UPDATE (2:23 p.m.): Sofya Tsygankova has pleaded not guilty in Texas to charges that she killed her two daughters.
Last week it was reported that 2013 Van Cliburn piano competition winner Vadym Kholodenko discovered the dead bodies of his two daughters inside the home of his estranged wife Sofya Tsygankova. Police have now charged Ms. Tsygankova with capital murder in an ongoing investigation in Texas.
On Tuesday, prosecutors lodged two charges of capital murder against Tsygankova, 31, who is believed to have smothered her children to death in their beds. It is noted that Ms. Tsygankova bore self-inflicted stab wounds as well as empty pill bottles with her name on the prescription.
According to a report, Mr. Kholodenko spoke with his oldest daughter and wife by phone on March 16 with the intention of taking his daughters to school the next morning. However, when he arrived at the Waterwood Trail home, he discovered his wife covered in blood with cuts on her wrists.
A 911 call from Kholodenko states that the woman was "going crazy." When police arrived at the musician's home, Ms. Tsygankova was seen kneeling on the floor in the master bedroom "rocking back and forth and making noises." The wife has been cited to have had a history with the Mental Health and Mental Retardation facility in Fort Worth. She has been prescribed Quetiapine for her mental illness.
The Tarrant County medical examiner's office has posited the children's death to be a homicide. The investigation is still pending.
If you don't know Kholodenko, the Ukrainian pianist is a Van Cliburn gold medalist, and won the title at a mere 26 years old. The Cliburn Competition is held every four years in Forth Worth with the next performance scheduled for 2017.
Kholodenko said:
"I feel the support of the Fort Worth community and all people who are sending me messages all over the world. Wherever I go after this tragedy, my heart will stay with the people here of Fort Worth, and my daughters will rest in this soil."
Our condolences to Mr. Kholodenko and his loved ones during this time.
Keep him in your thought by watching a video featuring Kholodenko below.
