Mystery Man in Chasen Killing Was Career Criminal

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Documents obtained Friday by The Associated Press reveal that Harold Martin Smith, who acquaintances say had boasted of killing Chasen for money, was a convicted felon with a long criminal history.

Smith, 43, had most recently been released from prison in 2007 after a robbery conviction. He was discharged from parole just last year and had told neighbors at the seedy Los Angeles apartment building where he lived that he would never return to prison.

He ensured that Wednesday, when Beverly Hills police detectives, armed with a search warrant, approached him in the shabby lobby of the Harvey Apartments, told him to take his hands out of his pockets and said they were there to talk to him about Chasen's killing.

Smith pulled a gun from one of those pockets and shot himself in the head.

Police will only say Smith was a "person of interest" in their investigation and not necessarily a suspect. But as a convicted felon with a gun, criminal experts say it was likely he knew that he was in trouble no matter what he told police.

"Here's Harold talking all this (expletive). Cops are standing there looking at him, he's thinking, I didn't kill Ronni but I'm standing here with a gun in my pocket," speculated private investigator John Nazarian, a former sheriff's deputy who has investigated homicide cases. "He's going to go back to prison, for life probably. So he just decided to check out."

Court records show Smith, a transient, was no stranger to Beverly Hills, where Chasen was shot to death on Nov. 20. He was arrested for robberies in that city and neighboring West Hollywood and sentenced to 11 years in prison in 1998.

One of the victims testified in court that he grabbed her in a bear hug and demanded her purse but fled with just her portable music player and headphones when she screamed and struggled.

His criminal record dates back at least 25 years to 1985, when he was convicted of burglary in New York. He moved to California in 1991, was arrested again for burglary and pleaded guilty.

He was charged with marijuana possession and loitering last year in Manhattan Beach and pleaded guilty to the latter charge. A warrant for his arrest was issued after he failed to return to court in September to pay his $160 fine.

Chasen, 64, was shot multiple times as she drove through Beverly Hills in her Mercedes from a party after attending the premiere of the movie "Burlesque." She was promoting the film's soundtrack for an Oscar nomination.

Police have refused to say why they wanted to speak with Smith, but the crime show "America's Most Wanted" has said it passed a tip on to them from a viewer.

If that was the case, Beverly Hills police would have routinely followed up on it, said retired homicide detective Gil Carrillo.

"Does that mean he's part of it? Or is he just some guy not dealing with his mental faculties who is just seeking attention?" asked Carrillo, one of the Los Angeles County sheriff's detectives whose investigation helped capture and send notorious Night Stalker killer Richard Ramirez to prison for life in 1989 for killing 13 people.

"That happened to us on the Night Stalker case," Carrillo said. "A few people called in and said they were in fact the killer. We had to investigate them and learn if they were real or just a mentally disturbed person."

If Smith was the killer of Chasen, Carrillo added, his death throws a serious roadblock in front of police trying to determine if he acted alone and a possible motive. If he's not, it's likely just a minor bump in the road, the detective said, and likely won't be brought up again until the real killer is captured and a defense attorney tries to blame the murder on Smith.

As police continued their investigation Friday, a judge approved a petition to appoint special administrators for Chasen's estate, which court records show has an estimated value of $6.1 million. Attorneys for executors named in Chasen's 1994 will were asking the judge to appoint them as administrators so they can run her business and try to determine whether the publicist had a newer will.

Martha Smilgis, one of the co-executors, said she did not think Chasen was killed because of anything in her will. A friend of Chasen for more than 30 years, Smilgis said the veteran publicist had not expressed any fear or concern in recent conversations.

"Believe me, this woman expected to live on and on," Smilgis said.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)