Father takes children home from hospital

Their mother, who is accused of repeatedly stabbing them, is held in jail without bail.

©Associated Press
December 21, 2002

TAMPA -- Two children who police say were repeatedly stabbed by their mother were released from the hospital Friday into their father's care.

Sarah and Seyhmus Cihaner, ages 3 and 5, were released from Tampa General Hospital, where they had undergone surgery, hospital spokesman John Dunn said.

Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies said Heidi Marie Hughes-Cihaner, 35, confessed to stabbing the children with a 4-inch knife Wednesday afternoon.

She was charged with two counts of aggravated child abuse, two counts of attempted murder and one count of solicitation and conspiracy.

Judge Walter Heinrich ruled Friday that Hughes-Cihaner will be held without bail at the Hillsborough County Jail. She had not yet been assigned a public defender, jail officials said.

Hughes-Cihaner listened to Heinrich read the charges against her from jail via closed circuit TV.

"Your relationship with your family is over," Heinrich told her.

At a shelter hearing Thursday, Judge Anthony Black ruled that Hughes-Cihaner's estranged husband, Metin Cihaner, will share partial custody with a family member or family friend who will be chosen by the state.

Cihaner was arrested in 1995 and held in jail for three months while Turkey tried to have him extradited on forgery charges. A federal judge found "no probable cause" for the charges and set Cihaner free. Under a recent custody decision, he had partial custody of the children.

They will remain with Cihaner until Monday, when the Department of Children and Families will decide their guardian.

The children will also spend Christmas Eve and Christmas with their father.

Deputies say Hughes-Cihaner was in the middle of a lengthy divorce from Cihaner.

The Sheriff's Office also said that in August 2001 Hughes-Cihaner was found on the Sunshine Skyway bridge, planning to jump. She was taken to a mental hospital for evaluation.

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