I'm not exactly sure how I got here, but I'm here. Did my best to catch myself up as best I could, reading the opinions and interpretations of those on this topic. My 2 cents:
Was this supposed to be a burglary or a murder? Seems to be the most prevalent question here.
It was a burglary, you say!
Then why be so nonchalant? Why not act with purpose? The attire of the criminal suggests to me that they don't want to get caught or recognized. Why take such care with a disguise but then linger at the church giving yourself more time to be caught in the act? You would expect a burglar to be in and out, not casually enter a room, take a peak inside, and then enter the next room. And this burglar seems to have as much experience with a pry bar and hammer as my accountant would. Doesn't strike me as an experienced thief.
If this was supposed to be a burglary and the SP was looking to take things of value, how were they going to remove them from the church? Where is the backpack or duffle bag? Were they planning on being able to carry these things out just with their hands? Did they not think there could be multiple things of value that would potentially interest them? What if they found a lock box they needed to break into later or a bag of money? Wouldn't they want to take it out in a bag or backpack?
So then the SP's plan all along was to kill the victim. They targeted her and knew where she was going to be that morning.
Okay, fine. Then why not just hideout, wait for the victim and kill her? Why go thru all this stuff with the hammer and pry bar? Was this just a ruse to confuse LE? If the SP was smart enough to try to confuse LE, you would think they would try to do a better job of making it look like a burglary gone bad. If this was an act to somehow cover a motive it seems they are only doing a cursory job at deception.
And what of the purported info about the SP being relatively short in stature? Short enough that some consider the possibility that this is a female? If your original plan is to kill the victim, who is a fitness instructor, it isn't obvious that the SP has a physical advantage over the victim. Particularly if you believe that the limp is real. If you don't have a physical advantage, even if you have the confidence of carrying a weapon, it seems to me that the SP would like to maintain the element of surprise. So why go banging around and breaking things before hand to increase the possibility that you alert the victim that something is amiss when they enter the church?
And why not just a ski mask? Maybe its someone who is familiar with the church. A member, someone peripherally affiliated with the church, or someone in the community who is afraid that they will be recognized or identified despite something like a simple ski mask. Someone recognizable in the community with some unique physical feature or something else recognizable that requires clothing that allows more deception.
Okay, but then why a police officer? Why not a construction worker or a janitor? Not sure, maybe as odd as it might be, this clothing was easily available to them, for whatever reason. Didn't have to run the associated risk of acquiring a disguise or uniform. Something they just had or could easily take.
And if the get up is just for an additional potential surprise factor or to confuse the victim, again, why go thru the trouble? Just hide, wait, and do what you came to do.
My thought is that this individual was indeed there as a burglar. But not in the traditional sense of someone looking for laptops, jewelry or cash but isn't quite sure what they will find.
Maybe this individual doesn't have a backpack to take out valuables and is taking his/her time because he knows exactly what he is looking for. Knows that whatever it is, it can easily slip into his pocket. An expensive watch? A cashiers check? An incriminating letter?
They know what they want to take, but don't exactly know where it is so they have to go room to room to find it. They will know it when they see it but maybe it isn't necessarily something that would be hidden away in a room, requiring a thorough search, because it isn't something of general value, like a diamond ring would be, but only something of value to this one individual or just a few individuals.
In the process of looking for it the SP and victim surprise each other. Neither knows the other will be there. For some reason, I can't help but think that when the two meet each other in that church, the victim ultimately, somehow, ends up recognizing the SP. Maybe she surprises him and he tries to explain what he, as a police officer, is doing there by himself early in the morning and in the process she recognizes his voice or something else that identifies the SP. The SP never goes in with the explicit intent to kill, but when recognized has to make a choice.
Or perhaps the victim surprises the SP and a physical confrontation occurs, but because the SP isn't physically stronger or is taken by surprise loses the initiative and has to resort to using the gun.
The whole thing is confusing because elements sometimes make it seem like it was a routine B&E but it doesn't quite fit. Other elements make it seem like a targeted murder, but that doesn't quite fit either.
Hence, my idea that it was a B&E, but not in the traditional sense of a common criminal looking for money. They are somewhat familiar with the church, but not overly familiar and are a member of the community that wouldn't be hard to recognize. The SP was prepared to kill if need be, but the wasn't necessarily the primary aim.
Then again, maybe this is just my imagination getting the best of me.
