After more than a month following the murders of two Colorado Springs children, more questions than answers remain regarding extradition of the mother and prime suspect, Kimberlee Singler, back to U.S. soil.

Singler is believed to have fled to the United Kingdom following accusations that she committed the murders.

Early on Dec. 19, officials with the Colorado Springs Police Department received reports of a violent burglary at the Palomino Ranch condominium complex. Officers discovered Singler and her 11-year-old child with minor injuries. Her two other children, 9-year-old daughter, Elianna “Ellie” Wentz, and 7-year-old son, Aden Wentz, were found dead, according to previous reports by The Gazette.

Detectives with the police department’s homicide unit say they discovered evidence that the claims of a burglary at the residence were “unfound.” For investigators, Singler went from being a presumed victim to a suspect.

On Dec. 26, the department announced an active arrest warrant for Singler, who they say was last seen on Dec. 23. A week later, U.K. authorities in London arrested Singler on 10 charges listed in the arrest warrant released by CSPD, including two counts of murder in the first degree, multiple charges of child abuse and assault.

Singler, who is now in custody in the United Kingdom, awaits an extradition hearing scheduled for Monday.

According to the U.S. Justice Department’s Criminal Division, extradition between the U.S. and the U.K. is controlled by a treaty between the two countries signed in 2003. The extradition process laid out in that treaty includes multiple factors that could affect Singler’s case back in Colorado Springs, and the timeline of her return.

The process

The DOJ’s website states the extradition process is typically comprised of a judicial phase and an executive phase. The judicial phase begins at the time the suspect is found and arrested in the requested country.

“During the judicial phase, a court will determine whether the extradition request meets the requirements of the applicable extradition treaty and the law of the requested country,” according to the DOJ.

If it is decided that Singler can be extradited by a judicial authority, the case then enters the executive phase in which an executive government authority of the U.K. will determine whether they will surrender Singler for extradition.

Troy Eid, who supervised numerous international extraditions during his time as U.S. Attorney for Colorado, said he “expects the process would take months” before Singler is returned to Colorado to face charges. He stressed that the British legal system will hold her in custody until an agreement can be reached, but he is certain that “she will be returned to the U.S. unless there is misconduct on the part of the 4th Judicial District” and added that “there is no evidence of that.”

Additionally, Singler’s mental health remains of question and is a possible factor to impact the extradition process ahead.

U.K. courts have blocked extradition to the U.S. in the past, citing mental health, and the inability of the U.S. corrections system to properly treat those suffering from mental and physical illness while incarcerated.

In February 2018, British hacker Lauri Love won his U.S. extradition case after his lawyers argued it would be “unjust and oppressive,” to send Love to the U.S. to face trial, citing Love’s diagnosed Asperger syndrome and depressive illness as a potential risk to fair trial and treatment, The Associated Press reports.

Singler will also have multiple opportunities to appeal during the extradition process, painting a potentially lengthy judicial process ahead.

Questions remain as to why Singler fled to the U.K. in the first place. If, for instance, she holds British citizenship, Eid said she will be treated differently by the extradition court.

Many of the unanswered questions in the case will not be answered at this first hearing Jan. 29 before the English judicial branch. Instead, Eid said, expect Singler’s first appearance to be an advisement of charges.

According to 4th Judicial District spokesperson Kate Singh, Singler will appear in the court in El Paso County following her return to the U.S. at the end of the extradition process.

No official charges have been filed with the District Attorney’s Office, and Singler’s extradition is based on the arrest warrant filed by CSPD.