Did yesterday’s news that the Hollywood publicist murder mystery had been solved feel a little neat to anyone else? Basically all the information that had come out before, presumably from police sources, was quickly refuted in pinning the rap on Harold Smith. He is said to have killed Chasen in a robbery. In which he didn’t steal anything. While riding his bicycle. In a ritzy neighborhood. Six miles from his apartment. At midnight. 

Something doesn’t add up here.

Also, Smith’s gun, which police initially said didn’t match the murder weapon, now is supposedly a match. 

And what of the nugget that Smith bragged to friends that he had been paid $10,000 to off Chasen. That’s being refuted now too. 

And why would a random robber fire 5 deadly accurate shots into a victim? Seems too cool, calculated and excessive for such a spur-of-the-moment act, no? A random robber would probably get spooked and take off after one or two shots.

Random crime is certainly a fact of life, and it’s difficult to explain or come to terms with. But even for a random crime, something isn’t right here. There’s got to be more to the story than what the police are saying. Or maybe they’re just anxious to successfully wrap up such a high-profile case. Everything I know about the LAPD, I learned from “LA Confidential.”

What do you think?