It was fitting, in that Hollywood way, that the last time Ronni Chasen was seen alive was at a movie premiere. She had been in all her Hollywood glory -- stylish and smiling, effortlessly working the room, among friends.
It was after midnight, a short while later, when the power publicist was driving down the dark winding streets where Sunset Boulevard meets Beverly Hills when shots rang out into the night. Chasen crashed her black Mercedes into a lamppost and was found slumped over the steering wheel, bleeding to death. She had been shot multiple times and died an hour later.
Her violent and mysterious death sent shockwaves throughout the entertainment community. How could this happen? Why did this happen? Who wanted her dead? It was the end of a life, but the beginning of a Hollywood murder mystery that has turned up no leads. No suspects. No motives.
It has, however, turned up a reward: The organizers of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, whom Chasen worked with, are offering $100,000 for anything that leads to the apprehension of her killer.
At her funeral Sunday, friends couldn't help but allude to the bizarre circumstances surrounding her death: "There have been lots of fables this week," said Lili Fini Zanuck, wife of "Alice in Wonderland" producer Richard Zanuck, one of Chasen's clients. "Did she have a secret life?"
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