Accidental Death Or Something Else?

If it was accidental why the need to cover up and dispose of Maddie's body?
If it had been an accidental overdose, they could have claimed she had found the pills and eaten them thinking it was candy.
They see all the children sleeping when they stagger home and think nothing of it.
They wake up in the morning and Maddie is dead.
They couldn't wake her u.
One performs CPR, the other calls 911.
Maddie is taken to hospital and declared DOA, lots of crying, warnings to never leave pills in view, keep them locked up and out of reach end of story.

Another option could be they find her dead behind the sofa of a head injury or broken neck.
They could claim she must have woken up early gone to get a drink, have a play or just look out the window.
They didn't see or hear her because they had drunk too much the night before and were sleeping the sleep of the inebriated.
When they wake, they check on the children and Maddie is not in her bed.
A search finds her on the floor dead, one calls 911 and the other performs CPR as parental instinct, especially kate, would refuse to accept she was dead even though they are doctors.
Lots of crying, bit of news in the paper and end of story.

Since they lied about who was doing what checks if any, removed Maddie's body from the apartment and claimed abduction, the obvious conclusion is that it was non accidental.

Gerry said "The ludicrous thing is that Madeleine died in the apartment by an accident and we hid her body," Well, when did she have the accident and die? 'Cause the only time she was left unattended was when we were at dinner, so if she died then, how could we have disposed of or hidden her body? You know, when there was an immediate search?

"It's just nonsense! And if she died when we were in the apartment, or fell, why would we cover that up?"

Here he tells us it was not an accident.
Had it been an accident, they would not have covered it up.
Since they covered it up it had to be non accidental.

"The ludicrous thing is that Madeleine died in the apartment by an accident and we hid her body,"

Here he tells us that Maddie having an accident and dying in the apartment is ludicrous.

adjective: ludicrous

so foolish, unreasonable, or out of place as to be amusing.

We can then discount accidental death in the apartment.

If it was non accidental that means it was deliberate, premeditated

noun:
nonaccidental injury: social welfare damage, such as a bruise, burn, or fracture, deliberately inflicted on a child or an old person

This leads to the question of what was being done to Maddie that caused a non accidental injury or death.

Then we need to learn who was with Maddie when it happened

Then we need to learn who removed and concealed Maddie's body.

Finally we need to learn who knew, or at least had a good idea of what happened,?
Who was involved and took part in the subsequent cover up which is still ongoing?

Friendships change over time,
Your best friend today can be your worst enemy tomorrow.
Secrets are not secrets if more than one person knows.
Money can only buy silence for so long.
Blackmail doesn't work, one day the victim will decide enough is enough and speak out.
A crime once done cannot be undone.

Too many people know the guilty truth, and guilt will eat away at them day after day.
Always wondering of today is the day the truth comes out?
Going to bed each night wondering if there will be an early morning knock on the door?
Wondering if the people they see in the streets are undercover officers?
Wondering if their phones and computers are being tapped?
For the mccanns, the wondering if the twins remember what happened or remember overheard arguments or discussions?

The fear the twins will leak something to friends or teachers or worse decide to have a friendly little chat with the police either English or Portuguese.

There is also the fear that push comes to shove and either gerry or kate (more likely kate) will decide to end the charade and confess.

They are both trapped in a loveless marriage, a marriage in trouble even before the alleged abduction.
Even though they profess to be catholic,do they go to church regularly?
They couldn't divorce since there would likely be a row over custody and it could end up with one throwing the other under the bus, willing to effectively do a plea deal, kate perhaps claiming diminished responsibility or PND.

Their friends who seemingly no longer remain in close contact could decide they are sick of the guilt and speak out or maybe tempted by a reward and/or megabucks from the media for their stories if they weren't actually involved.

Tick tock kate and gerry. Tick tock.