First of all, the State Attorney has the burden of proof....They MUST PROVE "beyond a reasonable doubt" that KC murdered Caylee.
The defense DOES NOT have the burden of proof. They ONLY need to show that the State has NOT met the burden of proof. They can say the pet dogs did it, and if they can get one juror to think that is reasonable, she will be found not guilty. I know this is extreme, but I use this example to make a point.
I started a thread a couple of days ago when Reyes was arrested for attempting to abduct a 4 year-old little girl whose mouth he covered with duct tape. I think the defense could try to connect this case to Caylee as SODDI. They will have to jump through many hoops to say why KC did what she did, didn't do what she should, why she lied etc, etc....but it really only matters that they can establish doubt in the mind of ONE juror.
They could say that KC left Caylee alone in the house asleep to run an errand (maybe she did that often), and she returned to find Caylee dead in the garage lying on a make-shift bed with duct tape over her mouth. KC doesn't know who did this or why. She only knows that the back sliding door was open, and someone had been in the house. She went into panic mode, knowing how CA would react and blame her for leaving Caylee alone.
She wrapped her up in blanket, placed a heart sticker on her mouth, and made a little bed for her in the clean laundry bag, placed her in her trunk and left the house to think of what to do next.
She had plans with Tony, and went ahead with those plans to try to "act normal." All the while she was trying to get ideas for what to do next. She rents the movies, which she either had already seen or knew of the plots with kidnapping of child, setting her plan of cover-up in motion. Meanwhile she blocked her mind by drinking, partying and sexing it up to convince herself that it wasn't real for moments at a time.
Not being a criminal-minded person, she carried the body in her trunk not knowing what to do, until the day that her father almost discovered the body in her trunk. She again went to panic mode and dumped the body. (Could just as easily say that she dumped the body when she ran out of gas looking for a burial site the day that TonE came to bring her gas.)
All of this would just be to create a reasonable doubt in the mind of ONR juror! I don't know if this would work, but I do think the duct tape on the mouth is a strange coincidence. I could make someone consider the defense theory if they can bring in enough experts to dispute to forensics put up by the State.
This is ONLY A THEORY.... I personally believe that KC is guilty based on what I know right now, but if the defense is able to dispute some of the critical evidence and offer another plausible explanation for why the State hasn't proven beyond a reasonable doubt their case, I think someone on the jury could be swayed to believe SODDI, maybe! This is only a theory for others to think about. Remember, regardless of what any of us think of the A's and KC and all the lies and deception, the State still has the burden of proof, not the defense.
ETA: The defense does not have to put KC on the stand to use this defense. They just need to offer up the suggestion. They could do that by asking the detectives about other children who were abducted or attempted to be abducted by perp using duct tape. In closing statements they would be able to say what KC's part was in cover up does not make her guilty of murder. She isn't charged with accessory after the fact.