Janette MacAusland, 49, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder after prosecutors accused her of strangling her young children at their home in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
A judge in Dedham District Court ordered the mother to be held without bail during the brief hearing on Wednesday, May 6. Her next court appearance is scheduled for July 13.
MacAusland is accused of killing her daughter Ella, six, and son Kai, seven. Their bodies were discovered at the family home on Edgemoor Avenue on April 24 after Vermont police asked Wellesley officers to carry out a welfare check.
Prosecutors allege MacAusland travelled to her aunt’s home in Bennington, Vermont, after the killings. Police have said she arrived distressed, with an injury to her neck, and told relatives that she had killed the children and attempted to take her own life.
According to court documents, MacAusland later told an officer: “I strangled them and then I tried to kill myself.” Authorities have not released a confirmed motive or the children’s official cause of death.
MacAusland had been held in Vermont after waiving her right to contest extradition and agreeing to return to Massachusetts. Her defence lawyer did not oppose the request for her to remain in custody, but asked that she be held at a women’s correctional centre in Chicopee, where mental-health support is available.
The case emerged while MacAusland and the children’s father, Samuel MacAusland, were involved in divorce and custody proceedings. Court records show he filed for divorce in October and sought custody of the children and the family home.
The children attended Schofield Elementary School in Wellesley. The school district said support had been offered to pupils, staff and families following their deaths.
