I'd say the shame of discovery by others drives a significant portion of these killings. The murder, and the subsequent "I was tricked!" explanation are both methods of saving face.

I agree with the poster above, tbh. As a heterosexual male, a lot of men who physically harm transwomen (males) are not "straight" men. These are sexually confused, in denial/closet, or "chasers" who are during a very high numbers of these assaults or killings if/when they do happen at all. Majority of heterosexual men know a neovagnia from a real one & other idiosyncrasies that distinguish biological females from a cosmetically enhanced male. It's hard to explain, but those inate things are there. Unfortunately a lot of these individuals work in the sex trade & these sexually confused men, or "chasers" have an internalized self hatred for their attraction to transwomen (males), so they take out their anger/frustration out on these individuals unfortunately.

These men know that these are trans individuals, & that deep down they're not heterosexual. Once the reality sets in on them sleeping with other males, they "snap". This is very unfortunate, because No one should die, because you can't be honest with yourself & just be your sexuality. This is hard for these men to do which is why you have HSTS saying "I'm not a guy man, but a straight woman". Or the men sleeping with them saying "They're women too & I'm not attracted to the male aesthetic". You have a breakdown from both sides, once reality sets in. Sorry for long post.