Colorado mother suspected of killing her children arrested in UK
Kimberlee Singler’s nine-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son were found dead in a residential property last month
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A Colorado mother who is charged with the murder of two of her children has appeared at a London court, following her arrest in the UK.
Kimberlee Singler’s nine-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son were found dead in a residential property last month, according to Colorado Springs police.
Her 11-year-old daughter was also found, injured but alive.
According to a statement put out by the force, officers had responded to a 911 call reporting a burglary at the Singler family home at 12.29am on December 19. The buglary claim was later discovered to be unfounded.
Ms Singler, 35, and her 11-year-old daughter were treated for injuries at the scene before being taken to hospital. Despite initially co-operating with the investigation, Ms Singler disappeared on December 23 and a warrant was issued for her arrest on December 26 on murder charges.
She was arrested by the National Crime Agency’s national extradition unit in Kensington, west London, on December 30 and appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday facing extradition to the United States.
According to a police press release, Ms Singler faces four counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.
CNN reported that the charges for each alleged crime were doubled due to the children being under the age of 12.
A spokesperson for Colorado Springs Police Department said: "Kimberlee Singler was taken into custody in the United Kingdom without incident.
"Detectives with the Colorado Springs Police Department’s homicide unit continue to work closely with multiple law enforcement agencies in pursuing the ongoing investigation."
The department said more information would be released about the arrest at a news conference at a later date.
Following the incident in December, an attorney for Kevin Wentz, the man who has been reported as being the children’s father, said that the family was “in a tremendous amount of grief and shock”.
“The family is respectfully requesting that you honor their request for privacy at this time so they may grieve and gather more information as it becomes available,” the attorney said.
Court records state that there is an open case over neglect and child placement, and a divorce case active between Ms Singler and Mr Wentz. Ms Singler was granted a temporary protection order from Wentz this autumn, court records show, according to KKTV.