Psychologist Analyzes Benbrook Sister Slayings
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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Lying in her Fort Worth hospital bed, Sofya Tsygankov may appear the victim of a violent crime, but Benbrook police said she's the one responsible.
Tsygankova is now charged with two counts of capital murder for the deaths of her daughters, 5-year-old Nika and 1-year-old Michela.
"We have probable cause, reason to believe, she committed these homicides," said Detective David Babcock.
Police said the multiple stab wounds she suffered were self-inflicted. CBS11 asked Dallas psychologist Sylvia Gearing to analyze the crime.
"I think she was probably lost in the depression at that point when she took the life of her children," said Gearing.
Gearing said irrational thinking can justify anything, making even murder seem like an act of compassion.
She said a loss, like Tsygankova's impending divorce, can act as a trigger.
"Why this came out of the blue right now, can only be explained in my opinion by the traumatic loss of the marriage and she was wanting to protect the children from more loss," said Gearing.
United States Department of Justice statistics show when it comes to the murder of children under 5, parents are responsible in more than 60 percent of cases. Mothers, it finds, are just as likely to kill as fathers.
"Usually there are huge mental health issues that are involved," said Gearing.
While murdering your children remains rare and extreme, Gearing said a common underlying cause - post partum depression - is not.
"It's during the first year where we have a lot of depression in women that's not diagnosed properly, not medicated or treated and the child is vulnerable," she said.
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