The wife of a famed concert pianist is being held on a mental health evaluation after he found their two children dead at her home.
Vadym Kholodenko arrived at his estranged wife's home in Benbrook, Texas, to find his children Nika and Michela Kholodenko dead and his wife in a 'distraught state' with multiple knife injuries.
Kholodenko is not a suspect, and Benbrook Police Commander David Babcock said they are not 'actively looking' for anyone in the ongoing investigation.
Although Sofia Tsygankova, 31, is not officially a suspect, it raises the possibility that she murdered her children and then injured herself.
Kholodenko had filed a divorce from Tsygankova in November after the couple arrived to the US from Russia in 2014.
He was educated in Russia and the couple had been living in Moscow while also travelling the world as his fame as a pianist grew. He won the Van Cliburn international piano competition in 2013.
However Ukranian citizen Khodolenko began to be harassed by the Russian authorities when war broke out in his homeland between Russian-separatist forces and the Ukranian government.
They came to the US in 2014 and settled in the Fort Worth area because of Khodolenko’s close ties the city’s symphony orchestra.
But the relationship appears to have soured and Khodolenko filed for divorce in November 2015, and the pair had been living separately since August of that year.
Kholodenko was due to perform this weekend with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, but another pianist will take his place.
Concert pianist Vadym Kholodenko (right) arrived at his estranged wife's home in Benbrook, Texas, to find his children Michela and Nika Kholodenko dead (front, L and R). WifeSofia Tsygankova (left), was found with multiple knife injuries
Tsygankova (pictured L and R) will be held on a mental health evaluation once she is fully recovered, police said
Kholodenko (left), had filed for divorce from Tsygankova (right) in November and they hadn't lived together since August (pictured front, one-year-old daughter Michela)
The two arranged for Kholodenko pick up the girls for a regular visit at 9.20am on Thursday. According to the police, he called 911 at 9.27am. Pictured, five-year-old Nika left and right, with her father
According to the Star Telegram, Kholodenko (left) cited discord or conflict of personalities in the divorce filing. Tsygankova (right) then filed a counter-suit to cover her attorney fees
Kholodenko arrived at Tsygankova's home at 9.20am on Thursday morning to pick up his two daughters, as they had arranged.
The pianist, who made the 911 call at 9.27am, is not considered a suspect by Benbrook police.
Tsygankova, 31, underwent surgery at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth and will be held on a mental health evaluation once she is fully recovered.
It is still unclear how the two young girls died, but they were found without any visible trauma.
'The children were not stabbed,' said Babcock.
'The manner of death has not been determined at this time. But they were not stabbed.'
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According to medical reports released by Tarrant County, Nika, 5, died at 8.42am on Thursday, about 40 minutes before Kholodenko arrived at the house.
The time of death for his one-year-old daughter Michela, was listed at 9.43am, after the pianist had alerted authorities.
Kholodenko, 29, had filed for divorce in November, citing discord or conflict of personalities, according to the Star Telegram.
He had not been living with his estranged wife or daughters since last August. The pair had been married for five years.
According to NBC5, Tsygankova filed a counter-suit to cover her attorney fees.
In a press conference on Friday morning, Babcock listed the four family members and said the police were not searching for actively looking for additional suspects.
He also said police have been called to the house once in the last year, and twice in 2014.
A neighbor said Tsygankova (pictured L and R) was a 'very attentive' mother who would play with her two children outside. Police said they were called to her house once in the last year and twice in 2014
Kholodenko, 29, has been cooperative with the ongoing investigation. He is not considered a suspect by the police. (Pictured, Tsygankova's home, courtesy ofCBS)
During a press conference on Friday morning, Commander David Babcock (pictured) said the police are considering all possibilities but they are not looking for anyone else in connection to the incident
Kholodenko (pictured) has an American father. He won the Van Cliburn competition in 2013 and secured the $50,000 cash prize
UKRAINIAN PIANIST WHO WOWED WITH HIS 'EXHILIRATING PERFORMANCES'
Musician: Kholodenko playing with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra in Texas in June 2013 when he won the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Vadym Kholodenko was born in 1986 in the Ukrainian capital Kiev and is best known as being the winner of the Fourteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.
He is the first musician in his family and began performing publicly aged 13 with concerts in the U.S. China, Hungary, and Croatia.
In 2005, he began studying in Moscow at the Moscow P. I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory.
His big break came in 2013 when he won the Van Cliburn competition and was praised for his 'mesmerizing and exhilarating performances'.
It led him to play with the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra and at the Portland Piano International.
He also released a live CD of his performances at the Van Cliburn competition and followed it up with a studio recording.
Kholodenko eventually settled in Fort Worth, Texas, with his wife and two daughters.
Mr Kholodenko, who has an American father, and his family moved to the US in 2014 as war broke out in Ukraine.
