Prosecutors filed two charges of capital murder Tuesday against the wife of a renowned pianist, formally accusing her in the slayings of her two young daughters.
Sofya Tsygankova remains hospitalized at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth with what officials say were self-inflicted stab wounds.
The Tarrant County medical examiner’s office has temporarily ruled that her daughters — Nika Kholodenko, 5, and Michaela Kholodenko, 1 — died from “homicidal violence pending investigation.”
“We have probable cause, reason to believe, that she committed the homicides,” Benbrook police Cmdr. David Babcock said at a Thursday afternoon news conference.
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Bail on each warrant is set at $1 million, Babcock said.
Vadym Kholodenko, the children’s father, called 911 shortly before 9:30 a.m. Thursday after arriving at the house to pick up his two young daughters. He found them dead and his estranged wife wounded, police have said.
On Friday, Kholodenko, the gold medalist at the 2013 Cliburn piano competition, issued a statement through the Cliburn foundation.
“The loss of my children will be with me forever. But I would like to say that 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.”
Kholodenko, Tsygankova and their daugher Nika, then 4, moved to Fort Worth in 2014.
Kholodenko filed for divorce in November, stating that the couple, married in April 2010, had ceased living together as husband and wife on or about Aug. 15. Tsygankova counter-petitioned for divorce the same month.
It is unclear where Kholodenko has been living since the couple’s separation.
Memorial service for sisters
7 p.m. Tuesday at Arlington Heights United Methodist Church, 4200 Camp Bowie Blvd.
Instead of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the Nika and Michela Kholodenko Young Artist Fund administered by the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. For information, call 817-665-6500 or fwsymphony.org/donatenow.
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