Ukranian Pianist Plays With Wife, Daughters In Texas Home Before Savage Murders
March 25 2016, Updated 3:53 p.m. ET
Just a little over a year before cops believe his estranged wife murdered their two young daughters, renowned Ukranian pianist Vadym Kholodenko seemed like a happy family man at home in their new hometown of Fort Worth, Texas.
"I just know it's better for my daughters to be raised here," he told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in a heartbreaking video interview filmed at home in October 2014. "I have so many friends here, and people are so kind. I just want to stay here."
In the clip, Kholodenko and wife Sofya Tsygankova, 31, cuddle up to adorable toddler Nika and an infant Michela on their couch.
Later, the smiling parents hold hands with a skipping Nika as they take a stroll around their pool.
Nika then crawls around the living room in her adorable pink dress.
"They are good kids," Kholodenko's former host mother and close family friend Imelda Castro gushes.
"It's very important for me to be with my kids, my daughters." The 30-year-old musician insists. "It's much easier for me to travel and come back to them."
In the video, Tsygankova seems like a doting mother who would never hurt her children. But on March 17, police claim they discovered a bloodied, muttering Tsygankova rocking back and forth at home with her two dead daughters nearby.
Nika, 5, and Michela, 1, were left lifeless in the bedrooms. The cause of death has not yet been determined.
On March 23, Tsygankova pleaded not guilty to capital murder charges in a Texas court.
According to police, the couple separated in late 2015.
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