Janette MacAusland faces two counts of murder after her children, aged 6 and 7, were found dead in their Wellesley, Massachusetts, home. Authorities discovered the bodies during a well-being check on Friday evening. MacAusland, arrested in Vermont, had been in a custody dispute with her husband.
Police in Wellesley responded to a well-being check call at a home on Edgemoor Avenue around 9:30 p.m. on Friday, April 25. Inside, they found 6-year-old Ella and 7-year-old Kai MacAusland deceased, according to the Norfolk County District Attorney's office. Their mother, 49-year-old Janette MacAusland, has been charged with two counts of murder, as reported by Boston Fox affiliate WFXT. It remains unclear who made the welfare call. MacAusland was arrested in Bennington, Vermont, on a fugitive from justice charge. She is scheduled to appear in court there on Monday before extradition to Massachusetts. The custody battle between Janette and her husband, Samuel MacAusland, began with his divorce filing in October. Janette filed a counterclaim in November, and a guardian ad litem was appointed last week to represent the children's interests. A former babysitter described Ella and Kai as full of life and laughter. A neighbor called the family nice people, always kind and cheerful. Janette MacAusland worked as an acupuncturist at New England Integrated Health, though her profile has since been removed from the company's website.