OK, on to my own opinions and thoughts. Also I'll address some questions from earlier posts.
Why I don't think the murder was politcally motivated: Because of the breakin at JBean's family home the night before. The blue residue left behind on the screen in both cases is such an odd thing, that I think it highly unlikely to be 2 separate burglars. If the killing was supposed to be a warning to Charles Percy, why break into another home a mile away the night before? A hired assassin would have no reason to do that.
Why I don't think it was a member of the Mob pro break-in gang, Malchow, Hohimer or Evans: The method of breaking in. The pro break-in gang knew how cut out glass without making any noise. They also never worked barefoot as Valerie's killer did. It wouldn't surprise me to learn the killer had done a number of breakins, but I don't think he was part of any organized gang. More a lone thrill seeker. Maybe someone who had been a peeping tom in the past.
Why I don't think Loraine was involved: Again, the previous break-in from the night before. No reason for that from Loraine. Many don't like the way she behaved that night, but I don't see anything that points to her as a murderer.
Why didn't anyone hear Valerie being attacked/why didn't she scream? As far as we know, Valerie never got off the bed during the attack. The mattress would have absorbed the sounds of a struggle. I think one of the first things the killer did when he attacked Valerie was to put his hand over her mouth, preventing her from screaming. Also, once he had struck her in the head, with whatever that object was, she would have been unconscious or semi-conscious at best.
Were there signs of a sexual assault? When Loraine returned to Valerie's room after tripping the alarm, Valerie's nightdress was above her waist. Loraine pulled it back down. Whether the nightdress was pushed up by the killer or rode up during the struggle, we don't know.
Why didn't the dog bark? It was in a covered walkway between the house and the garage, well away from the part of the house where the attack took place. It was also reported that the dog only barked at people in uniform.
The Killer had to be familiar with the inside of the home: I don't think so. All he had to know is that Valerie's bedroom was above the room at the rear corner of the house. I think the killer watched the house for some time, either the night of the murder or some time previously. If the killer was peeping at the time Sharon returned the raincoat, it would have been very easy to know which room was hers.
That said, there were also many people connected with the campaign at the house at various times. That would give someone the layout of the ground floor and Valerie might well have casually mentioned which bedroom was hers.
Why was the killer barefoot? I've speculated that perhaps this was intended to be a rape or a rape murder. No shoes would serve the dual purpose of being quiet moving around the house and make it easy to remove his trousers for the rape. However, it wouldn't surprise me if it were for some other reason altogether.
What caused the injuries to Valerie's head? Newspaper reports describe it as possibly a ballpeen hammer or fireplace poker reground to a conical point. An odd choice of weapon. Instead, I think it might have been one of these, a Trench Knife.
Notice that the nut that holds the grip on has a conical point, as do the spurs on the brass knuckle portion. I think it's also possible that there was a projection on the flashlight and the killer struck her with the light before switching to the knife for stabbing.
Whew, that's enough for now.