Moms and Mysteries: A True Crime Podcast · Moms and Mysteries Podcast

[Unsolved] Who Killed Ronni Chasen? Hollywood's Mystery

·38 min·2 clips

When detectives confronted Harold Martin Smith, he pulled out a .38 revolver and shot himself in the head.

1. Moms and Mysteries: A True Crime Podcast focuses on the November 16, 2010 killing of Hollywood publicist Ronnie Chasen in Beverly Hills. 2. Mandy and Melissa host the episode, and their true-crime banter frames Ronnie Chasen’s case through a mix of personal reactions and timeline reporting. 3. The episode asks whether Beverly Hills police really solved Ronnie Chasen’s murder or simply closed it. 4. Ronnie Chasen was shot after leaving a red-carpet movie premiere, then drove a quarter mile before crashing into a streetlight on North Whittier Drive. 5. Paramedics took her to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 1:30 in the morning. 6. Investigators said she was shot with a .38 caliber revolver, and early reports said five shots before the count was corrected to four. 7. The hosts explain that Ronnie was born Veronica Sue Cohen in Kingston, New York, and grew up in New York City with her brother Larry. 8. Ronnie studied journalism at Hofstra University, appeared on Guiding Light and The Patty Duke Show, and later changed her surname to Chasen after Chasen’s restaurant. 9. Her publicity career included American International Pictures, Rogers and Cowan, MGM, and her own firm, Chasen and Company. 10. The episode names her work on Oscar campaigns for Driving Miss Daisy, The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Slumdog Millionaire, Chicago, and The Hurt Locker. 11. Morgan Freeman and Diane Warren are cited as people who publicly recognized Ronnie’s influence in Hollywood. 12. The hosts also note that Ronnie supported the Tower Cancer Research Foundation, Project Rebirth, Big Sisters, and the Scott Newman Foundation. 13. Ronnie’s life was still active at 64, with hip surgery planned for 2011 and a two-month trip to Paris afterward. 14. After the murder, friends offered a $100,000 reward through Harold Matzner and another $25,000 through Michael Levine, creating a $125,000 pool. 15. A Harvey Apartments resident named Laramie McKay called police after his neighbor Harold Martin Smith behaved suspiciously and asked about the news coverage. 16. The episode lists Harold’s criminal history, including burglary convictions, robbery charges, an 11-year prison sentence, and an active warrant in September 2010. 17. Police later found a .38 Smith & Wesson Model 67 revolver tied to Harold, but early reporting and later ballistics language left room for doubt. 18. The hosts describe the official police theory as a robbery gone wrong, while also noting that Ronnie’s purse stayed in the car and no property was taken. 19. The episode’s tone shifts between conversational host banter and a detailed investigative recap with quoted witnesses, police statements, and reporter questions. 20. Listeners who like Hollywood true crime and unsolved-case debate would likely enjoy this episode; listeners wanting a clean resolution probably would not.

As heard by us

A Hollywood killing shaped by a suspicious tip, a shadowed suspect, and no settled motive.

Ronnie Chasen's killing lands where Hollywood polish meets a rougher, stranger underside. After a career spent helping stars shine, she was shot in Beverly Hills after a movie premiere and never made it home.

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Why you'd press play

Press play when you want a Hollywood murder mystery that still keeps its motive just out of reach.

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