Pianist Vadym Kholodenko’s estranged wife has been charged with killing the couple’s two daughters in Fort Worth, Texas, Reuters reported on Monday, March 21, citing law enforcement.
Sofya Tsygankova was charged with two counts of capital murder and is being held on a $2 million bond. The couple’s daughters, Nika, five, and Michela, one, were found dead in their rooms by Kholodenko a few days earlier on Thursday.
Affidavit: Her husband found Sofya Tsygankova rocking back, forth, and making noises in bedroom Thursday morning pic.twitter.com/oSiZqCCRI5
— domingo ramirez jr. (@mingoramirezjr) March 22, 2016
“We have probable cause, reason to believe, that she committed the homicides,” Benbrook police commander David Babcock told reporters at a news conference on Monday.
Tsygankova, 31, suffered “what appeared to be self-inflicted stab wounds” in the incident and is undergoing a mental health evaluation.
BREAKING: Wife of Van-Cliburn winning pianist Vadym Kholodenko charged with capital murder for death of daughters pic.twitter.com/hX4zAdOn3s
— Sarah Mervosh (@smervosh) March 21, 2016
According to Fox News, Kholodenko’s estranged wife sought mental treatment the day before their two young daughters were found dead.
Kholodenko, 29, who is half American, is an award-winning Ukrainian pianist.
Pianist Vadym Kholodenko set to play at memorial service for his daughters tonight. @NBCDFW pic.twitter.com/g5OxHuyLNB
— Brian Curtis (@BrianCurtisNBC5) March 23, 2016
Kholodenko won the 14th prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth in 2013, beating nearly 30 finalists from 12 countries.
The couple were married in 2010 and filed for divorce last year. Kholodenko no longer lived at the home with Tsygankova and their daughters, but routinely picked up the children from the home in the mornings.
The girls were buried Monday at a private service and a memorial service was scheduled for Tuesday night.
“The loss of my children will be with me forever,” Kholodenko said in a statement on Friday. “Wherever I go after this tragedy, my heart will stay with all the people here of Fort Worth and my daughters will rest in this soil.”