Chasen murder suspect kills himself during raid

A man named as a suspect in the murder of Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen shot himself in the head yesterday after police entered his apartment building with a search warrant.

The Los Angeles Times claims detectives from the Beverly Hills Police Department believed the dead man was involved in the death of Chasen (pictured above, centre), who was found in her car with multiple gun shot wounds on November 16, and had been monitoring the suspect for some time.

Police officers approached the Hollywood apartment building of the suspect, who has not been named, at around 6pm local time on Wednesday. They cornered the man in the lobby, but he pulled out a gun and shot himself. He was declared dead at the scene.

Police confirmed that a person died during an ongoing investigation but did not reveal any further information.

Officers have been baffled by the murder of Chasen, who was a well-respected publicist in the film industry and counted Morgan Freeman and Michael Douglas as her clients. Some media reports have suggested it was a contract killing.

The New York Post has reported that Chasen told friends earlier this year that she thought she was being followed. An unnamed source is quoted as saying: "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."

On the night she was killed, Chasen was on her way home from a Hollywood party for the premiere of the movie /Burlesque/, which was attended by Cher and Christina Aguilera.

Friends and colleagues were shocked by the death of a woman who they described as having "no enemies". The Palm Spring International Film Festival has put up a $100,000 reward for anyone who comes forward with information that leads to an arrest. ·