So-called "senseless" homicides are not acts of pure randomness and lunacy but contain clear indications of planing and selectivity

Making sense of senseless murders: The who, what, when, and where? Kylie S. Reale  Eric Beauregard  Julien Chopin  Nathan Wells. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, April 16 2021. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2513

Rolf Degen's take: https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/1384180696080535558

Abstract: The phenomenon of “senseless” or “motiveless” homicide refers to homicides that lack an objective external motivation. Despite the unique challenges these homicides pose to police, few empirical studies have been conducted on the topic and existing studies are limited to clinical studies using small samples. To overcome existing empirical shortcomings, the current study used a sample of 319 homicide cases where no motive was established during the investigation to describe the “who” (offender and victim characteristics), “what” (modus operandi, crime characteristics), “where” (encounter, crime, and body recovery associated locations), and “when” (time of the crime) of the entire criminal event. Findings provide insight into the entire crime‐commission process and suggest a different dynamic to “senseless” homicide from what has been described in previous literature. Implications for police investigative practice are discussed.