Murdered Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen suspected she was being followed as far back as March, sources tell Page Six. The well-liked industry veteran told a friend she believed she was being followed shortly after the 2010 Oscars.
Our source said, “Ronni said in March she suspected she was being followed, but didn’t know by whom. She said she was scared. Some people close to her believe it was a hit, but nobody knows why.”
It was unclear if Chasen, who was shot to death in her car in Beverly Hills as she drove home after the party for the new movie “Burlesque” at 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday, contacted police at the time.
Former NYPD and LAPD chief William J. Bratton, who now works in private security in New York, told us, “This is a real Hollywood whodunnit. Four days in we still have no idea [what happened]. Nobody seems to have come up with anything substantive as far as motive goes. Beverly Hills has very few homicides, so every resource they have will be focused on this.”
Beverly Hills Police Lt. Tony Lee declined to divulge any aspects of the investigation, saying, “People are coming out with all types of theories. But we will not rule out anything until the perpetrator is found.”
Neighbors reported hearing gunfire and found Chasen’s car crashed on Whittier Drive, a street of multimillion-dollar homes just south of Sunset Boulevard.
The Hollywood Reporter yesterday said Beverly Hills police were working on a theory that the attack was planned and not the result of road rage or a carjacking.
Detectives suspect Chasen, 64, was shot through the passenger-side window from another vehicle — possibly an SUV, because of the high angle of shots fired, Beverly Hills Mayor Jimmy Delshad told the LA Times.
Officers searched Chasen’s home and office, taking away her computers, but say they’re still trying to identify who might have wanted to harm her.