a friend last year that she thought someone was “following her.” Do any of you readers have a story about Ronni you want to share, or a theory, or actual information?
62 Comments
Never heard of her before this horrible crime and yes, it definitely sounds like a hit. Somebody HAS to know something. it’s only a matter of time before something leaks out.
Where is Dominic Dunne when we need him!? He would be all over this and solve it too.
Follow the money. And those with whom she held deeply personal connections. The unusual nature of her murder—where someone had clearly been positioned in a way so as to shoot her in the chest, when the head would have been an obvious, easier target—is significant. Someone who called the shots took effort to avoid destroying her face. And to hire a professional. Very personal, indeed.
That she was probably just beginning her turn onto (was it Waverly Drive?) from Sunset indicates the split-second timing the assassin needed in order to hit his (or her) mark. Also the indication of a professional job.
Did Chasen have enemies? Who doesn’t? Again, look into the finances of her business for red flags. If she was being stalked for the opportunity to kill her, as is likely, it’s also likely that her killer was somewhere on the periphery of the “Burlesque” premiere and later, at the restaurant. Her friends in the business should be collecting their photos of the evening for the investigators’ scrutiny.
Hollywood may have just seen how deadly the implications of the burgeoning “recession” can be.
Oh, and Chasen looks like Candace Bergen in this photo. And Sarah Jessica Parker (on her right) looks good, too. 🙂
BHPD screwed up the Mark Ruffalo brother murder and there were two suspects in the apartment with him. One was rich, so do the math.
Keep in mind that Ronni (Chasen) was a NY Jew with the real last name of Cohen. It is a tragic ending that will in the end involve money.
Clearly an inside job. She knew too much and had to be silenced.
Just sAying, u are so bad!! I scrolled up 2x to see sjp & didn’t see her then I got it. I’m slow.
Someone had something to hide and she knew it and they kill her to keep her quiet.
Start with the husband/boyfriend/partner. If there isn’t one, look at her business partner. Then look at her kids.
Usually when a woman is murdered her partner is to blame. But this type of violence implies a serious grudge or money issues.
No partner (business or personal), no kids.
Janet, do you know who inherits? Maybe he/she/they need money?
Then a grudge, someone who’s movie she refused to publicize; or a drug bill not paid.
So the “Handicapped” tag displayed in her car was finally made legitimate—albeit if only in the last two minutes of the victim’s life.
NY jooish mob money grudge = the murder of Ben “Bugsy” Siegel, shot 9 times in a house in BH — 1951, not too distant from Cohen’s murder site. His slaying remains “unsolved” to this day.
Meanwhile, good time to own a bulletproof auto-glass biz.
Anna, Dominic Dunne is dead, otherwise, as you note- he would be all over this.
Can’t believe people can make jokes RE this post, or use it to, yet again, express their prejudices (Strom!). Have some respect!
First of all, someone was murdered, and they should be paid some respect. Second — and I am very old-world RE this – a woman was murdered is a rather shocking way, and that makes the situation, and levity about it, all the more disturbing. I guess the days when strangers would stop and acknowledge a funeral procession — men removing hats, etc. — are long gone. Another sign of disappearing civility and decency.
I am all for laughing it up — without mercy — over the ridiculous actions of silly celebrities, but this is something completely different.
Whoever did this was definately trying to send a message to others. Clean, deliberate hit, out in the open. I would probably bet there are a lot of nervous people in Hollywood right now. Maybe the Quaids are not far off by saying there is some sort of secret Hollywood Underworld? Can wait to find out all the deets and see the movie they will surely make. Hey, maybe that’s it? Hollywood is out of original screenplay ideas, so this is their way of making their own script, Hahaha.
PS. SebastianCanada How big of you to suddenly take the high road…
First of all, Strom needs to save his Jew-hating comments for his next KKK meeting. Second, let’s all remember that the murder of anyone is tragic. God bless Ronni Chasen but the fact she worked in Hollywood and was killed in Beverly Hills should not make this investigation any more urgent than the hundreds of unsolved homicide cases where the victims were not famous or rich. I’m not saying that police view these crimes differently but the media certainly do.
Muffin, reread my commment — my point is clear, even for someone educated in western Canada.
WOW!! SebastianCanada you really are high on yourself and your self proclaimed “I am more educated and cultured than you” attitude. What are you talking about anyway? You make fun of people and their children with down syndrome but you are sensitive about a murder. Come on get a grip here man. Enough with your arrogance already. I see through your facade.
PS Western Canada is wonderful by the way and I am very proud to live here. If all people are like you in the East(which I am sure ther not because one of you is more than enough), then I have no desire to ever visit there!!
Muffin, agreed! West Coast Canada here… Also dearest darlings I read strom’s post 3 times and found no prejudice in it, unless in your heads mentioning someone’s ethnic background is so very taboo … Strom simply states the fact she was Jewish. And yes, obviously this is about the money. Money=power=influence which she obviously had it all. Tough world, not for a girl. Sad ending as well.
Meg, maybe you should get to know the real strom by reading his past posts. Her being Jewish has nothing to do with her being killed other than a Asian male. By simply stating she’s Jewish or saying he’s Irish is not a factory in the investigation. This woman worked with and around very powerful people and someone or more didn’t like her or what she knew and killed her or had her killed. I agree with Sebastion.
“If” I had any information I would be giving it to the cops, not posting it on a gossip website. But that’s me.
I’m sure even the BHPD know that this was a “hit”. As for TMZ dropping the ball, they’re too busy following Mel and Oksana around to bother with anything else. Okay, unless of course it’s Linday Lohan.
The obvious objection to strom’s utterances are that he always inserts race when it’s not the subject. This is an obvious hit on a wealthy Hollywoodite with connections in all directions. Hopefully it will be easily untangled. While tragic, as noted, the authorities should invest the same effort into any murder and not just save the hard work for the wealthy. Same with the press and media.
strom’s lack of empathy parallels his racism deeply. One wonders how he would react if his life depended on a “Jewish” or “black” blood transfusion or organ donation since he so obviously believes himself superior to all. One can only hope the opportunity arises at some point in the future and he turns it down in revulsion. After all, hate must be bone deep and in every pore when someone is that transparent and unrelenting.
And yes, she very much resembles Candice Bergen in this picture.
And Dominick Dunne didn’t do detective work, but sat in on trials and was a brilliant writer and had a pretty interesting TV show about famous murders and crimes of the rich, so yeah, this would be right up his alley. But he’s been dead for several years now. Too bad, because there is no one to fill his shoes.
Agree totally that this case would be perfect for Dominick’s talents.
And he would, not doubt, have dutifully reported what’s now being brought to light in the Orange County Register regarding Ms. Cohen/Chasen. Specifically, that she was a not-so-nice lady with an odious sense of entitlement and a nasty reputation in some quarters.
Now that she’s firmly in the ground, all presumably will be brought to light. And to anyone willfully naive enough to maintain that her ethnicity/chosen identity/cultural affinity/whatever-the-fuck-you-want-to-call it, is a factor NOT to be considered—well, thankfully, the people charged with solving her murder will have a different view. It’s ALL relevant, folks.
And Just Sayin’, I believe you meant “Whittier” rather than Waverly.
there’s a problem?
…………JUST CALL HER TO ASK.
Santo Trafficante, Jr. dated her in the 80’s. She knew things about JFK and Marilyn and she was whacked.
Pippa get better writers.
In fact, Chasen worked under Giancarlo Parretti when he disastrously headed MGM. He was later sentenced to four years in prison by a Paris court. Chasen once playfully(?) threatened to have a writer for the LA Times killed if he didn’t start writing nice things about Parretti. A woman with a complicated past, to be sure.
Your pathetic attempts to disdain the reality of her background makes you sound like a shill. Care to share something?
Looks like Quaid & Eva might be on to something. And for BH police to refuse outside help, says they’re accepting “another type of help” if you get my drift. People are being flagged off this case because it was an inside job & they don’t want the real details to surface.
We always knew Hollywood had a dark side & this is it. Seems Randy Quaid isn’t so big & dumb after all. Now, I’m wondering if someone will get to interview them in a secret location before they too get bumped off.
And if anyone has anything, you can bet their checking their insurance papers to make sure their loved ones have a good place to hide just in case they get bumped off as well.
This is damn scary, from top to bottom . . .
{PS. SebastianCanada How big of you to suddenly take the high road…}
Yes, he/she loves this shit!
Janet, I don’t know anything about this case but over the years I’ve wondered what you thought about the Phil Hartman murder?
I don’t see how she could have been shot 3 to 5 times at the Sunset and Whittier intersection, made the left and continued down Whittier without crashing way before she did. The speed limit is 25 on Whittier and there is a stop sign, although not much room on the passenger side. If this hit was meant for her, it sounds like she didn’t do something she was supposed to do.
Well, Mr. or Ms. Conda (LOVE the name, by the way):
Remember the ex-girlfriend that footballer Rae Carruth contracted to have murdered several years ago? She was also shot to death while driving a car—but managed to (if memory serves) call 911, AND sign a statement naming Carruth as the man behind the hit in the hospital before she died.
The point being: Cohen/Chasen probably didn’t die instantly. If she was already into the turn onto Whittier when the shots rang out, proceeding straight—before she couldn’t control the car any longer—actually makes sense (don’t think she was concerned about speed limits, though).
In fact, the last images produced by her brain may have been those of the black Escalade or Range Rover or Cayenne from which her assassin made his move. Five shots that seem like overkill actually ensured that she wouldn’t live long enough to whisper a plate number or other identifier with her last breath.
Corrected to add: We KNOW she didn’t die instantly, as the witnesses at the scene describe her as being in and out of consciousness. And: It doesn’t take but a few seconds to drive a pretty significant distance—as unlikely as that may sound—considering the driver has just been shot multiple times.
Hollywood couldn’t have asked for a more interesting screenplay than this! It drips of betrayal, sex, blackmail, extortion, murder and everything else that makes a murder mystery interesting. This is the strangest murder I have read about in a long time and why she was shot in that location is bizarre to say the least! It is very quiet and dark on that part of Beverly Hills because the traffic along Sunset Blvd is practically non existant at that hour. Someone could have pulled alongside her, blasted her window out and cause her car to crash. This is definately some sort of revenge and the Beverly Hills police MUST find her killer because there is enormous pressure on them to get this solved. There is nothing like all of the studio heads and film industry insiders offering rewards for information on her killing to make them nervous. It smacks of disrespect for the police and that is why they don’t want help from outside. As for Chasen having no enemies and being loved by all – bulls—t!!! No one lasts in Hollywood as long as she did unless they bulldoze over people who stand in the way of their success. She looked like a very charming woman and was beautiful but she was aggressive and had to be pushy to get her clients what they wanted. Make no mistake – someone in Hollywood wanted her dead. When the police figure out what happened it will be explosive and involve many famous people I think.
There would have to be approximately 3-5 seconds of time to get all the shots into the car without exterior bullet holes or breaking any other glass by a shooter who was also a driver. It would be more probable if both vehicles were stopped even briefly. That puts it at the stop light before the turn or maybe right in the intersection momentarily stopped while waiting for traffic to break and then the wherewithall to straighten the wheel onto Whittier or at the Whittier stop sign. The intersection cameras should have captured something like the condition of he car.
Was John Travolta involved:
http://gawker.com/5685811/the-secret-sex-life-of-john-travolta
Do we know that the shooter was also the driver? Could he have been sitting in the back seat of the assassin’s car (Driver’s side), which when stopped on the right side and forward of RC’s at the light, would have afforded the positioning and time to shoot?
Also: Am wondering whether her car may have been secretly affixed with a GPS tracker? Much easier to follow her and know where she was at all times that way.
Or maybe…
The assailant wasn’t driving (or riding in) a car, at all. Could a motorcycle have been used? Did anyone hear the sound of one roaring away?
Generally, motorcycles are loud—which is a safety advantage when you can’t always be seen by other traffic, but they don’t have to be loud. Some give off no more noise than a countertop appliance. A motorcycle would offer far more maneuverability and allow many more escape routes than a car could take advantage of. It would also permit the assailant to get much closer to RC’s vehicle—maybe by turning with her partway toward Whittier—and then firing 5 quick shots before peeling off in another direction. Also, a motorcyclist can completely cover his appearance with helmet and other gear without causing undue attention…
…all things that the BHPD is probably taking into consideration; and speaking of which, isn’t this the highest profile case they’ve worked since the Menendez Brothers accelerated their inheritance some years ago?
Wow! Great thread. It is like Murder She Wrote, but without the sex appeal.
GPS could have been used and likely for an important target. A motorcycle would have been convenient, especially on Whittier.
I’m thinking of a couple of things. What about a slight rear end bumper tap by the other car so she would stop and so someone could approach the passenger window with reason to speak and then zap.
If it was vehicle to vehicle and with a non- standard issue fire arm, this might have a European flavor.
I don’t see enough information yet that she was the right target.
A Conda, it’s been reported that the passenger side window was partly rolled down. Your theory that the car was stopped sounds plausible, but I don’t think it would have been on Sunset – she was pretty far down Whittier when she hit that pole.
Given where her car stopped, the shooter could have hung a quick right on Greenway Drive and been back on Sunset by the time the neighbors got up to look out their windows.
Really good posts here. Very thought provoking responses and intelligent theorizing.
I find them to be a great kindness to the memory of Ronnie Sue Chasen. May the answer to her sad and mysterious death be solved here so that she may be honored and finally be allowed to rest in peace.
I didn’t know about the partially rolled down passenger window. I think it happened down Whittier at or before the stop sign.
I agree wholeheartedly that Whittier seems a much more plausible locale for the murder.
And more and more—given the lay of the land there—it sounds as if the victim may have been ambushed, with the shooter laying in wait for her there.
…And considering how airtight this execution seems to have been undertaken, one has to wonder whether this one will ever be solved.
(There could be unreported witnesses who have come forward, but if ever there were a case where people “wouldn’t want to get involved,” this one may be it.)
I saw a video piece from Fox 11 news re coroner’s report mentioning 9 mm hollow point, 4-6 shots into her body and this all taking place at the intersection of Sunset and Whittier and then the drive down Whittier. I don’t know how anyone would have the ability to drive through the intersection and down the road.
I think if this was intended for her, this would be to do with movie/music financing. There is a lot of performance pressure these days. Maybe the desired results weren’t delivered.