Estranged Wife Of Pianist Vadym Kholodenko Pleads Not Guilty To Killing Children
Sofya Tsygankova, the wife of pianist Vadym Kholodenko, pleaded not guilty to the murder of her daughters. She was arraigned in Tarrant County Court in Texas, the home of the affluenza teen case. Kholodenko is an internationally known pianist and the winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Tsygankova, his estranged wife, is being charged with capital murder.
Saturn News is revealing that Tsygankova is accused of killing the couple’s youngest daughters in the Texas family home. Found dead were 5-year-old Nika Kholodenko and 1-year-old Michela Kholodenko. Full causes of death have not yet been revealed, but a pillow was found covering one child’s face in the Kholodenko home in the Ft. Worth area. Right now, the Kholodenko deaths are just listed as by homicidal violence.
Vadym Kholodenko came to the family home to find Sofya Tsygankova kneeling down on the floor wearing a blood-stained nightgown and “rocking back and forth.” She had cuts on her wrist and chest, and a bloody knife was found nearby. At one point, Tsygankova asked the investigator if she had hurt her kids.
Tsygankova is alleged to be on anti-psychotic medication, and a bottle of the medication Quetiapine was found empty. Tsygankova had reportedly visited a mental health clinic the day before. For now, Tsygankova says she only remembers taking pills and harming herself with a knife.
Tsygankova’s attorney, Joetta Keene, declined to discuss specifics in the Tsygankova case but stressed that it is sad.
“This is, no doubt, a very heartbreaking case for everyone involved.”
Vadym Kholodenko no longer lived in the family home and had filed for divorce, but he still came over regularly to visit with his daughters.
The Daily Mail said that Vadym Kholodenko’s estranged wife Sofya Tsygankova appeared bandaged in court to plead not guilty to capital murder charges. Vadym Kholodenko arrived at the home to take the girls to school and found Sofya Tsygankova drugged and bloodied and his daughters dead in their beds.
Vadym Kholodenko called 911 to say that Tsygankova was “going crazy.” Tsygankova is being held on $1 million bail for each of the murders she is charged with committing. It is being suggested that it is possible that both girls were suffocated with a pillow.
Wife of pianist Vadym Kholodenko pleads not guilty to killing daughters https://t.co/PXAl75boDO
— The Guardian (@guardian) March 23, 2016
Around the house and in Tsygankova’s car were bottles with drugs prescribed to Tsygankova for a variety of psychiatric drugs, including antidepressants, anxiety medication, and medications for bipolar and schizophrenic conditions. Tsygankova and Vadym Kholodenko moved to this country in 2014 after being harassed by the Russian government while living in Moscow. Vadym Kholodenko is from the Ukraine.
Estranged wife of Ukrainian pianist Vadym Kholodenko charged in deaths of 2 daughters https://t.co/KhiPZ7ezwB pic.twitter.com/9d560Nolm9
— 48 Hours (@48hours) March 22, 2016
The Huffington Post says that there were obvious homicidal intentions on the bodies of the dead children, although no visible marks were seen by police when arriving at the home owned by Vadym Kholodenko. At the memorial service for the two girls in Ft. Worth, where they are buried, Kholodenko played a movement from Brahms’ Piano Quartet No. 3 with three string players from the Fort Worth Symphony.
Tsygankova is receiving a full mental health evaluation, and there is little doubt that there will be some type of psychiatric defense in the works for Tsygankova. There is no report as to how long Tsygankova had been treated for her psychiatric problems and if she had previously received a diagnosis.
Do you think Tsygankova will try for a guilty by reason of insanity, and did Kholodenko know that his estranged wife was taking anti-psychotic medication?
[Photo by Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office via AP Images]
