Days after Lindsay Clancy mistrial, another Massachusetts mom accused of killing her children seeks freedom
Wellesley Mother Charged with Murder of Two Children Remains Incarcerated While Waiting for Medical Examiner’s Report
JANETTE MACAUSED, a 49‑year‑old from the Boston suburb of Wellesley, Massachusetts, was arraigned on two counts of murder last week after the deaths of her 7‑year‑old son Kai and 6‑year‑old daughter Ella were discovered inside their family home. The case, which has attracted statewide attention, has entered a new phase as the defense seeks to dismiss the charges or secure bail, but a judge has denied both requests and ordered that the mother remain held without bail while prosecutors await a medical examiner’s findings.
The children were found dead in the Wellesley house during a welfare check conducted in April. Police had been notified after officers in Bennington, Vermont, responded to a call about Janette MacAusland, who had arrived at a relative’s home with a bloody neck wound. Vermont officers, concerned for the children’s welfare, contacted Massachusetts authorities, who located the children in the family residence.
An arrest affidavit obtained by the press alleges that MacAusland confessed to the killings shortly after arriving at her aunt’s home. She reportedly said she had wanted “the three of us to go to God together” before later telling police that she had strangled her children and had attempted to take her own life. The affidavit also claims that MacAusland told officers the children could be found in her bed in the house.
The case was filed in the Norfolk District Court after the family’s husband had filed for divorce months earlier, citing an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage and seeking custody of their children. No insanity defense has been announced for MacAusland, and the case remains in its early stages.
Defense attorney Joseph Krowski, who represents MacAusland, requested that a judge dismiss the charges or allow the mother to be released on bail, arguing that prosecutors had not yet received the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s determination of cause and manner of death. The judge denied both requests, ordering that MacAusland remain jailed without bail pending the examiner’s report.
The medical examiner’s findings are expected to clarify whether the children’s deaths were accidental, natural, or intentional. Until the report is delivered, prosecutors are holding the case in abeyance.
The case is unfolding shortly after the highly publicized mistrial in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial, which also involved a mother accused of killing her children. While Clancy’s defense invoked postpartum psychosis, MacAusland’s defense has yet to specify a strategy.
The court is scheduled to reconvene on Thursday, where prosecutors will present the medical examiner’s report, and the defense will have another opportunity to argue for dismissal or bail. In the meantime, MacAusland remains incarcerated and the families of Kai and Ella continue to wait for answers.