Kimberlee Singler: Killings, Extradition Fight, and Charges

The Kimberlee Singler case centers on a Colorado Springs mother charged with murdering two of her three children and attempting to kill the third in December 2023, then fleeing to London, where she spent nearly two years fighting extradition before being returned to the United States on December 23, 2025. She now sits in the El Paso County Jail without bond, facing seven felony counts including four counts of first-degree murder. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 30, 2026.

What Happened That Night

Just after midnight on December 19, 2023, Singler called 911 from her apartment at the Palomino Ranch Point complex and reported a home invasion.¹ Officers found nine-year-old Elianna “Ellie” Wentz and seven-year-old Aden Wentz dead in a bedroom. Both had been shot in the head and had knife wounds to the neck. Their eleven-year-old sister was in the living room with multiple stab wounds. She survived.²

Singler told police a male intruder had come in through a side door and attacked her and the children. The story fell apart quickly. There were no signs of forced entry and no footprints in the snow outside the door where the intruder supposedly entered.³ A blood-covered handgun on the floor outside a bedroom closet carried Singler’s DNA and blood, and live rounds still in the magazine had bloodstains showing they had been loaded by someone with blood already on their hands.⁴ A knife near a sofa bed tested positive primarily for her blood.²

In the kitchen trash, investigators found empty medication bottles, including sleep tablets and liquid sleep medication.² Kevin Wentz, the children’s father, was cleared early: employer records and GPS data from his work truck placed him roughly 80 miles away in Thornton when the killings happened.³

The Custody Battle That Preceded the Killings

Singler and Kevin Wentz had been fighting over custody since filing for divorce in Larimer County in September 2018.⁵ In September 2023, Singler filed for a temporary protection order alleging Wentz had waved a knife at her. Wentz denied it, and in November, a Larimer County court found “no imminent threat” and rescinded the order.⁶ That same month, the court granted Wentz additional parenting time from December 16 through December 31, 2023, with custody exchanges to happen at police stations.⁷

Singler did not show up at the Colorado Springs police substation on December 16 to hand over the children.⁵ Wentz’s attorney filed an emergency motion asking law enforcement to enforce the order. A court granted the motion on December 18, and a voicemail alerting Singler was left that same day. Hours later came the 911 call. Shredded court documents relating to a December 17 hearing turned up in the apartment’s kitchen trash.²

How the Surviving Daughter Broke the Case

Singler’s intruder story initially held because her eleven-year-old daughter backed it up. On Christmas Day 2023, after recovering from her injuries, the girl recanted. She told investigators her mother had instructed her to lie and that Singler was the person who had attacked them.⁴ The daughter said Singler had told the children to drink “milk laced with powder” and to “close their eyes” as she led them to the bedroom, and that Singler told them “God was telling her to do it.” Colorado Springs police reclassified the intruder report as “unfounded.”⁸

Prosecutors have identified the surviving daughter, now thirteen, as a key witness at trial.³ Singler’s London-based attorney, Edward Fitzgerald, argued during extradition proceedings that the daughter’s account was coerced.⁹

Flight to London and the Two-Year Extradition Fight

Police moved to arrest Singler on December 26, 2023, the day after her daughter changed her story. She had already left the country. On December 30, 2023, she was located and arrested in London’s Chelsea neighborhood.¹ A Colorado court set her bond at $10 million.¹⁰

Fitzgerald, a King’s Counsel, built the extradition defense on Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which bars “inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” First-degree murder in Colorado carries a mandatory sentence of life without the possibility of parole, and Fitzgerald argued that a sentence with no realistic route to release amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. Defense experts testified there was no “realistic probability” any Colorado governor would commute such a sentence, which Fitzgerald called “political suicide.”¹¹

In January 2025, District Judge John Zani at Westminster Magistrates’ Court rejected that challenge. He found that the possibility of executive clemency from Colorado’s governor was a “working mechanism of review” that satisfied European human rights standards. The decision then went to British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who holds final authority over high-profile extraditions.¹² Singler’s bid for an appeal was denied in November 2025.¹³

On December 23, 2025, FBI agents and Colorado Springs police took custody of Singler in London and flew her back to the United States. She was booked into the El Paso County Jail.¹³

The Charges Singler Faces

Singler faces a seven-count indictment in Colorado’s 4th Judicial District:

Two counts of first-degree murder (after deliberation and with intent)
Two counts of first-degree murder (victim under 12 years of age)
One count of attempted first-degree murder (after deliberation with intent)
One count of attempted first-degree murder (child under 12)
One count of first-degree assault

Earlier filings also included child abuse charges.¹⁴ El Paso County District Attorney Michael Allen is prosecuting the case and called the extradition a “significant milestone.”¹⁵ At her first Colorado court appearance on December 24, 2025, Judge Marika Frady ordered her held without bond.¹⁶

Where the Case Stands Now

The case is in an active pretrial phase before Judge William Bain. In May 2026, prosecutors turned over roughly 500 pages of new documents to the defense, and Judge Bain granted a defense request for a continuance. The preliminary hearing is now set for June 30, 2026.¹⁷

The defense has raised concerns about potentially missing or unwritten police reports. Judge Bain ordered the defense to formally request any outstanding materials and gave prosecutors one week to respond. Prosecutors have also obtained a court order for new DNA swabs, photographs, and fingerprints from Singler, citing her changed appearance and concerns about the integrity of DNA evidence collected by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. They pointed to the criminal case against former CBI lead DNA scientist Yvonne “Missy” Woods.¹⁷

1
NBC News. Colorado Mom Suspected of Killing 2 Kids Extradited From UK
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Fox 21 News. From 911 to Extradition: The Progression of the Singler Case
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ABC News. Colorado Woman Suspected of Killing 2 Children Is Extradited From UK
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KKTV. Arrest Papers Released for Mother Accused of Killing Two of Her Children
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Denver Post. Kimberlee Singler Colorado Springs Mom Killed Kids Custody Battle
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BBC News. Kimberlee Singler Children Identified
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CBS News Colorado. Murder Colorado Springs Children Attorneys Child Custody Battle
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People. Colorado Mom Accused of Killing Siblings, Surviving Daughter’s Account
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Denver7. Colorado Woman Accused of Murdering 2 of Her Children Fights Extradition in a London Court
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City of Colorado Springs. Kimberlee Singler Now in Custody
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KOAA. Judge Expected to Deliver Ruling on Extradition of Colorado Springs Mom
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NBC News. Colorado Mom Accused of Drugging and Killing Two Children Can Be Extradited
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ABC7 Chicago. Colorado Woman Suspected of Killing 2 Children Is Extradited From UK
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Denver7. Colorado Mother Accused of Murdering 2 of Her Children Extradited Back to El Paso County
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City of Colorado Springs. Statement From CSPD Chief Vasquez and DA Michael Allen
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Denver7. Mother Accused of Killing 2 of Her Children Has First Hearing in Colorado
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The Gazette. Kimberlee Singler Case: Mountains of New Documents Introduced, Judge Grants Defense Motion