For many weeks, your accidental drowning theory was exactly my theory, too, Devon. However, as time passed and evidence was released, including videos of the A's jail visits, I've had to change my mind.
Knowing what I now know about KC and CA's personalities, and their relationship, I cannot imagine KC assuming ANY responsibility whatsoever for the pool ladder being left up, resulting in Caylee's accidental drowning. Even if CA had specifically told KC to put the ladder away the night of June 15th, KC would have denied hearing that and/or blamed CA for putting it there in the first place. As soon as KC discovered Caylee in that pool, she'd have gotten Cindy on the phone and gone on the attack even before she called 911!
Even if KC didn't do that back in June, she'd certainly have turned on Cindy and blamed
her for the pool ladder in July as soon as she was arrested and lawyered up. Once KC told that "truth" to Baez, he'd have been telling this story to LE and the media. KC has a venomous love-hate relationship with Cindy, and she wouldn't spend one day in jail to spare her mother. Furthermore, if KC had told the story about wanting to shield Cindy from knowing Cindy was responsible for Caylee drowning, KC would have looked like a saintly, devoted daughter, and a tragic mother.
And even if KC hadn't come up with that story while in jail, she surely would have worked it out with Cindy when she was home on bond. That explanation would have made Caylee's death accidental, and the whole tale would have ended then and there--with an outpouring of public sympathy for all the A's.
There was just one obstacle to that--one loose end that made this accidental drowning alibi completely implausible and impossible for the A's to pull off: The police would have insisted on knowing what KC did with Caylee's body.
The answer would have turned out to be, in essence: "Well, I wrapped duct tape around her head, then I bagged her up in double garbage bags and drove around with her in my trunk for a few days, while I stayed at my new boyfriend's apartment and partied with friends.
Her body started getting lumpy and icky in the bags, so I went by my parents' house and got a laundry basket and plopped her into that, too. Some of her had leaked out into my trunk, so I decided I needed to get her out of there before my trunk was ruined or someone saw her there. Finally, I decided to dump her in the woods behind my house where people dump old tires and trash. I'll show you where she is, but it might be flooded, or animals may have dragged her off. Oh, and we'll have to be careful of big snakes...."
There is an inhuman heartlessness in KC's treatment of her own daughter's dead body that completely negates the possibility that she would try to shield anyone other than herself from blame. I also think that even she recognized that no one else would ever be able to "understand" or overlook her treatment and disposal of Caylee's remains.
For what it's worth, because of the ladder being found by the pool with the gate open, I still think that KC either deliberately drowned Caylee, or that immediately after Caylee died, KC attempted to make it look like a drowning, then gave up that plan for some reason.
Any further thoughts, Devon.
