Colorado Mom Who Fled to U.K. After 2 of Her Kids Were Killed Ordered Back to U.S., Officials Announce

A Colorado mother wanted in connection with the killings of two of her children has been extradited to the U.S. two years after her arrest in the U.K.

Kimberlee Singler was brought back stateside on Tuesday, Dec. 23, to face charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder and assault, the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said in a press release.

The now 37-year-old suspected fugitive was arrested at a hotel in central London on Dec. 30, 2023. Authorities said she fled the country days after her 9-year-old daughter Elianna and 7-year-old son Aden were found dead in the family’s Colorado Springs home on Dec. 19, 2023, PEOPLE previously reported.

Police responded to the home after a 911 caller reported a burglary. Singler and her 11-year-old daughter were treated for injuries, but investigators later determined the burglary report was unfounded.

An arrest warrant was issued for Singler on Dec. 26, 2023, but by then, she had already fled, authorities said.

During a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in September 2024, prosecutor Joel Smith said the two children were both fatally shot and stabbed. The surviving child was allegedly stabbed multiple times as she begged her mother to spare her, Smith claimed, per the Associated Press.

“The defendant told her that God was telling her to do it, and that the children’s father would take them away,” Smith claimed in court, per the outlet.

The prosecutor alleged that Singler had tried to pass off the blame on her ex-husband, Kevin Wentz, with whom she was then in a custody battle. Per Smith, Singler claimed to police that a “dark figure” had entered her apartment and that she had fainted, the AP reported.

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However, Wentz’s alibi checked out and the 11-year-old allegedly told a caretaker that her mother had told her to lie to officers about a man breaking into their home, Smith claimed during the hearing, per the AP.

Singler’s U.K. defense attorney, Edward Fitzgerald, said in court that Singler did not hurt her children and believed police coerced the claim from her surviving daughter, the AP reported. He also argued that she should not be extradited to Colorado, where she could face life without parole — a sentence he said would violate European human rights law, per the outlet.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez said Singler is being held without bail until her preliminary hearing, the AP reported. It’s unclear if she has retained a U.S. attorney to speak on her behalf.

“Singler is accused of committing an unthinkable act,” the chief said. “I know these acts have deeply impacted this community, and our hearts remain with the victims.”