LONDON, UK — The Colorado mom accused of killing her two children and wounding her third child will remain in custody in the United Kingdom through at least early December after her extradition hearing was delayed.
Friday was supposed to be the final day of a three-day extradition hearing for Kimberlee Singler – the Colorado Springs woman who is charged with the killing of her two children late last year.
She is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, three counts of child abuse, and one count of assault related to the incident at a Colorado Springs apartment on Dec. 18, 2023.
That is the day investigators believe she killed 7-year-old Aden Wentz and 9-year-old Elianna "Ellie" Wentz. Singler's other daughter was wounded but survived. According to Colorado Springs Police, Singler reported a burglary in the early morning hours of Dec. 19, but investigators determined the burglary report was "unfounded."
A warrant was issued for her arrest on Dec. 26 and she was arrested in the UK on Dec. 30.
The extradition hearing for Singler in the UK began Wednesday. She appeared in person for a hearing in London wearing grey sweatpants, a white T-shirt and a green fleece jacket. She was represented by Edward Fitzgerald of King's Council – the same attorney who represented Julian Assange in his battle to avoid extradition from the United Kingdom to the United States.
Joel Smith of the King's Council, who represented the United States at the hearing, relayed testimony from Singler's child. He said the child initially told police a man who came through the door of their property was responsible for the attack.
On Christmas Day, her story changed, and she said her mother was responsible. According to testimony from the hearing, the child said that Singler told her two younger children to close their eyes as she guided them toward the bedroom. The child explained that she was also guided to a bedroom but survived.
According to Smith, the "defendant told them [the children] God was telling her to do it or their father was going to take them away.”
The couple had been involved in a yearslong, often contentious battle for custody of their children. Documents obtained by 9NEWS show that a day before the attack, a judge granted an emergency motion that ordered Singler to turn the children over to their father.
Kevin Wentz filed the motion after Singler refused to exchange the children with his sister at a police station the day before, as required. The order issued by the court allowed law enforcement to assist with enforcing parenting time and restricted Singler's visitations to Facetime until a Jan. 18 hearing.
On Dec. 18, a clerk with the Larimer County Court left Singler a voicemail telling her that she and her children were ordered to appear in court on Dec. 20 if she was unable to exchange the children with Wentz before then.
During the hearing in London, Singler opposed her extradition to the United States on two grounds – sentencing procedure and prison conditions. The first-degree murder charges carry a mandatory life sentence if she's convicted. That, counsel argues, could violate UK extradition law. The UK does not grant extradition where the death penalty is on the table. There is also discretion to consider where a punishment is "grossly disproportionate."
That has been a big sticking point – with the defense repeatedly pointing out that Singler would have no chance for her sentence to be commuted if convicted. However, Smith, of the King's Council, cited a Colorado news article from 2018 that indicated several sentences were commuted.
They requested additional time to research those articles and the judge granted that request – and the final day of the hearing was delayed and is now set for Dec. 2.
Autopsy reports indicate that both children were shot in the head. Aden died from a gunshot wound and Ellie died from a gunshot and cuts. Both also had "potentially lethal" or "lethal" levels of doxylamine in their blood. The drug is commonly found in sleep aids and allergy medicines.