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The suicide of a man who was a "person of interest" in the Beverly Hills shooting death of a celebrity publicist does not end the probe, police said late Wednesday.
Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen was found dead in her car November 16 on her way home from a movie premiere.
Los Angeles, California -- The suicide of a man who was a "person of interest" in the shooting death of celebrity publicist Ronni Chasen does not end the investigation, a Beverly Hills Police spokesman said Wednesday evening.
The man, who has not been publicly identified, died Wednesday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the lobby of a Hollywood apartment building as he was being questioned by Beverly Hills detectives, according to Los Angeles Police Capt. Kevin McClure.
The detectives were at the Harvey Apartments on Santa Monica Boulevard conducting a "follow-up investigation" when "the person they were looking for showed up," McClure said.
"They attempted to talk to the suspect," he said. "When they did, the suspect produced a handgun and there was a self-inflicted gunshot wound."
He was pronounced dead on the scene in the lobby of the apartment building, he said.
"This person was a person of interest from the Chasen incident," Beverly Hills Police Lt. Tony Lee said. He would not call him a suspect.
Law enforcement officials use the term "person of interest' when they are seeking to question a person who has not been formally accused of a crime.
"It's not over," Lt. Lee said when asked if the man's death ended the probe into Chasen's November 16 killing.
Resident Terry Gilpin said she saw blood splattered in the hallway of the building as she was heading out. The Harvey Apartments, available for a $600 month-to-month rent, is home to many struggling actors, she said.
Chasen, 64, died from gunshots fired into her Mercedes-Benz as she turned off Sunset Boulevard on her way home from a star-studded premiere celebration for the movie "Burlesque" in the early morning of November 16.
Chasen's killer fired at least four shots into her car, including at least one hollow-point bullet, in the Beverly Hills attack, according to a leaked coroner's report.
Hollow-point bullets are controversial because the slug is designed to expand after it enters a body, causing greater damage to tissue than a solid bullet.
There is no prevailing theory on whether the attack was road rage or a planned hit, police said.
