Police were still searching Friday for a Colorado woman suspected of killing her two young children and wounding a third after police initially responded to a report of a burglary in their home.
Kimberlee Singler, 35, was cooperative at first with police investigating the Dec. 19 deaths but then went missing as the probe, which eventually determined the burglary report was unfounded, continued, according to Colorado Springs Police Department spokesperson Ira Cronin.
Police were able to present evidence to obtain a warrant for Singler's arrest on Tuesday, but police believe she had already disappeared by then, Cronin said.
Singler, who was not under surveillance, was last seen on Saturday in Colorado Springs, he said.
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“In the initial stages of the investigation, we were treating her as a victim of a burglary,” Cronin said.
Police said they answered a 911 call reporting a burglary at an apartment complex at around 12:30 a.m. on Dec. 19 and found the bodies of Singler's 9-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son.
Singler and her 11-year-old daughter were also injured and taken to hospitals for treatment.
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Cronin said he could not release details about how the children or Singler were injured. The 11-year-old girl was hospitalized for a few days and then released. She is recovering well physically in Colorado Springs and is not with her mother, Cronin said. Singler's injuries were minor, he said.
He declined to say whether Singler herself had reported the burglary.
NBC affiliate KOAA obtained court documents that show Singler was in a custody dispute with her ex-husband in the days before the children's deaths.
According to the court documents, a ruling was made for Singler to bring her children to her ex-husband for a holiday visit on Dec. 16. It remains unclear if Singler showed up for that meeting, but court documents show that her ex-husband made an emergency motion for police to enforce the custody agreement on the 17th, per KOAA.
The FBI is assisting in the search for Singler at the request of police, Vikki Migoya, a spokesperson for the agency's Denver office, said Thursday.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Colorado Springs Police Department at (719) 444-7000. If you want to remain anonymous, you can call the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at (719)634-7867.
