Revealed: The secret $6million fortune of murdered Hollywood publicist... and the niece she snubbed with paltry $10 bequest in her will

By Daily Mail Reporter and David Gardner
Last updated at 10:56 AM on 3rd December 2010

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• Ronni Chasen left thousands of dollars in her will to various charities
• Her favourite niece gets the bulk of her fortune while other niece snubbed
• 'Person of interest' shoots himself in motel lobby as police approached him
• Dead man had served prison sentences for firearms offences
• Coroner: Chasen's injuries are consistent with a 'professional hit'

Murdered publicist Ronni Chasen was worth millions of dollars when she was mysteriously gunned down in Beverly Hills on her way home from a star-studded Hollywood party.
Her estate was worth $6.1 million, according to a copy of the will obtained today by TMZ.
But in what appears to be a cruel snub, the veteran movie flack made a point of leaving just $10 to one of her nieces.

Family issues: Ronni Chasen (left) was murdered after being shot five times in the chest while driving back from a film premiere last month - her will, released today, showed she only left her niece Jill Gatsby (right) $10

'I have intentionally and with full knowledge of the consequences omitted to provide for my niece, Jill Cohen, also known as Jill Gatsby, except for the gift of $10,’ she wrote in the June, 1994 will.
Although she left thousands of dollars to charity, the bulk of the inheritance goes to another niece, Melissa Cohen.
Ms Gatsby posted an emotional song, titled 'Shining', in memory of her aunt on YouTube more than a week ago despite the nominal amount left to her.

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Generous: Ronni Chasen left an estimated $6.1million fortune which she shared amongst various charities and family members with a large chunk going to her other niece Melissa Cohen

Her assistant said tonight that the 43-year-old was a screenwriter and singer/songwriter.
'The phone has been ringing off the hook,' she said. On her website, Gatsby writes that she is directing and playing the lead in a thriller she wrote called 'The Torture of Delva Mills.'
The latest twist in the murder case that has baffled Hollywood emerged after it was revealed that a man who committed suicide after homicide detectives tried to arrest him last night had bragged openly about carrying out the killing.

Investigation: A 'person of interest' in the Ronni Chasen murder case shot himself in the lobby of the Harvey Apartments in Hollywood last night after approached by police

Neighbours said the man, known only as 'Harold', claimed he was being paid $10,000 for the contract hit.
'I heard Harold brag a few weeks ago that he killed Ronni Chasen,’ said Terri Gilpin, 46, a resident at the apartment complex where the drama happened.
'He said 'You know that publicist they're talking about on TV? Yeah, I killed her. I'm getting $10,000 for killing her. I did it, I did it' he said,’ she added.
She said the man boasted about his criminal past.

Suicide: The LA County Coroner removes a body from the scene thought to be a man known as 'Harold' who had allegedly bragged of killing Miss Chasen

'He'd often brag that he had a gun and would kill anyone who got in his way,’ she told People. 'He told my husband he'd been to prison twice for drug charges and a weapons charge, and that he'd rather die than go back.’
Another resident claimed the reed-thin African-American in his forties was a drug dealer.
The ex-con killed himself just as police closed in to question him at about 6pm yesterday evening.
Now investigators fear his suicide may have deepened the mystery by shutting down their best hope of discovering who orchestrated the murder and why.
After keeping the suspect under surveillance for several days, police moved in with a search warrant and confronted him in the lobby of a dingy apartment building on famed Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood on Wednesday evening.
Ignoring police orders to raise his hands, the man pulled out a gun and shot himself in the head, killing himself instantly.
Miss Chasen’s death shocked the entertainment industry and triggered endless speculation.
The veteran publicist was shot dead at the wheel of her Mercedes-Benz in Beverly Hills on November 16 as she drove home from a star-studded premiere party for the film 'Burlesque.’
Friends insisted that the popular publicist did not have any enemies and were at a loss to understand why anyone would have a motive to kill her.
But police investigated claims of jealousy over the success of her past publicity campaigns for Oscar-nominated films and there was a suggestion that someone close to her had built up gambling debts that she was helping to pay off.
Detectives refused to say whether the suspect who killed himself was believed to be the assassin or an accomplice and remained tight-lipped over his exact role in the killing.
'He told me several times, 'If it ever came back down to me going to prison, I would die first,’ said resident Brandon Harrison.

Dramatic twist: Police outside the apartment building on Santa Monica Boulevard who had gone to speak to the dead man of a possible link between Miss Chasen and  were trying to identify a link between them

He added that 'Harold’ told him he was supposed to be getting $10,000 for a job he did. Police believe the payment may have been in return for carrying out the contract killing.
The suicide happened at the low-rent Harvey Apartments in a run down area of Hollywood, which is a far cry from the area where Miss Chasen lived. A studio apartment in the motel was estimated at between $600-$700 per month.
The dramatic new twists in the case came after a coroner’s report showed that the publicist died from wounds to the chest fired by an 'expert marksman.’

The Los Angeles coroner said the nature of the injuries was consistent with her being targetted by a professional gunman.
In her will, Miss Chasen left her Playbill programme collection and other memorabilia to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, provided when it’s displayed in public she gets the credit 'from the collection of Ronni Chadsen.’
She also left cash donations, ranging up to $20,000, to charities including the Hole in the Wall Gang Fund, the Make a Wish Foundation and the Women’s Cancer Research Foundation.
Last night's dramatic turn of events came as initial coroner's report showed Chasen had died of wounds fired by an 'expert marksman'.

Crash: The car that Miss Chasen was driving had careered in to a lamp pole

The report showed the movie industry stalwart's injuries were consistent with a professional 'hit'.
Miss Chasen, 64, was shot five times in the chest in the early hours of November 16th in Beverly Hills, shortly after leaving the premiere of Burlesque.
The coroner said the nature of the famed publicist's injuries were consistent with being targeted by a professional gunman.
The report said:'There were three apparent gunshot wounds to the right side breast/chest area. There were two apparent gunshot wounds to the right shoulder.
'There was an apparent gunshot wound to the right upper back and the left upper back.
'One bullet was recovered from her back while at the hospital and is possibly a 9mm hollow point.'
Detectives confirmed they are looking for a skilled marksman as part of their murder probe.
They believe the gunman fired from a SUV or truck that pulled up alongside Miss Chasen's BMW as she stopped on Sunset Boulevard.

Friends in high places: Miss Chasen pictured with Jeff Bridges at the Oscars earlier this year (left) while actor Elliott Gould attended her funeral

The report added: 'After being struck by gunfire, she then made a left turn and drove for approximately a quarter mile before she crashed her car into a pole.'
Former LA detective Gill Carillo told ABC News: 'Normally they turn the gun sideways and this is something that was done with some skill.
'I carried a gun for 38 years and had to fire it quarterly. I don't think I could shoot and hit that mass like that.'
Police could find no shell casings and only the car's right-side passenger seats and windows were damaged.

WHY WAS CHASEN A TARGET?

Other theories from inside Beverly Hills include the following:

• Miss Chasen had a close friend or family member who had accumulated gambling debts of over £300,000 and the creditors were chasing her for money
• A Russian mob, who had invested in one of the films she had helped produced and were disappointed about their return, killed her
• Miss Chasen was shot because of an art deal gone wrong
• Someone was jealous of her successful Oscar campaigns

Miss Chasen's death has prompted a swirl of theories as to who might have wanted to kill the popular publicist.
Footage of her driving a car that was not hers 19 days before she was gunned down has only added to the intrigue as conspiracy theories abound about her death.
The film, snapped by a private investigator who was asked to record all the comings and going of the building where Miss Chasen was living, for an unrelated purpose, shows her driving an unidentified vehicle.
While police found Miss Chasen's black E350 Mercedes Benz crashed into a lamp post at the scene of her death, the car she is seen driving just weeks before the killing was not hers.
Police are now studying the video to see if it will shed any light on the mysterious killing.
They have already dismissed the possibilities that Miss Chasen, on her way back from a screening of Burlesque, was gunned down in a road rage incident or that it was a car-jacking gone wrong.
The police theory focuses on shots being fired from another car that pulled up next to the passenger side of Miss Chasen's car at around 12:30am on November 16.
It is believed these shots are what shattered Chasen's passenger side window, but police have ruled out a random sniper shooting.
Police spokesman Lieutenant Tony Lee told the New York Post: 'People are coming out with all types of theories. But we will not rule out anything until the perpetrator is found.'

Miss Chasen's funeral was held last month and mourners included industry colleagues and Hollywood stars, including actors Michael Douglas and Elliott Gould.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1335191/Murdered-Hollywood-publicist-Ronni-Chasens-secret-6million-fortune-revealed-showing-left-just-10-niece.html#ixzz172tLibbf