LONDON A British judge has ruled that Kimberlee Singler, a mother from Colorado who is accused of drugging and killing two of her children before escaping to the United Kingdom, may be extradited to her home country to face justice.
During a brief hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court in downtown London on Friday, Singler watched emotionlessly and silently as District Judge John Zani dismissed her challenge to a U.S. extradition request.
Yvette Cooper, the British home secretary, will now review the case, though, since she has the last word in some high-profile extradition cases.
To further postpone her return, Singler plans to appeal the ruling to the British Supreme Court and then, potentially, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. If she is found guilty, she might spend the rest of her life behind bars.
On December 30, 2023, Singler, 36, was taken into custody in London, just days after the bodies of her children, ages 7 and 9, were discovered at her Colorado Springs home.
She has been charged with seven counts in absentia, including two first-degree murder charges, and is suspected of fatally shooting and stabbing them in addition to hurting a third youngster who survived and told authorities about their ordeal.
Because Singler disputes the charges and would be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole—a punishment deemed harsh and unusual under European human rights law—her legal team had been opposing extradition.
Inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is forbidden by Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, a legally binding agreement that 46 nations, including the United Kingdom, abide by.
In a series of hearings over the past year, the Westminster Magistrates Court has heard graphic details of her alleged crimes. During these hearings, Singler’s lawyer argued with the lawyer for the U.K. government about whether her extradition was lawful.
Singler’s lawyer, Edward Fitzgerald, reported that she was “coping very well” in prison, where she is currently being held.