tonight on "nightline," touch of evil. an a-list movie publicist gunned down in her car, but as cops move in on a suspect, he shoots himself dead. it's a hollywood who dun it that is starting to unravel. so, who killed ronni chasen? king croc. they lurk, a predator atop the food chain with a ton of bulk, needle teeth and explosive ferocity. we go inside the hidden world of the salt water crocodile. and, free fashion. get out of the way. clothing swaps are gaining popularity across the country. but second-hand doesn't have to mean second tier. and that's a "sign of the times."

>> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," december 2nd, 2010. >> good evening, i'm terry moran. and we begin tonight with a mystery worthy of hollywood, but tragically, it's no fiction. just over two weeks ago, movie publicist ronni chasen buzz driving her mercedes home on sunset boulevard when a gunman pulled up and opened fire. since then the story has emerged in bits and pieces. a sharp shooter, a shabby apartment complex and a neighbor who talked big until last night, when police officers came knocking. mike von fremd has our report. >> reporter: the investigation into the mysterious murder of high end hollywood publicist ronni chasen went down scale last night when investigators went to question a man neighbors say called himself harold, in

this seedy apartment building. as officers approached him in the lobby, he took out a gun and shot himself. >> they attempted to talk to the suspe suspect. when they did, the suspect produced a handgun and there was a self-inflicted gunshot wound at that point in time and the suspect was pronounced at the scene. >> reporter: eddie burk and his son were staying at the hotel. >> we left the building for a few hours and then as we returned, we were a little more than a block away, and all hell broke loose here on santa monica boulevard. >> reporter: terry gilpin was neighbors with harold, who they say described himself as an ex-con. he confessed to her that he killed chasen and that was he owed $10,000 for the hit. >> he said he was expecting a big pile of money to coming in. he said, that publicist on tv. he said, i'm getting $10,000. >> what did he say about the publicist? >> he said, oh, that publicist on there, i did it.

i did it. >> reporter: police tell abc news they're conducting a ballistics test to see if the gun used in the suicide is the same gun used to kill ronni chasen. >> the investigation is ongoing at this time. we've got nothing further to disclose about the investigation. >> reporter: 64-year-old chasen built a career as one of hollywood's elite publicists, promoting morgan freeman in "driving miss daisy". but chasen's life came to an end two weeks ago. here she is, her final walk down the red carpet, at the invitation only premiere for the film "burlesque." chasen was working on an oscar campaign for the film's sound track. after the premiere's afterparty, she drove her black mercedes home. her car was found smashed into a light pole, five bullet wounds in her back, chest and shoulder.

the passenger side window shattered. chasen was rushed to the hospital where she died in less than an hour. >> we don't have crimes like this in beverly hills. we have investigators at the scene that are trying to piece this thing together. we don't have a motive at this time. >> reporter: abc news has seen a copy of the initial coroner's report which is now under a security hold. the report says one bullet was recovered from her back while at the hospital and is possibly a .9 millimeter hollow point. early the next morning, police are sifting through the computers chasen kept in her office and home. searching for clues to this seemingly senseless murder. carol connor s knew ronni for years. >> if she was promoting a film, i believe, or the music to the

film, she gave that project 110% of herron nooi chasen. and all the people that worked for her. they loved her. >> reporter: police have scoured surveillance video of the area of beverly hills known as the bermuda triangle. in 1946, howard hughes survived a plane crash here. gangster bugsy seigle was gunned down on this street. it's a strip of road made famous by jan and dean and the song "dead man's curve." ♪ dead man's curve >> reporter: and it is now the location of one of the biggest hollywood who dun its ever. detectives suspect the gun fire came from a suv alongside and appeared the shooter was an expert marksman. >> normally they turn the gun sideways this is something that's done, you know, with some skill. it carried a gun for 38 years, i had to qualify quarterly. i don't know if i could hit that mass like that.

>> reporter: gil was a homicide detect give for more than 20 years here in los angeles and helped solve the famous night stalker case. what does your gut tell you? >> my gut tells me that somebody contracted someone else to kill the victim. >> reporter: howard bragman is a veteran hollywood publicist. >> in the case of ronn i, i don't believe this was a payback for something that happened with a client. i think it was a different issue, i would guess. >> reporter: what sort of issue could come to mind? >> when you talk about murder and particularly what i believe this was, a murder for hire, really three things come into play, mike. i think you're talking about, number one, pride. i think number two is romance and number three is money, and probably 95% of the time, it's about money. >> reporter: chasen certainly was not lacking for cash. her will just obtained by abc news has her valued at more than $6 million. while the hollywood press has

been searching for motives for the seemingly random crime, tight-lipped investigators are still trying to determine the connection between the suicide in hollywood and chasen's murder. one thing is certain. for this story, there will be no hollywood ending. for "nightline," this is mike von fremd in beverly hills. >> a real life mystery there. thanks to mike von fremd for that report. and when we come back, we'll go to the natural world. incredible scenes from the marshes of northern australia. natural habitat and native [ male announcer ] this is the evo 4g. this is android, which powers the evo. this is something nice someone said about the evo. so is this. ♪ and this. and all this.

and this is something really, really nice that someone said about the evo. well, we thought it was nice. this is the htc evo 4g. with speech disabilities, deaf, hard-of-hearing and people only from sprint, the now network. access www.sprintrelay.com. and go everywhere. to help revitalize a neighborhood in massachusetts. restore a historic landmark in harlem. fund a local business in chicago. expand green energy initiatives in seattle. because when you're giving, lending and investing in more communities across the country... more opportunities happen. ♪ more opportunities happen. ah, it's stinging a little bit more than usual! yeah, you'll get used to it. the longer you keep your high mileage car, the more it pays you back.

get castrol gtx high mileage. it helps engines last longer by fighting the main causes of engine failure. i think a dime went up my nose. yeah, it happens. don't change your car. change your oil to castrol gtx high mileage. its more than just oil. it's liquid engineering. ♪ [ female announcer ] the cleaner the counter, the smoother the counter. with bounty you can be confident you'll get your counter clean. in this lab test, one sheet of bounty leaves this surface 3x cleaner than the bargain brand. ♪ big mess? bring it. super absorbent, super durable, super clean. bounty. the clean picker upper. and for huge value, try bounty huge roll. i'm off to the post office... ok. uh, a little help... oh! you know shipping is a lot easier with priority mail flat rate boxes. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. plus, you can print and pay for postage online.

and i can pick them up for free with package pickup. perfect! cause i'm gonna need a lot of those. wow! i knew i should have brought my sleigh. priority mail flat rate shipping starts at $4.90 only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship.

they are nature's machines of death, lurking just beneath the water's surface. the very picture of animal menace with a mouth that can't chew, they must tear their prey apart in an action that appears violent, even sadistic, a little bit. yet, the other behavior of saltwater crocodile, their mating patterns and season migration is as delicate and any species on earth. jeremy hubbard as our report. >> reporter: you are staring at 2,000 pounds of sheer brutality and killing power, honed over millions of years a creature so strong that with the whip of the tail it can hoist its massive body eight feet in the air and snatch a bat right out of a tree. the deadly crocodile.

about the last thing you'd ever want to encounter in the wild. >> thomas, run! >> reporter: just ask brady barr. >> watch it! it's coming back. >> i love them but i'm recovering from a broken arm caused by a croc. they had to put a metal blaplatn here. this is like two months ago. sadly, in the same hand, i had a crocodile pretty much take this finger off and i had to have it surgically rebuilt with six screws in the finger and reattached. >> reporter: barr is a national geographic herp toll gist, the only way to capture every spee sews of croc in the world. he even recently helped rangel this nile crocodile, rumored to have killed 21 people in a small ugandan village. but few he's seen are as dangerous, as aggressive as the saltwater crocs, or salties, found in australia's northern territory. >> they're apex predators. they're at the top of the food chain. when you can reach lengths of 20 feet and weigh one ton, pretty

much anything is on your dinner plate. including, sadly, humans at times. >> reporter: throughout the year, national geographic's cameras track the salties in an australian billabong. it's here crews encountered an 18 footer they called the king, who makes it clear to all, even other crocodiles that he sits alone atop the food chain. during the wet season, when animals arrive in droves, these waters become a feeding ground for the crocodile. dinner today, duck. he swallows by opening a valve in his throat and keeps his head held high to keep water from rushing into his lungs. even land dwellers are at risk. this wallaby has no idea this predator is going to lash out. the thrashing and flailing may seem excessive, but this is how the croc breaks his meal into

bite-sized chunks. >> the teeth aren't designed to chew. they are needle sharp but they alternate. they don't chew. and they have the strongest bite of any animal on the planet. the powerful bite drives the alternating teeth deep into the prey. and then they roll, they do what's called the death roll. and it's like a tear on the dotted line. like ripping a piece of paper out of a notebook. that's how they get a manageable pete to swallow. >> reporter: when not feeding or fighting, they're often mating. the normally aggressive male is surprisingly tender with the female. they're raitual knew week. males attract females by blowing bubbles in the water. i never thought of blowing bubbles as a romantic symbol. romantic gesture. but to them, it is. >> don't knock it until you've tried it, my friend. they're very social. there's a lot of body language

that they use and vocalizations. blowing bubbles. inflating their bodies with air. they have a whole courtship. rubbing snouts together before copulation takes place. >> reporter: these salties have survived for 100 million years. they're longevity, hard to fathom when you consider just 1% of their offspring make it to adulthood. here, an infrared camera shows the underground nest this female is digging for the 80 or so eggs she'll lay. >> they're protective of babies. it's not just the mother. when a baby gives a distress cry, any adult crocodile will come to investigate. they're really good parents. they take better kids of their kids than a lot of humans i know. >> reporter: protecting the babies is not easy. they're no bigger than a candy bar at birth. the perfect meal for storks or dingos. survival is a constant fight in the fall, when the weltlands dry

up, the croc travels into shallow, muddy ponds. >> the big danger for them is overheating. >> reporter: when they're out of water -- >> they're done. if they don't have access to cooler temperatures, either shade or burrows and there is no water -- and when there is water, water level gets very low, they can succumb to high temperatures there, as well. >> reporter: in fact, maintaining a cool internal temperature of around 89 degrees may be the explanation for this iconic intimidating image of the crocodile. crocs may sit on the shore with their menacing mouths agape for no other reason than to help cool their brains. those brains may surprise you. some tine cysts believe crocs are smart enough to use con stay lakes to guide them. maybe that's what leads the king and others to this specific spot on this specific river, on this spy sific day. as night falls near this

man-made dam, a high tide that comes just twice a year rolls in, and as massive numbers of fish jump the barrier, the crocs easily pick them off, like a grizzly bear snacking on spawning salmon. >> they're very in tune to things that go on in their ecosystem, like the tide change. they ewalize that to capture fish. these aren't stupid questions. they're very complex, very successful predators. >> reporter: successful, strong and scary. built to endure for millions of years. these are the largest rep times on earth, with a well deserved reputation for survival, even bigger. i'm jeremy hubbard for "nightline." >> that is one impressive animal. "crocodile king" premieres tomorrow night on the national geographic channel. thanks to jeremy hubbard for that report. up next, the promise of designer clothes for free. we look at clothing swaps, the

latest trend, in recession-proof we look at clothing swaps, the latest trend, in recession-proof shopping. mnmnmnmnmnmnmnmn mnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmn [ male announcer ] opportunity is a powerful force. set it in motion... and it goes out into the world like fuel for the economy. one opportunity leading to another... and another. we all have a hand in it. because opportunity can start anywhere, and go everywhere.

let's keep it moving. ♪ let's keep it moving. if you live for performance, upgrade to castrol edge advanced synthetic oil. with eight times better wear protection than mobil 1. castrol edge. it's more than just oil. it's liquid engineering.

yeah! i thought we'd eat at hey, you ghome. save some money. $200 bucks? that's not saving! [jacks voice] at my place i'm bringing back the bonus jack. two patties, melting cheese and my secret sauce plus fries and a drink for only $3.99.

i get it. you can eat a lot cheaper atouar acthan y c]n at home. but do have this? i have dessert. what about this? ohhh. ohhhhhh. jack. that's for max. >> announcer: "nightline" continues from new york city with terry moran. >> well, retail sales over thanksgiving weekend were up from last year, but as this holiday season progresses, many americans are having to decide between labels they like and prices they can stomach. and that might explain the growing popularity of clothing swaps. informal bazaars with all the virtues of a shopping spree, and none of the guilt. and for yunji de nies, that is a

"sign of the times." >> reporter: itf bargain huntin is considered a sport, consider this an olympic event. h hundreds of women in serious competition. it's called swapping the concept is simple. organized trading. one gal's castoffs are another's catch. >> you bring a bag of clothes that are like new, gently used or maybe even still have the tags on them. we sort them into a boutique along with everyone else's donations and then you get to come in with an empty bag and fill it up to the brim. >> reporter: melissa and amy are the swap-a-holics, fashionistas who make a living organizing these trades. >> fashion is so fast right now. it's in today, it's out tomorrow. so, this is -- i can have my fix, my trend fix and be done with it and put it back in the swap. >> reporter: swapping is surging. in the age of the

recession-ista, splurging isn't in vogue. >> anything that fits and looks kid. >> leopard print stuff. >> reporter: and as they are quick to point out, often letting go makes sense. >> i've been every size, you know, between 0 and 12 in the past 15 years of my life, so for me, swapping was a great way, as i said, it was this emotional burden was lifted of the relationship between me and my clothes. i could get rid of all of those size 4, 2 things that i was keeping in my closet going, i could wear that one day. i will be able to fit that again. >> reporter: i really love that, because i think so many of us hang onto these some day clothes and that some day is not coming. >> no. wear what you can wear right now. >> reporter: take this dress, right out of my closet. now off to a new owner. okay, amy. here's my dress. my very sad dress that i never

wore. >> reporter: like every swapper, no matter how much i bring, i get to fill up a bag. so i can fill this up all the way to the rim, doesn't matter. >> yes, falling out, everywhere. as much as you want. >> reporter: and who is going to get that? >> maybe me. you never know. >> reporter: and my designer dress is in good company. >> we definitely see a lot more women who are starting to come around to the idea of second-hand shopping because they get to see the person who donated it. once you can identify with someone who owned something before you, it makes it easier to accept. >> reporter: and we're not talking about old t-shirts and crappy jeans and stuff this is high end stuff. >> yeah. we want trendy items, designer items. so, the stuff that's left over at the end will still go to goodwill but we pre-select the stuff that's not nice enough to be on a rack. >> reporter: inside, sorting is in full swing. outside, the line keeps growing. i'm a bargain shopper and i love

the thrill of the hunt, finding that something that's 50% off. is there that kind of thrill here, too? >> there's definitely that treasure hunt aspect to it. >> we always like in the opening of the doors to our swap events, like the running of the brides. everyone is pressed up against the glass waiting to get in, and you open the doors and they go straight for that thing that they had their eye on, but then they start sorti ining through piles. >> reporter: with clothes sort and empty bags at the ready, it's show time. within seconds, the hall explodes. 400 women hungry for clothes descend. >> it's insane. like running of the brides. >> reporter: they run. >> get in there! >> reporter: they grab. >> it's a little intimidating. people are really getting into it. i hope nobody gets punched. but it's -- there's so much stuff here. >> reporter: and they relish in their success. >> just like, oh, my god. shopping!

>> yeah, you can hear the heels clicking upstairs, everybody is -- >> you don't have to hide the recements from your boyfriend. there are no receipts. >> reporter: within 20 minutes, the racks are empty. >> so fast. >> it was ridiculous. >> reporter: amid the chaos, i was able to find a purse and a dress and met the woman who wore it before me. >> any advice for me on the dress? >> i think you're wearing it lovely, actually. it's perfect. wear it with some boots. >> reporter: and somehow i got roped into walking the runway, where they showcase the best of the swap. all of these outfits were created on the spot, basically for free. >> when the recession first hit, everyone was trying to find creative ways to continue to live the same quality of life without really eating into their savings. there's lots of other people doing what we're doing but with other items. i think it's really here to stay. >> reporter: saving money never looked so good. i'm yunji de nies for "nightline" in boston. >> yunji with participating

journalism there. thanks to her. we'll be back with our closing argument. but first, here's jimmy kimmel with what's coming up next. >> jimmy: tonight, music from darius rucker, lebron returns to cleveland, and next year's armless oscar co-host, james franco, and "this week in unnecessary censorship." "jimmy kimmel live" is next.c [ female announcer ] give yourself the gift of time with the kfc festive feast. twelve pieces of the colonel's hand breaded original recipe chicken. with three sides and six biscuits for only $19.99. have a so good holiday.