WELLESLEY, MASS. (WHDH) - Hundreds of people gathered for a vigil at Saint Andrews Episcopal Church in Wellesley Wednesday night to honor the lives of two children who were found dead at their home in the town last weekend.
Reverend Adrian Robbins-Cole addressed the tragedy during a prayer service.
“What I’m really struck by is the way the whole community has really rallied together for this service,” Robbins-Cole said. “The importance of being together and to show kindness and gentleness to each other, and also obviously to pray for these two children, for that family.”
Six-year-old Ella and seven-year-old Kai were found dead at their home on Friday night.
Police said their mother, Janette MacAusland, 49, traveled to a family member’s home in Bennington, Vermont that night where MacAusland’s aunt reported that her niece showed up covered in blood and told her, “I wanted the three of us to go to God together, but it didn’t work.”
After speaking with MacAusland, Bennington police requested that the Wellesley Police Department conduct a wellfare check on her children. Wellesley police confirmed her two children were found dead at her home at approximately 9:50 p.m.
According to court documents, MacAusland admitted to Vermont police that she strangled her children in her bed before attempting to take her own life. She was then arrested as a fugitive from justice and charged with two counts of murder in their deaths.
Court records show MacAusland’s husband filed for divorce in September 2025, and the two were in a custody battle over their children.
“Doing things in love together, is kind of an affirmation of life and of love and of community and of God…when dreadful things happen,” Robbins-Cole said.
In a statement, Robbins-Cole went on to say, “At a time like this, we gather as a church community not because we have answers, but because we belong to one another and to God, who holds us in our deepest pain.”
MacAusland remains in Vermont following a court hearing on Monday, but agreed to be extradited to Massachusetts to face the murder charges. It is not yet clear when that process will take place.
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