Jabba, I would pretty much agree with all you said, I've got a leg in both camps.
I did see some statistics around which showed about equal fatality rates, although with their slower stall speeds, there may well be more RA aircraft bent and fixed or thrown on the tip without the necessity for medical treatment of the Pilot.
This was certainly a cowboy act, but I'd divide your statistics into flying for recreation and flying for business, which takes out the professionals you referred to leaving people who purely fly for fun.
These I would further divide into those who could really afford to fly and those who are struggling to make ends meet.
The second group often don't fly enough to keep up their proficiency, cut back on maintenance, and "have to get back to the office"
I have no statistics on that group but suspect they account for a proportion of fatalities.
Of the balance most are responsible, some are cowboys but whether the cowboys are accumulating at the cheap end I'm not sure. We've seen some very strange fatals in the last couple of years coming from the more skilled end of aviation.
This guy of course was in no man's land because he didn't have ANY licence, GA or RA, so we'll see if the 2 years prison sentence is applied. That might take the sparkle off a few other cowboys.
Kharon, as we've seen in the past there is the thinnest of slivers on this site that can turn a sensible thread into a frothing sea of abuse against "others"