Pianist's wife held for evaluation after daughters found slain
BENBROOK, Texas -- The estranged wife of a famed concert pianist is being held for a mental evaluation after she was found suffering from stab wounds and her children were found slain in their beds Thursday at their suburban Fort Worth home, officials say.
Benbrook police Cmdr. David Babcock said Friday that the pianist, Vadym Kholodenko, is not considered a suspect and no one has been arrested in the deaths of 5-year-old Nika and 1-year-old Michela. Babcock says the wife, Sofya Tsygankova, 31, is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries and will be evaluated at the hospital once she recovers.
Kholodenko is cooperating with the investigation, Babcock said. While he said investigators are looking into "all potential avenues," he said they are not searching for any suspects right now.
Kholodenko called 911 Thursday at 9:27 a.m.. after he arrived at the Benbrook home to pick up the children around 9:20, which is "their regular practice," Babcock said. Kholodenko and Tsygankova are in the midst of a divorce, reports CBS DFW.
While police would not say how the children were killed, they did confirm that they hadn't been stabbed. The little girls were found in their beds and had no visible physical injuries, Babcock said. Investigators are awaiting autopsy results. There were no signs of forced entry to the home.
The Ukranian-born Kholodenko won the 2013 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth. He said police had spoken to him about remaining in the area during the investigation.
"We are aware of his stature and his potential schedule - we're trying to work with him as best we can," Babcock said.
Neighbor Terry Messer told the station that Tsygankova, also a pianist, spent a lot of time parenting alone.
"She was a stay at home mom with two children. Her husband was gone a lot... seemed to travel. She was very lovely. She was a Russian immigrant [and] she spoke Russian to the children a lot," Messer said.
Babcock said police had responded twice to the home and 2014, but wouldn't say why or whether anyone was arrested. He wouldn't say whether Tsygankova's wounds may have been self-inflicted or whether they are considering her to be a suspect.