US authorities say prominent Hollywood publicist Ronni Sue Chasen has been shot to death while driving her Mercedes-Benz in Beverly Hills.
The coroner's office released her identity yesterday, hours after the 64-year-old woman was shot several times in the chest.
Shot while driving ... police take away Ronni Chasen's carCredit: AP
Police say Ms Chasen's vehicle then crashed into a light pole along Sunset Boulevard shortly before 12.30am local time on Tuesday.
Police Lieutenant Tony Lee said investigators did not have a motive for the killing and have not identified any suspects.
Shot dead ... Ronni ChasenCredit: Getty Images
Ms Chasen, who was a publicist for movies such as Driving Miss Daisy and On Golden Pond, headed the public relations firm of Chasen and Co. Calls and e-mails to the company were not immediately returned.
Fellow publicist Howard Bragman called Ms Chasen's shooting death bizarre.
''She wasn't a shady character,'' he said. ''It's a small community, and she was one of the fixtures in it.''
Ms Chasen was involved in Hollywood publicity since the 1970s, working on campaigns for movies and artists, particularly those involved in film scores, such as German composer Hans Zimmer.
At the time of her death, Ms Chasen was working for Screen Gems on a campaign to promote the soundtrack of the new movie Burlesque for an Oscar nomination, and she had attended the movie premiere on Monday in Hollywood, according to the trade publication Variety.
Variety said she also was working with 20th Century Fox on the Oscar campaign for Michael Douglas's role in Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps.
''Ronni did it her way,'' Mr Bragman said. ''She was not a woman who was a slave to the fashion of the day. She played to her own vision and integrity. She was very bright, very successful.''
AP
She wasn't a shady character