.... and was Seth Rich whacked, in part, to cover it up ??

This is a somewhat techy - nerdy read that deals with computer metadata, but it seems that some of the initial DNC hacked files that were first published by Guccifer 2.0 (before WikiLeaks) may have actually been published by Warren Flood (as Guccifer 2.0) to create the "false flag" allegation of Russian interference. Flood was a high ranking IT guy who worked for Obama For America, the DNC, and Joe Biden, and that may be a new or additional motive for Rich's murder, since he had the ability to speak up and allow the dots to be connected, in order to establish that Guccifer 2.0 was a DNC psy-op.

See:

https://www.reddit.com/r/The_Donald/comments/6d9xcm/breaking_ive_found_evidence_that_the_dnc/

And, another technical / investigative article (whole site actually) to the DNC / Guccifer 2 Russian Hack misdirection.

http://g-2.space

I seriously doubt we will ever know what really happened .... but I think one thing is very obvious .... WE'VE BEEN PLAYED.

Their F'ing fingerprints are all over it. They're using everything, including a complicit media to sell it to the sheeple.

It's not "tin foil hat" to consider Rich hacked the DNC and gave the data to Wikileaks. Rich was a Bernie supporter and saw firsthand how he was being screwed out of a possible nomination over HRC. Rich couldn't expose the DNC on his own so he struck up a relationship with Wiki and obtained the emails and attachments. Once discovered, the DNC (Robby Mook) couldn't reveal that one of their own was the leaker. So the arch enemy Russia was an easy red herring. It is significant that the DNC wouldn't let the FBI examine their computers. It is important to understand what Robby Mook said to Podesta that the leaker should be made an example of.
Its significant that Rich was shot in the back twice during the early morning hours with nothing taken from his person. D.C. popo call it a "botched robbery". Yeah, right!
So Rich is killed on July 10 and Wikileaks begins publishing DNC emails on July 22. The angle of Guccifer, pubishing in mid June '16, may have been cover for Wiki. In an interview with a Dutch reporter a few weeks later, Assange brings up a 27 year homicide in D.C. as his example that his sources take significant risks to bring info forward. It was an unprompted mention of the Rich incident. When pressed further by the reporter, Assange states that they never reveal sources. Assange puts up $130,000 for info leading to the arrest of the perp.

Richs' parents have a spokesperson after the death - not unusual. But Brad Bauman, the intermediary is a paid DNC conflict resolution specialist. The retired D.C. investigator, Rod Wheeler evidently did his job too well and points to Seth Rich as the source for the Wikileak emails. The Rich family, via Bauman, chastises Wheeler for speaking out on his findings.
The status of the DC investigation is unknown as is Rich's computer.

At its core the events are: a disgruntled DNC staffer is angry how Bernie is being treated. He divulges pertinent data to Wikileaks to prove that and embarrass the DNC. That staffer ends up dead within a short period of time. There is noting "tin foil hat" about the events. It is a plausible scenario. Politics at that level is a high stakes pursuit with sometimes extreme measures taken.

The DNC is no more than a rubber stamp for the Clinton crime family...

This isn't going to end well for the Democrats. Their ship is sinking.

I'm thinking if they clear this homicide they will clear several other murders as well. DNC probably uses the same killer as the Clintons.
While they are investigating they need to check with the police chief and see why he is trying to stop things. He may be involved himself.