Texas police have arrested the estranged wife of internationally renowned pianist Vadym Kholodenko for allegedly killing the couple’s two young daughters before stabbing herself.
Sofya Tsygankova faces two counts of capital murder in the deaths of five-year-old Nika Kholodenko and one-year-old Michela Kholodenko. Police say Vadym Kholodenko arrived Thursday at his wife’s home in Benbrook, a Fort Worth suburb, to pick up the girls and found them dead in their beds and Tsygankova in an “extreme state of distress”.
Police Commander David Babcock said Monday that Tsygankova was served with arrest warrants in the Fort Worth hospital where she is undergoing a mental health evaluation. Authorities had said earlier that she suffered knife wounds.
It’s not clear how the girls died. The Tarrant County medical examiner’s office said Monday that it had not completed autopsies. Police have said the children had no visible trauma.
Babcock said Tsygankova’s bond would be set at US$2 million. An attorney for Tsygankova did not immediately return phone and email messages for comment Monday.
The Ukranian-born Kholodenko won the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth in 2013, beating nearly 30 finalists from 12 countries. He received a US$50,000 cash award and assistance with domestic and international tours.