MA Mom Charged With Murder After 2 Children Found Dead In Family Home: Police

WELLESLEY, MA — A woman arrested in Vermont is being held on murder charges after her two young children were found dead over the weekend in the family’s home in Wellesley, according to police. She and her husband were in the midst of a divorce and custody battle when the children's bodies were discovered, court records show.

Janette R. MacAusland, 49, of Wellesley, is accused of killing her children, 7-year-old Kai and 6-year-old Ella, authorities said.

Officers were asked around 9:15 p.m. Friday to conduct a welfare check after MacAusland arrived at a family home in Bennington, highly distraught and bleeding, with a visible neck injury, according to police.

Bennington officers who tried to talk to her became increasingly concerned for her children and requested Wellesley police check on them at the family home, authorities said. Shortly before 10 p.m., Wellesley police notified Bennington law enforcement that the children had been found dead, according to authorities.

MacAusland was taken into custody by Bennington police as a fugitive from justice and Massachusetts authorities issued a warrant charging her with two counts of murder, law enforcement said, adding she is being held without bail pending an arraignment Monday.

Probate court records show her husband, Samuel MacAusland, filed for divorce in October after nine years of marriage and sought custody of the children and the home. Janette MacAusland later filed a counterclaim also seeking custody and the home. On April 16, they filed a joint motion agreeing to have a neutral third party investigate and make recommendations about custody. A guardian was appointed on April 21.

The children were in kindergarten and second grade at Schofield Elementary School, where counselors will be on site Monday to provide support. In a statement Saturday night, Superintendent David Lussier asked the community to keep the family in their thoughts and prayers.

“This is an unimaginable loss that will be deeply felt not just at Schofield but across our entire community,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.