harold smith bragged to neighbors that he was the killer and was paid for the hit. >> we believe thatsmith acted alone. we don't believe it was a professional hit. and i will tell you, it's an open and ongoing investigation. >> reporter: police say smith used his bicycle to ride up alongside chasen's car. they were led to him by a tip on the tv show "america's most wanted." >>> a damaged cruise ship with american passengers is still a day away from port. we showed you these pictures yesterday of "the clelia ii." the ship is expected to reach argentina by tomorrow morning. >>> a memorial service saturday for elizabeth edwards will be open to the public. the 61-year-old estranged wife of former senator john edwards lost her long battle with cancer tuesday morning. she left behind a letter to her children, with advice on all sorts of topics. how to pick a church. evse. spouse. and knowing her time was limited, she insisted the family's christmas decorations be put up early this year. >>> in other news, singer aretha franklin is reportedly doing well after surgery last week. several publi

>> fwl why did you think it might not be harold smith? >> if the gun shot wounds are three across the chest it was a talented shooter. if that comes out false my opinion would be different. this guy was a nut. this was a 51/50 guy in los angeles someone who is blaine nuts and not someone who is going to end his life with the cops thinking he's the perpetrator. how can you say you have the guy without having tested the bike for the gun shot residue and vog not done more. this is the only hard evidence we have. they say they are closing up shop and we are done. >> i wonder do you -- >> you may respond, please? >> i like to reply to that. i don't think this is a closed shot. it is a 60, 70 percent you still have to go. the buys cycle was not given to the beverly hills police yet. they have requested it from the los angeles police. it was to be given to them. >> do you agree it is highly unusual for someone in a buys cycle to stalk someone in a car? >>> oo no if fact the police department has said it quite possible they do a lot of criminals

>> fwl why did you think it might not be harold smith? >> if the gun shot wounds are three across the chest it was a talented shooter. if that comes out false my opinion would be different. this guy was a nut. this was a 51/50 guy in los angeles someone who is blaine nuts and not someone who is going to end his life with the cops thinking he's the perpetrator. how can you say you have the guy without having tested the bike for the gun shot residue and vog not done more. this is the only hard evidence we have. they say they are closing up shop and we are done. >> i wonder do you -- >> you may respond, please? >> i like to reply to that. i don't think this is a closed shot. it is a 60, 70 percent you still have to go. the buys cycle was not given to the beverly hills police yet. they have requested it from the los angeles police. it was to be given to them. >> do you agree it is highly unusual for someone in a buys cycle to stalk someone in a car? >>> oo no if fact the police department has said it quite possible they do a lot of criminals

state police said harold smith was trying to rob her. last week he killed himself as police arrived at his apartment to question him. >>> 30 years ago today john lennon was shot and killed. december 8, 1980, a mentally disturbed fan gunned down landing landing outside of his -- gunned him down outside of his apartment building. lenin said that he had wanted to put together a band and go on the road with a concert tour. >>> tonight frustrated parents, teachers, and children are meeting with school officials to try to keep their school from closing. >> lake elementary and san pablo is set to close because of budget shortfalls. they will decide where to send the 450 students last fall. last year they kicked in $300,000 now those funds are gone. >>> oakland schools are dealing with a big problem that is leaving lots of children in the cold. it is the lack of heat that has been going on now and as jade hernandez reports, the district is still uncertain as to when the speeds we will return. >> reporter: this fifth grade teacher is frustrated p

chasen was the same gun used by harold smith to commit suicide. >> reporter: the chief said harold smith gun when he took his own life in his apartment complex. investigators also say smith was desperate when he came upon ronni driving her mercedes. so desperate, he reportedly shot her five times from his bicycle. a bicycle could have been used to make the hit? >> we believe his mode of transportation was by bicycle. >> reporter: it may be a quiet end that has left a trail of conspiracy theories. was it an art deal gone bad? a disgruntled family member? a tip to "america's most wanted," zeroed in on harold smith, who was living in a transient apartment, in a love part of los angeles, we he started telling his neighbors he was responsible for the murder. >> he would say, that publicist on there. i did it. i did it. >> reporter: police now say smith was intending to rob a total stranger. >> this was a random act of violence. a robbery gone bad. >> reporter: police may feel they have the answers. but admit the investigation is still open and ongoing. there are many, who are amaze lded a tro

after a los angeles tv station reported ballistic tests show the gun that person of interest, harold smith, used to kill himself when approached by police last week was not the gun used to kill chasen. police reportedly now speculate smith, a to-time convicted felon, made up his boast about killing chasen. but when approached by police with a gun in his pocket, shot himself, rather than go back to prison. chasen's brother insists to "the new york times" he believes his sister's death was a road rage incident. >>> this comes to us from miami, florida, where one arsist's work is not only brecktaking but may actually cause you to hold your breath. they're so small. without microscope, just a speck of dust and even accidentally inhales one of his creations. the sculptures from basketball stars shaquille o'neal to little miss muffet are created with materials like carpet fibers or grains of sand then placed in a needle or on top of a pin head. >> that makes my head hurt. >> i had to lean into my tv to get a look at that i had no idea. the patience it must take. i can barely, like, draw a pictur

. >> a tipster called the tv show "america's most wanted" to say this that man, ex-convict harold smith had been bragging that he did it. after the show's producers alerted police, smith killed himself wednesday night as officers approached him. multiple law enforcement source s called smith a suspect. but in a press release, the beverly hills police department said, quote, at this time it is unknown if this individual was involved in the chasen homicide. >> we've had a lot of cases where people have admitted to murders they didn't commit and that's where you have to be very careful and be very fact oriented. >> reporter: now it's been widely report ed the gun the man used to kill himself was not the same weapon useded in chasen murder. beverly hills police would neither confirm nor deny those reports. chasen's brother, larry cohen offered his own theory about the murder. in an interview with the website showbiz 411 he said, i'm sure it was road rage. i'm sure it was some kind of random thing. but people who knew chasen say she was a careful driver and not likely to be a victim of road

. >> reporter: harold martin smith.he first time we see photos of the convicted felon, the person of interest, in the death of powerhouse publicist ronni chasen. abc news has learned that smith, in fact, had a lengthy criminal past and was out on parole. smith took his own life in this los angeles hotel, when confronted by police. beverly hills investigators confirm they were checking out a lead they received from the tv show, "america's most-wanted" about what he was telling residents at this hotel. >> he said he was expecting a big pile of money. he was saying the publicist on there, i did it. i got hired. he said, i'm waiting on my big pay. >> reporter: but others say it was ridiculous to think he was involved. >> ain't no conspiracy here. this guy wasn't intelligent enough. he would stand out here for hours, on a bicycle. >> reporter: residents describe this as a transient hotel, located in one of the rough sections of los angeles. hardly the sort of place that you would expect one of the most elite publicists to ha

last week, police approached a man named harold smith, bragging about the chasen murder. when they did approach him, he pulled out a gun and killed himself and now police say they believe that's the same gun that killed ronni chasen. two weeks after ronni chasen was gunned down in beverly hills, they followed this man. >> the weapon used in the suicide does preliminarily match the chasen homicide. >> reporter: smith was an ex-con down on his luck bragged to neighbors he killed ronni chasen. >> he bragged to my husband he killed the publicist and waiting to get $10,000 and waiting on money for the guy to pay him. >> reporter: neighbors tell the tv show "america's most wanted"" and passed the tip to police. when officers approached smith, he took out a gun and shot himself in the head. later, there were widely reported rumors the gun did not match the evidence from the chasen murder, but they were wrong. >> the preliminary investigation was erroneous. >> reporter: police are dismissing reports smith was a hired hit man waiting for a $10,000 payoff. >> we believe mr. smith a

harold smith, a person of interest in the shooting of film publicist ronni chasen, killed himself as o smith. chasen was gunned down while driving home from the premiere of the movie "burlesque" two weeks ago. >>> the fbi has arrested a man known as the king of spam. 23-year-old russian oleg nikolaenko allegedly sent 10 billion spam e-mails every day. that's one-third of the world's spam. he's said to have hustled everything from watches to counterfeit prescription drugs to potions supposed to increase sexual performance. he was arrested in las vegas after a three-year manhunt. >> can i just say good? i don't want the spam anymore. >>> the worst forest fire in israel's history is still raging out of control this morning after killing at least 40 people. most of the victims were guards racing to rescue inmates at a prison when their bus was trapped by the flames. firefighters are flying in from around the world to help. >>> here's your friday forecast. rain in northern california. snow showers from idaho to western montana. and a wintry mix from wyoming to utah. up to a half a foot of

in the days after her murder, harold smith openly bragged to neighbors he was the killer and he was gettingacted alone. we don't believe it was a professional hit. and i will tell you it's an open and ongoing investigation. >> reporter: police are not releasing specifically what type of gun they recovered after smith's suicide. they are also still awaiting the coroner's report before releasing any more information on ronni chasen's murder. for abc news, i'm leslie miller in beverly hills. >>> here's something to think about the next time you're behind the wheel. about 13% of americans say they have driven drunk over the past yes, sir. just over 4% say they've driven drugged. and though this is a slight decrease from past years, it still means that about 30 million drunks are on the road. the new study results are based on drivers who actually admitted they were impaired. >>> a private company is a step closer to taking over some of the duties now performed by the space shuttles. the company called space x launched a rocket into space and for the first time successfully guided it back to ear

los angeles tv station quotes sources as saying ballistic reports on smith's weapon came up negative. >> there was an even chance harold martin smith has absolutely nothing to do with the ronni chasen murder. >> reporter: the beverly hills police department is still calling him a person of interest, but smith's claims to neighbors he killed chasen may have been a case of mouthing off or simply delusional. >> beverly hills police have been very tight lipped. it's very hard to get information about the status of the investigation. >> reporter: there are reports smith thought he he was being arrested by police for unrelated burglarys. it would have been a third strike offense for the 43-year-old, who reportedly bragged to neighbors he would die before being taken alive. neighbors confirm smith's suicide happened just moments after officers arrived. >> when he came in, it happened a minute after, boom. >> right down below the steps, i seen like a big splatter, a big splatter of blood. >> reporter: in an interview with the "new york times," ronni chasen's brother says smith was deranged and the killing was more likely a tra

it was just last week police came to these apartments here to question harold martin smith.ould answer any questions. police now say that same gun he used to kill himself is the very same gun used to kill ronni chasen. they're calling it a robbery gone bad. for three weeks now the investigation into the murder of ronni chasen has played out like a hollywood movie, complete with conspiracy theories. now police may finally have solved the crime. they say preliminary ba list tick reports shows the gun used to kill chasen was the same one the so-called person of interest used to take his own life when approached by police. >> we believe that mr. smith acted alone. we don't believe it was a professional hit. >> reporter: police say smith may have been riding a bicycle when he allegedly shot chasen several times in the chest at a beverly hills intersection in a botched robbery. the publicist was gunned down november 16th in her mercedes. smith had a long criminal record, seven arrests including felony robbery. last week a tip from the tv show "america's most wanted" led police to

week detectives showed up in force at this run-down hollywood apartment building to question harold martin smitha so-called person of interest. but, he shot and killed himself in front of police. tmz reports there is not yet any physical evidence linking him to chasen's death. >> harold martin smith, in a couple of days, could end up being the guy or could end up being somebody who has nothing to do with this. the cops don't know yet. >> reporter: neither do celebrities blogrs but still having a field day with what is dubbed a really holy would whodunit saying police are considering everything from a random incident of road rage to a hit man to explain her death. >> it was a targeted hit and there was somebody paid to shoot her and they believe now they're looking at who paid someone to shoot ronni chasen. >> reporter: according to chasen's will, she had a net worth of more than $6 million. friday the executors asked a judge to release up to $30,000 per months from her trust. >> it's all part of a legal process to, you know, take care of the business, take care of her employees. >> reporter: eve

the man killed himself as they tried to talk to him about the murder of ronni chasen was named harold smith, and a neighbor says he openly bragged about the killing and getting paid for it. >>> stranded, hundreds of drivers stranded on a car on a new york highway for 20 hours after an accident in the middle of a heavy snowstorm. and now some areas are buried in as much as 3 feet of snow. >>> and oy viral. first there was this version, and we tried it, then just in time for hanukkah. ♪ in the air sometimes faith saying a-yo ♪ ♪ spin the dreidel >>> the new holiday version lighting up the internet "today," december 3, holiday version lighting up the internet "today," december 3, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good morning. welcome to "today" on a friday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> i'm meredith viera and i think we have been officially one upped. >> who are those guys? >> they're good. more video just ahead. >>> also ahead, some new details tied to the controversial website wikileaks. overnight the provider of wick wikileaks.org's domain name pulled the plug on the web

that results indicate the run used in her murder was the same gun used by a career criminal, harold martin smith used to commit suicide last week. >> it appears he did act alone. there was a question earlier if mr. smith knew mrs. chasen. it doesn't appear at this time that there's any connection between the two. >> the complete definitive ballistic test results are due back in a couple of weeks. >>> well, that is our report for tonight. we hope to see you back here tomorrow night. until then, for all of us at abc news, have a great night, america. >> dicky: it's the "jimmy kimmel live" fantasy league. presented by gmc. >> jimmy: hi, i'm jimmy kimmel. >> and i'm his cousin sal. >> jimmy: the regular season is winding down and the playoff race is -- what is it, winding up. >> up, i think. >> jimmy: okay. let's go to the scores. adam nips the fridge, creating a three-way tie for the last playoff spot with just one week left to play. >> dax shepard dumps j.b. smoove to put himself one win away from one of four coveted post-season spots. >> jimmy: the sports guy bill simmons wrapped up the regular s

his name has been released, is my understanding, harold smith. he has been a person of interest.e are saying in the neighborhood that he told them that he did it and that he would receive about $10,000 for the hit. she was apparently shot execution style in the chest several times by some sort of marksman. but ile say there are also reports that he was mentally unstable and perhaps was just making this up or was nervous that the police were approaching him about suspected burglaries and didn't want to go back to prison. he was apparently a convicted murderer. >> right, an ex convict reported living in this shady part of l.a. we have heard from former police officer on the l.a. police force saying, i couldn't have pulled that off. >> the angle she say was sideways. it could have been some expert marksman. who would want to kill her and put out the contract on her? >> quickly, can we connect the dots at all? >> i don't know if we can connect the dots. i'm a former prosecutor. i try to be careful about investigations. i have her will. it is about 48 pages. in the will, she gives all

police say ballistic tests linked the gun to harold martin smith, the man who killed himself after thers say the gun he used in the suicide is the same gun used to kill ronni chasen as she drove home from a movie premier. smith was riding a bicycle and tried to rob her as she waited to make a left turn off of hollywood boulevard. >>> more electric car charging stations are popping up around san francisco. the hilton san francisco, ace parking and general motors. the plan is to build convenient stations for drivers before chevrolet rolls out the volt in the bay area. they will be built at hotels, workplaces and shopping malls. >> mark zuckerberg is adding his name to the list of philanthropists. he is one of 17 billionaires promising to give away at half of their fortunes. 57 billionaires have joined the pledge led by warren buffett and bill gates. they don't collect money or tell them how to dish it out, it just gets the commitment from the charities. zuckerberg's cofounder also joined that pledge. >> a cal swim coach is the first woman ever chose tone head up the women's swim team. sh

ex-convict harold smith who allegedly bragged that he did it?led himself wednesday night as police officers approached him. some law enforcement sources said he was definitely a suspect. but now, in a press release, the beverly hills police department says, quote, at this time it is unknown if this individual was involved in the chasen homicide. >> did he kill ronni? i don't know. do i think he did? i'm thinking not. but, i've been surprised before. >> reporter: chasen's brother, larry cohen, offered a possible stheerry about the murder. in an interview with the website showbiz411, he said, i'm sure it was road rage. i'm sure it was some kind of random thing. but ronni chasen's longtime friend and executor of her estate does not think much of that idea. >> she was smart. and she was careful. and she was risk averse. and she was not a fast driver. she wouldn't cut someone off. >> reporter: on friday, she and other representatives of ronni chasen's estate were in court. trying to free up money to keep the chiasson publicity business running. in co

harold martin smith acting alone, rode a bike up to ronni chasen's car and opened fire, killing the hollywoodter a star-studded movie premiere. the department isn't releasing the details and that decision has been stoking conspiracy theories around a town that's always been filled with imagination. clint van zandt is a former fbi profiler. good to see you. >> hi, chris. >> here what happens the police aren't saying. they aren't showing this video surveillance, they say they have. they're not giving more background on smith's whereabouts, apparently the days before the shooting not releasing even generic background on the tipster who linked smith to the crime. it isn't as if the suspect, who is now dead, is going to go to trial. so why are they being circumspect? you can understand why that makes people suspicious. >> it really does. a lot of things, had the police be up front with, for example, part of the conspiracy the victim was shot, one of the slugs taken out was a 9 millimeter howell point. that comes from a sophisticated semiautomatic weapon. so say she was shot five times, imagine thi

. >> reporter: harold martin smith. for the first time we see photos of the convicted felon.erhouse publicist ronni chasen. abc news has now learned that smith, in fact, had a lengthy criminal past and was out on parole. smith took his own life in this los angeles hotel when confronted by police. beverly hills investigators confirm they were checking out a lead they received from the tv show "america's most wanted" about what he was telling residents at this hotel. >> he said he's expecting a big pile of money. he just said, oh, that publicist on there, i did it. i got hired. i'm waiting on my big pay. >> reporter: others say it was ridiculous to think he was involved. >> ain't no conspiracy. this guy wasn't intelligent enough. he would stand out here for hours. on a bicycle. >> reporter: residents describe this as a transient hotel, located in one of the rough sections of los angeles. hardly the sort of place you'd expect one of the most elite publicists to have any connection with. investigators are reviewing surveillance camera video taken in beverly hills the night chasen

doing interviews, ballistics tests and using common sense, beverly hills investigators now say harold martin smithk his on life may have no connection to the murder of publicist ronni chasen. >> reporter: it was a tip called into the tv show "america's most-wanted" that alerted police that he killed ronni chasen. he ended up kills himself. >> lot of times you have false leads running down tips from the public. >> reporter: investigators have impurities and text messages and a massive amount of work. the hollywood reporter says investigators you nor reviewing surveillance camera video that shows the moment chasen crashed her mercedes. investigators are also reviewing video of a black lincoln town car that drove by minutes after the crash and chose not to stop. as curiosity intensifies, more of chasen's close friends want america to understand she was not a woman born into privilege. she often opted to get her hair cut at bargain salons. >> if this was a professional hit, then you can usually trace it back so some sort of financial issue. and the fact that she's a spendthrift at some point in time m

he's reportedly harold martin smith. >> he was telling my husband someone hired me and i'm getting a in the next few days. he said, you know, that little nice lady driving this nice lady, that was me. that was me. >> i don't believe he was a hitman or nothing. the intelligence wasn't there. his charisma, his character. he seemed poor. >> reporter: the hollywood bl blogosphere is consumed. one hollywood journalist report that is chasen killed by a hirtman because of a business deal gone bad. >> they have a suspect in mind and that they're getting closer to, you know, closing in on that suspect. and that is probably the person that paid to have the shooter kill ronni chasen. >> reporter: tmz quotes sources saying chasen had a fierce temper and may have been the victim of road rage. she was driving home from a movie premier. >> the cops believe that road rage here is a possibility. it is one scenario they're looking at. road rage, mistaken identity, the possibility of a contract hit. >> reporter: chasen was an a-list hollywood publicist and also a very wealthy woman. tmz obtained one ve

this ex-con, harold smith, a person of interest in the case shot himself when police tried to question. now ballistics test link the gun smith used to commit suicide with the bullets that killed chasen. >> we believe it was a random act and we believe mrs. chasen was going to be the victim of a robbery. >> police say this believe smith tried to rob chasen and acted alone but that the investigation is still ongoing. >>> the fbi and philadelphia police are hunting for a possible serial killer who strangles his victims. the suspect is known as the kens sing ton strange ler linked through dna to two murders and police are investigating a third death that appeared tuesday night to see if it's related. he may be linked to four other attacks in the city's kensington neighborhood. >>> a baltimore man facing charges in a home-grown terrorist plot is scheduled for court monday. the suspect was nabbed in an fbi sting operation. joel brown has details. >> reporter: the federal agents arrested the baltimore man tuesday on charges of plotting to blow up a military recruiting center. he's 21-year-old