Judge ordered father to take custody days before Colorado Springs mother allegedly kills children
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- KRDO13 Investigates is uncovering new details on a plethora of legal custody battles involved in the alleged murder of two young children in Colorado Springs.
KRDO13 Investigates has reviewed over 1,000 court documents tied to a domestic relations case tied to Singler and her ex-husband, Kevin Wentz. The couple divorced in 2020 in Larimer County, Colorado after filing for divorce in 2018.
Since that time, they have been engaged in a nearly four-year-long legal battle for custody of their three children, ages 11, nine, and seven. Throughout the case, Singler was fighting for full custody of her children and wanted to take them out of state to either Oregon or Florida.
A Larimer County Judge approved a plan for Wentz to visit his children at certain dates and times, but not retain full custody of them. This agreement came to a problematic head on multiple occasions.
On September 18, 2023, Wentz arrived at Singler's apartment home in Colorado Springs to retrieve the kids per their child custody agreement. Singler accused her ex-husband of calling her disparaging names and pulling a knife out on her.
Colorado Springs Police (CSPD) arrived and spoke with Wentz, who denied ever pulling out a knife on his ex-wife. Court documents say CSPD found no probable cause to arrest Wentz and left the apartment complex.
Then, on December 16, 2023, Singler was once again ordered to drop off her children to Wentz. The agreement says she would drop them off at the CSPD Stetson Hills Substation at 9 A.M.
Court records say Singler never showed up.
The next day, Wentz and his attorney asked a Larimer County Judge to order law enforcement to help him gain possession of his children since Singler was violating their child custody agreement.
Judge Patrick Esser granted their request. The judge ordered that all three children should be given over to Wentz immediately. Law enforcement was ordered to assist Wentz in finding and locating Singler and the children.
Colorado Springs Police Sgt. Zahrobsky called Singler on Dec. 16, and Singler informed him that she was "nowhere near the police station," court documents say.
When Wentz and his attorney reached out to her, she informed them via email that she was in Breckenridge, Colorado with all three of her children. His attorney claimed that this was a "willful" violation of their child custody agreement and they ordered Singler to provide the children to him that morning.
The judge ordered Wentz to have full-time custody of the children until their child custody and visitation agreement could be re-visited at their next hearing on January 18, 2024.
KRDO13 Investigates asked Colorado Springs Police if they took any steps to locate Singler or her three children between the date of the judge's order and when they found two of them dead inside her apartment.
CSPD said they are not able to provide any details on the child custody case due to the "ongoing investigation" into Singler for allegedly murdering two of her children and injuring the third.
At the time of publication, Singler remains on the run from police. She has an active warrant for her arrest for two charges of first-degree murder and other charges tied to the homicides of her children.
KRDO13 Investigates also reached out to Kevin Wentz and his attorney, Rex Harris. We have not heard back from them yet.
Do you have a tip you want KRDO13 Investigates to look into? Email us at 13investigates@krdo.com
