Yes. I have favored blunt force head trauma in this case if she died in the townhome. The nice thing about a wooden bat or 2×4 piece of wood is that it is easily destroyed entirely by fire leaving no murder weapon. But a weapon like that creates more of a closed head wound without a lot of blood. I actually have been thinking something more like a hammer or monkey wrench to the head. I wonder if some biological fluid or tissue, spatter, went up that fireplace or as others noted the pony wall of the loft.
One other fluid that could lead LE to determine KB is deceased is cerebrospinal fluid. CSF is clear and colorless, and only found in the brain and spinal cord. It would not be seen by the naked eye during cleanup or first LE check, but should have enough blood cells to react to luminol even if the red blood cells are only present from the trauma causing the leakage. I cannot think of a case where CSF was a determinant of death, but advances in forensics and DNA would make that possible.
