Massachusetts mother pleads not guilty to alleged double murder of children

Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald on May 6, 2026

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BOSTON — The Wellesley mother accused of killing her six and seven-year-old children pleaded not guilty to the double homicide in Dedham District Court on Wednesday.

“When asked where the children were, the defendant told her aunt that she had killed them,” Norfolk prosecutor Jennifer Hickman recounted in court on Wednesday.

Janette MacAusland, 49, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in Dedham District Court after allegedly killing her two children on April 24. The defendant was ordered held without bail at prosecutor’s request Wednesday, though the judge issued the order without prejudice, allowing the court to revisit the issue at a future hearing.

MacAusland appeared quietly in court on Wednesday, clutching her hands in front of her chest with her head down and appearing to shake and cry at times.

On Friday, April 24, the Wellesley mother showed up at her aunt’s house in Bennington, Vermont, knocking on the window, Hickman stated in court. The aunt did not recognize her niece at first, the prosecutor said, and observed her to be “hysterical and to have a large cut to her throat.”

Her relative brought MacAusland inside and attempted to calm her down, noting the blood on her neck was dry, Hickman said. MacAusland allegedly told her aunt she tried to kill herself.

Asked where her husband was, the defendant allegedly told her he was “at the lake,” the prosecutor recounted. She then allegedly admitted to killing her children, Kai, 7, and Ella, 6.

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

The defendant allegedly also confessed to the homicides to Vermont police, who called for a wellness check at her Wellesley home.

“Wellesley Police responded to that location, your honor, and upon entering to conduct a well-being check found two deceased children, seven-year-old Kai and six-year-old Ella,” Hickman stated.

Defense attorney Joseph Krowski offered no opposition to the prosecution’s request for his client to be held without bail, but asked he be able to address the issue of bail at a future court date.

“I only for the first time met her approximately 20 minutes ago, so I have not even really been able to have an in depth conversation with her,” Krowski addressed the judge.

The judge also granted Krowski’s request to recommend MacAusland be sent to the Western Massachusetts Regional Women’s Correctional Center in Chicopee. Krowski stated in court through his “anecdotal and empirical” experience the facility was set up and could offer the resources that “circumstances present here might make necessary.”

Following the arraignment outside the courtroom, Krowski said he had “no comment today.”

After being arrested in Vermont, MacAusland was treated at a local medical center and held in Marble Valley Correctional Facility before being transported back to Massachusetts for her hearing Wednesday.

Probate records in Massachusetts show the defendant was in the middle of a divorce, with both parties seeking custody of their children.

MacAusland will return to Dedham District Court for a probable cause hearing on July 13.

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