Seven years after Tricia Pacaccio’s murder, Cook County’s Sheriff’s Office were now treating it as a cold case. A new investigative team submitted Tricia’s fingernail clippings taken from the crime scene as DNA evidence, hoping to get a match. Meanwhile, Michael Gargiulo had moved to Hollywood, where he met 22-year-old Ashley Ellerin, who lived a few blocks from his house. After introducing himself as an air conditioning repair man, “Mike” would eventually start showing up at some of Ellerin’s parties uninvited. Ashley was living a glamorous Hollywood lifestyle, partying with some famous actors like Vin Diesel and Ashton Kutcher. The night of February 21, 2001, she had plans to meet Kutcher for drinks after the Grammy Awards, but she never made it there. We speak with Detective Tom Small of the L.A.P.D., who investigated the case, and began searching for a man who was only known by Ashley’s friends as “Mike the furnace guy”.

The Hollywood Ripper story begins in Glenview, Illinois – an unincorporated suburb of Cook County, where 18-year old Tricia Pacaccio was just finishing high school. Tricia attended a road rally with her friends, one of the last times they would get to see each other before leaving for college. When she returned home, she was attacked at her side doorstep and stabbed over a dozen times. Her father found her body the next day, and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office began to investigate. After years of finding no leads, a new investigative team began to zero in on one of Tricia’s neighbors – Michael Gargiulo – who grew up with Tricia’s brother Doug. Even after finding himself in trouble with the law, police couldn’t convince Gargiulo to provide any information about Tricia’s murder, or what he may have known about it. Eventually, he moves to Hollywood, California, where another woman was murdered just blocks away from his house.

With Ronni Chasen’s investigation officially closed, Beverly Hills Police would be challenged over the next several years to release over 200 pages of semi-redacted documents relating to the investigation. Those documents, reviewed by the Hollywood Reporter, show conflicting information about the evidence implicating Harold Smith, and call into question some of the police department’s public statements over the course of the Chasen investigation. In the final episode of our six-part series, we discuss what the documents reveal, and the most significant unanswered questions remaining about Ronni Chasen’s murder.

Guests: Barry A. J. Fisher – Former Crime Laboratory Director, Joshua Ritter – Criminal Defense Attorney, Former Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney, Steve Katz – Former showrunner and Executive Producer for America’s Most Wanted, Myrl Stebens – Licensed Private Investigator, Former Police Investigator

With Beverly Hills Police all but wrapping up the investigation into Ronni Chasen’s murder, media speculation continued about other possible theories, including a murder-for-hire and a rumored gambling debt involving Ronni’s brother, Larry Cohen. The rest of Ronni’s family drew the spotlight when a copy of her will was published by TMZ, putting scrutiny on who was a beneficiary of Ronni’s death, and who wasn’t. In Episode 5, we discuss some of the theories surrounding Ronni’s family, what insight could be gained from her will, as well as the much-anticipated release of Ronni’s autopsy report.

Guests: Jill Gatsby, Ronni’s niece, Ann Louise Bardach – Covered the Chasen case for The Daily Beast, Joshua Ritter – Criminal Defense Attorney, Former Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney

The media frenzy continued in the aftermath of Harold Smith’s fatal interaction with police at the Harvey Apartments. Beverly Hills Police requested the gun Harold Smith used to commit suicide to be turned over to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Crime Labratory for further testing. After announcing they had a “preliminary ballistics match” to the weapon that killed Ronni Chasen, Beverly Hills Police officially closed the case. In Episode 4, we discuss questions about the ballistics analysis in the case, bold statements made by the Beverly Hills Police Department, and how investigators determined Ronni Chasen was killed in a ‘robbery gone bad’.

Guests: Barry A. J. Fisher – Former Crime Laboratory Director, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Myrl Stebens – Licensed Private Investigator, Former Police Investigator, Joshua Ritter – Former Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney

The person of interest in Ronni Chasen’s homicide, now identified as Harold Martin Smith, had a decorated criminal history, including armed robberies, and had spent considerable time in prison. In Episode 3, we discuss what we know about Harold Smith, his past, and how statements from Smith’s neighbors at the Harvey Apartments ultimately shaped the narrative around his involvement in Ronni Chasen’s murder.

Guests: Ann Louise Bardach – Covered the Chasen case for The Daily Beast, Steve Katz – Former showrunner and Executive Producer for America’s Most Wanted, Joshua Ritter – Criminal Defense Attorney, Former Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney

In their first update to the public, Beverly Hills Police called Ronni Chasen’s murder a wide-open investigation and began serving search warrants at Chasen’s apartment and business to collect evidence. Four days after her murder, the case made America’s Most Wanted, leading to an anonymous tip that would eventually pinpoint 43-year-old Harold Smith as a ‘person of interest’ in the investigation. In Episode 2, we discuss the first stages of a homicide investigation and how early media reports impacted the narrative around the case, plus a shocking turn of events when police approached Smith at the now-famous Harvey Apartments.

Guests: Gil Carrillo – Retired Homicide Lieutenant with L.A County Sheriff’s Department, Steve Katz – Former showrunner and Executive Producer for America’s Most Wanted, Joshua Ritter – Criminal Defense Attorney, Former Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney

In the first episode of our six-part series, we examine the night Ronni Chasen was murdered in Beverly Hills. We discuss her life and career leading up to her final appearance on the red carpet, and what we know about her last moments before her tragic death. Using crime scene photos and witness accounts, we revisit the location where Ronni’s car crashed into a light pole on Whittier Drive, and dissect the preliminary details available to the police and media at the time. Who would want to kill Ronni Chasen, and what stands out about a crime of this nature happening in the heart of Beverly Hills?

Guests: Carol Connors – Legendary singer/songwriter, Former client of Ronni Chasen, Ann Louise Bardach – Covered the Chasen case for The Daily Beast, Joshua Ritter – Criminal Defense Attorney, Former Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney