Page 5 - Aruba Today
P. 5
U.S. NEWS A5
Saturday 19 March 2016
Texas pianist finds 2 daughters dead, wife faces mental exam
DIANA HEIDGERD had no visible trauma,
police said. Tsygankova’s
PAUL J. WEBER wounds were from a knife,
said Babcock. He declined
Associated Press to say whether a knife was
recovered at the home.
DALLAS (AP) — An inter- Kholodenko and his fam-
ily moved to Fort Worth
nationally renowned con- in 2014 after he won the
$50,000-prize Cliburn com-
cert pianist arrived at his petition, which resulted in
Kholodenko touring and
estranged wife’s home in playing with major orches-
tras. “The Cliburn fam-
Texas to pick up their two ily is mourning the loss of
the precious Kholodenko
daughters and found the girls. We are heartbroken
and offer our prayers to
girls slain in their beds, po- Vadym and all affected
by this overwhelming trag-
lice said Friday. Authorities edy,” said Maggie Estes, a
spokeswoman for the Cli-
say their Russian mother, burn competition. Hospital
officials declined on Friday
who had suffered knife to release a condition on
Tsygankova, who was born
wounds, faces a mental in Russia.
The couple had married in
health exam. 2010 and filed for divorce
in November, according
Vadym Kholodenko to Tarrant County court
records. Babcock said po-
stopped Thursday morning lice had responded twice
in 2014 to disturbance calls
at the suburban Fort Worth at the suburban Fort Worth
residence but would not
home where he formerly
lived to pick up Nika, 5, and
1-year-old Michela, Ben- In this May 2, 2014 photo, award-winning concert pianist Vadym Kholodenko, poses with his wife
Sofya Tsygankova at the 2014 Cliburn Gala at Ridglea Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. Police
brook police Cmdr. David say the two daughters of Kholodenko have been found slain in their Texas home, Thursday, March
17, 2016, and their Russian mother, who had suffered knife wounds, faces a mental health exam.
Babcock said. The Ukraini-
(Richard W. Rodriguezl/Star-Telegram via AP)
an-born musician found his
wife, Sofya Tsygankova, in
an “extreme state of dis- disclose details on the na- ity and medical problems come here.”
ture of the visits. Kholoden- She told the newspaper
tress” and discovered the ko routinely picked up the with Nika’s skin. she hoped to improve her
children from the home English so she could teach
dead girls. The pianist then in the mornings, Babcock “Nobody could kids in Fort Worth.
said. Kholodenko and his The Van Cliburn Interna-
called 911, police said. wife told the Fort Worth help us with this problem, tional Piano Competition is
Star-Telegram in 2014 that named for the celebrated
Kholodenko, who won the the decision to move from and we had a very hard classical pianist and held
Moscow to the U.S. was a every four years in Fort
prestigious Van Cliburn combination of spontane- time with her,” Tsygankova Worth. Cliburn died in 2013.
International Piano Com- told the newspaper. “We
petition in Fort Worth in wanted to be together,
2013, is not a suspect and with Vadym, to be a fam-
is cooperating with police, ily, and for us, maybe it was
Babcock said. Police said the only choice for us to
no suspects were being
sought in the deaths of the Only On AP:
girls or the stabbing of Tsy- Airmen at nuke base probed for illegal drug use
gankova, who was recov-
ering Friday at a Fort Worth
hospital. ROBERT BURNS home of the 90th Missile move nuclear weapons. junior enlisted members of
AP National Security Writer Wing, in Wyoming was an- Rand said the 14 are ac- ranks similar to the 14 under
Babcock, when asked, WASHINGTON (AP) — nounced by Gen. Robin cused of off-duty drug “ac- investigation.
The U.S. Air Force is inves- Rand, the four-star com- tivity,” which he refused to Rand said the 14 have
declined to say whether tigating 14 members of a mander of Air Force Global further define. He said the been removed from duty
nuclear weapons secu- Strike Command. The com- allegations were “cred- while the Air Force Office of
police believe the stab rity force for alleged illegal mand is responsible for the ible.” Special Investigations looks
drug activity, in some cases entire fleet of Minuteman “This is very important to me into the case. He declined
wounds were self-inflicted. including cocaine use, de- 3 land-based nuclear mis- that we get to the bottom to provide further details,
fense officials said Friday. siles.Rand, speaking by of this,” Rand said, adding including what drugs are
Tsygankova was being The probe is a fresh blow to telephone, said the 14 air- that he is confident that allegedly involved, citing
a nuclear missile corps that men range in rank from the vast majority of airmen an active investigation.
held on a mental health has been under intense Airman 1st Class to Senior in the nuclear missile corps Two other defense officials
scrutiny for a string of laps- Airman and are members comply with Air Force stan- said the drugs included
evaluation, Babcock said. es in training and personal of the security group at dards of personal conduct. cocaine; the officials dis-
conduct over the past F.E. Warren that is respon- The security group at F.E. cussed details they were
Asked if she was a suspect three years. sible for securing not only Warren includes about not authorized to release
The investigation at F.E. the base but also the mis- 1,300 airmen, Rand said, publicly and spoke on con-
in the girls’ deaths, he de- Warren Air Force Base, sile fields and convoys that of which nearly 1,000 are dition of anonymity.
clined to say.
“We are still looking at all
avenues,” he said, but
added that authorities
don’t believe there’s any
immediate risk to others in
the area.
Autopsy results were pend-
ing on the children, who
