Finally caught up, thinking about the drugging angle -- it's really not outlandish, nor would MF have to be sourcing something strong from a back alley or deep web. Get ten 10mg zolpidem (Ambien), crush it up, and add it to any drink that's not water, especially if the possible taste can be overwhelmed by, say, a coffee shop latte, and the any remaining powder can be excused as crud from whatever drink it is.
That would be working within fifteen minutes -- first there's an out-of-body feeling, light euphoria, then there's dizziness, and there's not even a particular feeling of illness, just not feeling 'right'. Even if it doesn't knock someone out, it certainly makes it very hard to fight and to be aware of what's going on. Problem is, it's unpredictable. Zolpidem (as most pills) doesn't work so well if you've not got an empty stomach, and it isn't a guaranteed xx hour knock-out -- people can wake up even under high dosages. But zolpidem does cause memory loss, especially in higher dosages, which could have been an extra aim, depending on if MF planned to kill HB, or just take her baby, or take her and the baby. Drug HB with something that knocks her out and causes memory loss -- take her baby -- leave her somewhere. Risky, yes. But I think we'd all agree no matter what angle, MF wasn't working with a full deck.
I think, if drugs were involved, they weren't probably something you'd see in a true crime movie, like ether, or something that someone had to be shady online to get, but something that someone had a prescription for and had been saving up for just such an occasion. I also think if drugs were involved, the intent wouldn't have been to kill her with an OD, but knock her out for whatever length of time. IMO, she may have come around from the drugs unexpectedly, tried to fight, MF panicked, and then grabbed something and strangled her. To me, the strangulation angle reeks of desperation, something unexpected happening, and MF just grabbing something close to her -- which really, could be anything.
All IMO of course, but I've just been thinking about the possible drugging for a while, and as someone who uses a lot of Ambien a week, I can totally see how something as simple and as benign as that could be used to (sadly) great effect.