Kimberlee Singler: Women charged with murders of her children told she can be extradited to U.S.
She fled to London after allegedly killing two of her three kids amid bitter custody dispute and has been trying to delay her return to the U.S. to face justice
A Colorado Springs woman fighting extradition from the United Kingdom after being charged with the murders of her children has been told by a judge that she can be extradited back to the United States to face justice, NBC reports.
At a Jan. 24, 2025 hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court in London, 36-year-old Singler learned that her challenge to an extradition order to the U.S. has been rejected by District Judge John Zani.
NBC notes that this means Singler now awaits the decision of British home secretary, Yvette Cooper, who will have the final say on the matter.
Should Cooper reject the challenge, Singler apparently intends to appeal both the British Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, NBC says, in an attempt to avoid a life sentence in prison in the U.S. she could face if convicted.
Singler has been charged with four counts of first degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, and child abuse charges. The crimes of which she is accused carry a mandatory life sentence if convicted, and her legal team is protesting that this is a breach of European human rights law, according to NBC.
The European Convention on Human Rights, Article 3, forbids “inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” NBC notes that 46 countries, including the U.K., abide by the Convention. Singler’s attorneys are citing this as their protest to have their client extradited.
The crime: She told police a man broke into the home, attacked her and the kids, killing two of them, but the surviving child allegedly told police that her mother actually did it
On Dec. 19, 2023, the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) responded to a 911 call at about 12:29 AM regarding a burglary in the 5300 block of Palomino Ranch Point. At the scene, a woman and an 11-year-old girl were treated for injuries. In a press release, the CSPD said officers found two other children, a 9-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy, deceased.
As police dug into Singler’s claims that the children’s deaths were the result of a burglary, they found her story to be “unfounded,” according to the release. They obtained an arrest warrant on Boxing Day.
But the Colorado Springs cops faced a problem: Kimberlee Singler hadn’t been seen in the city since Dec. 23, as per the release. The Guardian reports that she had initially cooperated with police, but disappeared partway through the investigation.
Attorneys of Singler’s ex-husband, Kevin Wentz, revealed in a press release that the couple were in the midst of a troubled divorce and bitter custody battle over the kids. Wentz claimed the custody battle began in Dec. 2018.
The Denver Gazette revealed more details about the couple’s divorce, for which they filed in April 2018. That fall, Singler began her accusations of domestic violence and child abuse against Wentz. The kids were 6, 4, and 2-years-old at this point.
Singler’s accusations seemed to conveniently align with when Wentz was supposed to have visitation time with their kids. In July 2023, Singler filed a contempt of court motion complaining that she and her children were evicted from their home six months before because Wentz allegedly failed to pay child support and spousal maintenance.
Wentz’s attorneys say that Singler filed for a temporary protection order in September 2023 in El Paso County with allegations that Wentz waved a knife at her. This case is still open, and Wentz has denied the accusation.
In Nov. 2023, Singler once again brought up this allegation in court when she filed an emergency motion to restrict Wentz’s parenting time, the attorneys’ release says. The court determined Wentz was not an imminent threat and rescinded the order, saying the children were to have additional time with Wentz at Thanksgiving, and once more around Dec. 16 through Dec. 31.
Wentz and Singler were to exchange the children at a Colorado Springs Police Station and the Greeley Police Station. Singler was to pay for Wentz’s attorney fees, and Wentz was granted extra time with the kids he lost due to his ex-wife’s allegations.
On Dec. 16, Singler was to drop the kids off with Wentz’s sister, as per the court order from November, the release says. She never showed. Both Wentz and his attorney tried to get in touch with Singler but she never responded. Wentz’s attorney filed an emergency motion for a judge to enforce parenting time, which was granted on Dec. 18.
A Larimer County Court clerk called Singler on Dec. 18 to inform her of the court hearing, and that she and the children were ordered to attend if she couldn’t give Wentz the kids before then. A status conference was scheduled for Dec. 20.
The Gazette obtained court documents which reveal that Singler said she had taken the kids to Breckenridge that day while the aunt waited to pick them up. Singler was allegedly faced with losing custody of her kids.
But on the night of Dec. 18, police allege that Singler killed 9-year-old Aden and 7-year-old Elianna. When Singler finally contacted 911 on Dec. 19, she claimed it had been a burglary.
However, on Dec. 20, Singler went to a public library to use a computer to file a motion to have the hearing continued. 9News reveals details of this motion.
She claimed that someone broke into her home at about 11 a.m. on Dec. 18, and that two of her children were murdered during this time, with Singler and her 11-year-old daughter “left to die.” Singler claimed she had no way to call 911 until the next morning, and that she didn’t know of the Dec. 20 hearing until the later in the day on Dec. 19.
She described her injuries in the motion, saying she had “lacerations” on her neck and wrists, was in a great deal of pain, and needed time to grieve for her children, asking for “time to heal.”
And, police allege, she ran. No details have been released as to how Singler fled the country or had the ability to get all the way to London. PEOPLE reported simply that she had been located at a London hotel.
“On Saturday 30 December 2023 in the Kensington area of London, officers from the National Crime Agency's National Extradition Unit arrested a 35-year-old female wanted in the United States of America for offences including two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder,” said a spokesperson from the National Crime Agency in the UK.
Edward Fitzgerald, Singler’s attorney in London, stated that Singler “denies she is responsible for the death of her two young children and the attempted murder of her third child,” according to the BBC.
“She is innocent,” he added.
People also reported that the surviving daughter was recovering from her injuries and safe in Colorado Springs.
Sources
CSPD press release
https://coloradosprings.gov/news/kimberlee-singler-now-custody
The Denver Gazette
https://denvergazette.com/news/colorado-springs-murder-kimberlee-singler-kevin-wentz/article_7b61fd82-bc64-11ee-a668-5b803440ba98.html
https://gazette.com/news/courts/extradition-for-colorado-springs-mother-charged-with-killing-her-kids-could-take-months/article_8d039bc6-bbc0-11ee-b851-d3af56b363e6.html
9News
https://www.9news.com/article/news/crime/kimberlee-singler-colorado-springs-suspect-children-killed/73-7a62a846-a53f-4d35-842e-2a148792b248
DOJ
https://www.justice.gov/jm/jm-9-15000-international-extradition-and-related-matters#9-15.100
NBC
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/colorado-mom-accused-drugging-killing-two-children-can-extradited-rcna169891
BBC
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gqyerxjnyo