Massachusetts mother allegedly told police, aunt she killed her kids

Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald on Apr 27, 2026

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BOSTON — A Wellesley mother accused of murdering her two young children allegedly confessed to her aunt and police that she killed her kids, then tried to kill herself.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Janette MacAusland told her aunt, “I wanted the three of us to go to God together, but it didn’t work.”

MacAusland was arrested in Bennington, Vermont, Friday night after showing up to her aunt’s home with lacerations on her neck. Police there charged her with being a fugitive and she faces two counts of murder in Norfolk County.

When MacAusland’s aunt first saw a woman tapping on her window just before 9 p.m., she told police didn’t recognize her niece at first.

“She was hysterical,” she said, according to an affidavit filed in court.

Her aunt brought her inside and tried to calm her down, but she noticed blood on her niece’s neck and called the police.

When the aunt asked her where her children were, MacAusland told her that she’d killed Kai, 7, and Ella, 6, and then tried to kill herself, the affidavit said.

Bennington Police arrived, and MacAusland pulled out a photo of the children.

One of the officers asked MacAusland if they were okay, and she “shook her head from side to side,” the affidavit said, then allegedly confessed the double murder, telling them her children were in her bed.

That’s when Vermont Police requested a wellness check at MacAusland’s Wellesley home, and police there found the children deceased.

According to the affidavit, officers collected MacAusland’s clothing, cellphone, and driver’s license, as well as the photo she’d shown them as evidence.

After initially being transported to a local medical center, she was held in custody at Marble Valley Correctional Facility.

MacAusland attended her fugitive hearing remotely Monday, from the correctional facility, and chose to waive her extradition rights.

“She’s decided that the best thing is to get back to Massachusetts as soon as possible,” her attorney Jeff Rubin said.

Throughout the hearing, MacAusland responded clearly to the judge, often keeping her hands clasped together. She was held without bail pending further court proceedings.

According to probate records in Massachusetts, MacAusland was in the middle of a divorce, with both herself and her husband seeking custody of their children.

Just days before the children were found dead, a guardian had been appointed to “investigate issues of legal custody and parenting plan issues raised,” court records said.

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