A Westminster magistrate rejected a human-rights challenge, saying Colorado’s sentencing and clemency framework allows the case to proceed.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A United Kingdom judge has approved the extradition of Kimberlee Singler, the Colorado Springs mother charged in the deaths of two of her children and the wounding of a third, moving the long-running case from London proceedings back toward an El Paso County courtroom.
The ruling caps more than a year of cross-border litigation and returns attention to the original Colorado case, where prosecutors have filed two first-degree murder counts, attempted murder and child abuse charges. Defense lawyers in London argued that returning Singler would violate European protections because a conviction for first-degree murder in Colorado can carry life without parole. The court found that the state’s sentencing structure, the absence of the death penalty and the availability of executive clemency meant extradition could go forward. The timing of her transfer has not been announced by either government.
According to police accounts and city records, officers were dispatched at 12:29 a.m. on Dec. 19, 2023, to a reported burglary at an apartment on Palomino Ranch Point. Inside, they found two children dead — a nine-year-old girl and a seven-year-old boy — and an 11-year-old girl and an adult woman injured. Investigators soon said the initial break-in claim did not align with evidence. On Dec. 26, 2023, a judge approved an arrest warrant listing first-degree murder among the counts. Singler was arrested in London on Dec. 30, 2023, after leaving Colorado. She has denied the allegations through her attorneys, who have challenged parts of the investigation, including how statements from the surviving child were taken.
At Westminster Magistrates’ Court, lawyers debated Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which bars inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The defense said a whole-life sentence in the United States would breach that standard. Prosecutors countered that Colorado’s system permits sentence review through clemency and that British courts have previously allowed extradition where capital punishment is not at issue. The magistrate agreed with prosecutors and concluded that the legal safeguards were sufficient. The court also noted that the alleged crimes occurred in Colorado Springs, and that a U.S. jury should decide the facts.
Records filed in Colorado say detectives collected medical reports, digital location data and witness statements in the days after the 911 call. The surviving child was treated for wounds, and relatives arranged care. Publicly filed affidavits, some still partially sealed, reference a family-court dispute that overlapped with the timeline. Police previously said that an early claim of an intruder was investigated and ruled out based on physical evidence. The El Paso County Coroner’s Office identified the two victims and documented their injuries; full autopsy details were not released publicly.
Once transferred, Singler is expected to be booked into the El Paso County jail and brought before a district judge for an advisement of rights and charges. Prosecutors could seek to keep her in custody pending trial, citing the severity of the allegations. The court would schedule status conferences and a preliminary hearing to review probable cause. If the case advances, a grand jury indictment or an information could frame the counts heading to trial. Discovery would include police reports, forensic testing, body-camera video and any expert notices. Trial dates in homicide cases commonly arrive months after arraignment due to motions practice and evidence review.
The ruling in London drew measured responses in Colorado Springs. A police spokesperson called the decision “a step that returns jurisdiction to where the incident occurred.” A neighbor near Palomino Ranch Point recalled floodlights and crime-scene tape before dawn the morning police arrived. “I saw officers going door to door asking if we heard anything,” the neighbor said. A parents’ group that organized a winter vigil said the ruling might help the community focus on the surviving child’s recovery while the legal matter plays out. Teachers who knew the children have stayed in contact with the family, according to organizers.
Authorities on both sides of the Atlantic now turn to logistics. The British government must complete a surrender order and coordinate with U.S. marshals for transport. When Singler arrives in Colorado, court calendars will be set, and filings that were sealed for extradition reasons may be revisited. Officials in Colorado Springs say further updates will come after custody is transferred. The next milestone is the formal issuance of the extradition order followed by travel arrangements.
Author note: Last updated November 29, 2025.