An alternative to the Motive Rant has the perp, when cornered, explain how the murder was all an accident. Their excuse can be almost anything, but the most common explanations are * "It was just a joke!", when a prank or practical joke goes horribly wrong. * They were having an argument with the victim and accidentally shoved/nudged/chased them over the precipice or down the stairs. * "I didn't mean to hit him that hard!": They did mean to hit him, just a teensy bit, or some such thing. * "I only meant to make him sick...", usually so that the victim would be unable to do something and the killer could step into the victim's place. It may be a competition, a presentation, or a trip. Or almost anything else.