A woman from Colorado who is wanted by US police on suspicion of murdering two of her children and attempting to murder a third has appeared in court after being arrested in London.
Kimblerlee Singler is accused of killing her nine-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son, and of wounding her 11-year-old daughter, at their home in a suburb of Colorado Springs before Christmas.
Police were called to Ms Singler’s home, in the Palomina Ranch Point area of the city, on Dec 19 following reports of an aggravated burglary.
When they arrived they discovered two children dead and Ms Singler and her 11-year-old daughter wounded. She and her daughter were taken to hospital, where they were treated for their injuries before being discharged.
The 35-year-old was initially treated as a victim and co-operated with the detectives investigating the alleged burglary. But on Dec 23 she disappeared, and police confirmed they were no longer treating reports of the burglary as genuine.
A warrant for Ms Singler’s arrest was issued in the United States on Dec 26, and local police in Denver requested the FBI’s help after it was suspected that she had travelled overseas.
She was subsequently located in the UK and officers from the National Crime Agency’s national extradition unit were alerted. She was found at an address in the Kensington area of central London on Dec 30 and arrested.
Ms Singler has been charged with two counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, three counts of child abuse and one count of assault.
She appeared at Westminster magistrates’ court on Monday morning for an extradition proceedings hearing and was remanded into custody ahead of another hearing on Jan 29.
It has since emerged that she had been involved in a long-running legal dispute over the children with her ex-husband, according to court records.
A spokesman for Colorado Springs police 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.”
