The mother who allegedly killed two of her children before fleeing to the UK had a years-long court battle with her ex-husband, court documents have revealed.
Kimberlee Singler, 35, is currently in custody in the UK and is facing charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder after two of her children were found dead and a third injured on 19 December.
A judge had signed an order for Ms Singler’s children to spend Christmas with her ex-husband and their father, Kevin John Wentz, court records obtained by KOAA showed.
It was agreed by the court that Ms Singler should turn over her three children to Mr Wentz at the Stetson Hills Division station of the Colorado Springs Police Department at 9am on 16 December and they would return to their mother at noon on 31 December at the Greeley Police Department, KOAA reported.
It is unclear whether Ms Singler showed up with her children, yet the court documents reportedly show Mr Wentz went to court on 17 December asking for an emergency motion from police to enforce the agreement.
A hearing was set for 20 December but was ultimately called off, with the court citing their "condolences about the recent occurrences for the parties and their families,” KOAA reported.
The police were initially called to a burglary case, where they found the children dead— (CBS Colorado)
Mr Wentz was initially granted this time over Christmas as “make-up parenting time” after he was recently accused by Ms Singler of “pulling a knife,” which restricted time with his children, the records show.
The court later decided that Mr Wentz was not a danger to his children and was allowed to spend time with them again.
The documents reportedly show that the parents were allegedly locked in a custody battle that stretched further back than this incident.
In 2018, Ms Singler filed for divorce from Mr Wentz, and by May 2019, the court was considering a request from the mother to restrict her husband’s time with her children.
Over the years, the couple battled it out about the time they could spend with their children, with Ms Singler allegedly failing to turn up to court on occasions.
By November 2023, the couple were ordered to conduct a polygraph test, denying Ms Singler’s request to be excluded from it, and only communicate through the co-parenting app AppClose, the documents reportedly showed.
A few days after Mr Wentz was finally supposed to spend time with his children for Christmas, a nine-year-old girl and a seven-year-old boy were found dead on 19 December.
Officers responded to a 911 call at around 12.30am on Tuesday, 19 December, following reports of a burglary that was later discovered to be unfounded, the Colorado Springs Police Department said.
Along with the two deceased children, they found Ms Singler and her 11-year-old daughter at the residence, who both had injuries.
The mother, who was initially treated as a victim, and her daughter were taken to hospital.
A week later, Ms Singler fled Colorado to the UK around the time investigators on the case found probable cause to arrest her.
She was last seen on 23 December, and the investigators issued a warrant for Ms Singler on 26 December, the court records show, according to KOAA.
By 30 December, Ms Singler was arrested by the National Crime Agency’s national extradition unit in Kensington in west London.
She appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday, facing extradition to the United States, although the Colorado Springs police predicted this could take a considerable amount of time.
Colorado Springs police said in a press release on 28 December that Ms Singler will face four first-degree murder charges, two counts of attempted murder, two accounts of class two felony child abuse, one count of class three felony child abuse, and one count of assault.
