Random late night thoughts all JMO:
1 - Almost no way it was a paid hitman. I just can't reconcile why in the world a hired killer would do anything more than shoot her. I can reconcile some scenarios where the person paying for the hit would mention he/she wants it to be staged like a robbery, so I can see the hitman obliging for a price. As for beating her face in with a hammer close up, I just think the odds of someone requesting that specific method of killing and also a hitman agreeing to do something like that are too much of a longshot to seriously consider. Final thought here, we still do not know for sure a gun was even used and if it turns out one was not used, that further cuts against a hired hit because I don't see a professional agreeing to do a hit without a gun. I obv am not a professional hitman, but I think these are reasonable assumptions. Final, final thought, why would a pro taunt a camera or even look straight at it for any reason. This is someone who did it themselves. A stranger/stalker or someone she knew or that knew her.
2 - I think the most likely method of transport to/from the church is via automobile. It provides the quickest method of escape and also a place to hide the gear. No matter who pulled this off surely they were at least prepared to have to get out of there quick in case MB arrived later than expected and/or if any phase of the kill took longer than expected. I'd bet a large sum the method of transportation was a car. Motorcycle on a rainy night that would stick out, not provide the handy way to conceal the gear, and even provide safety issues in your getaway. I just don't see that as a feasible choice.
3 - I do not think the perp needed to ditch the gear immediately if they had a vehicle. It only takes a couple minutes to quickly throw off the gear and get in in your trunk and be on your way. SP had time to pull off the kill, get out of the gear, get it in the vehicle, and be gone before camper arrived. I will be surprised if they find the gear in the wild. If they find it, it will be in SP's home or a germaine location to SP.
4 - Why did SP leave any tools behind at all? We don't know exactly what was left behind, but why leave anything? Just interesting to me.
5 - I think SP def had rage and therefore makes it less likely it was a random stalker. Then again, people be crazy, maybe someone who she didn't know wanted to bludgeon her like that for some reason, but I'm going with someone who knew her and hated her for some reason.
Anyway...just random thoughts and JMO