Wife of Acclaimed Pianist Found Not Guilty of Murdering Daughters

Texas (AP) — A Texas judge has found the estranged wife of concert pianist Vadym Kholodenko not guilty by reason of insanity in the 2016 deaths of the couple's two daughters.

Sofya Tsygankova, the estranged wife of renowned pianist Vadym Kholodenko, enters a plea of not guilty at her arraignment on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, on two capital murder charges accusing her of killing the couple's daughters. Tsygankova was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the two capital murder cases. (Paul Moseley/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/TNS via Getty Images)

Judge Ruben Gonzalez in Fort Worth on Monday then ordered Sofya Tsygankova, who was charged with capital murder, committed to a state mental hospital. The defense and prosecutors agreed with the ruling.

The Ukranian-born Kholodenko in 2013 won the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth.

He found his daughters — 5-year-old Nika and 1-year-old Michaela — dead in their suburban home in March 2016. The parents had filed for divorce a few months earlier.

In this 2014 file photo, Vadym Kholodenko poses with his wife Sofya Tsygankova and daughters Nika, 4, and Michela, 2 months old, on Sept. 23, 2014. Police say their daughters Nika and Michela were found dead in their home on March 17, 2016 and Tsygankova was hospitalized with multiple stab wounds. Benbrook police said, Friday, that Kholodenko is not a suspect. (Joyce Marshall/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/TNS via Getty Images)

Prosecutors alleged Tsygankova smothered her children. She initially was deemed unfit for trial, but received mental health treatment and last year was ruled competent.

Texas