Beverly Hills Mayor Jimmy Delshad said detectives continue to investigate several theories about the killing but his own hypothesis is that someone pulled alongside Ronni Chasen in another vehicle and opened fire.
Chasen, 64, well-known for working tirelessly to promote her celebrity clients, was shot to death in her car around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday as she drove home from a party after attending the premiere of the new Cher and Christina Aguilera movie, "Burlesque."
She crashed into a light pole on Whittier Drive, a short distance from where the broken glass was found, at the junction with Sunset Boulevard.
Delshad, who had been briefed by police, told media outlets late Thursday that police believed the shooter fired into Chasen's passenger-side window from another vehicle and not from the street or a sidewalk.
He told reporters that, though no shell casings were found, detectives believe the bullets were fired from someone in an SUV because of the high angle of the shots.
But Delshad appeared to distance himself from those earlier remarks Friday, stressing in an interview with The Associated Press that any theories were his own and that police have not ruled anything out.
"That was my hypothesis, not the police hypothesis," Delshad said.
Beverly Hills police stopped responding to media requests for comment on the case Friday but issued a terse statement from Chief David Snowden that sought to reassure the public Chasen's shooting was "a rare, isolated incident and that the Beverly Hills community remains one of the safest in the nation."
Snowden also said some information that had been reported in the press relied on erroneous information, though he did not say what it was.
Kieron Foley, a retired Beverly Hills detective who now runs a private security company, said detectives would be scrutinizing Chasen's background, interviewing friends and confidants and scouring e-mails and phone logs for any clues as to who could have wanted to harm her.
Uncovering physical evidence would also be vital, including finding the shell casings.
"If we don't have any, they are either real good at cleaning up their mess or they used a revolver," he said.
Foley said the case reminded him of a 1991 slaying, in which Los Angeles businessman Ronald Ordin was fatally shot by a passenger on a motorcycle.
