RUTLAND, V.T. (WHDH) A Wellesley woman appeared in court in Rutland, Vermont Monday and agreed to be returned to Massachusetts to face two counts of murder in the deaths of her two young children.
Janette MacAusland, 49, was arrested in Vermont Friday as a fugitive from justice after she showed up at her aunt’s home in Bennington, Vermont covered in blood following a failed suicide attempt, Bennington Police Chief Paul Doucette said.
After speaking with MacAusland, Bennington police requested that the Wellesley Police Department conduct a wellfare check on her children. Wellesley police confirmed her six-year-old daughter Ella and seven-year-old son Kai 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.
MacAusland’s aunt reported that MacAusland told her, “I wanted the three of us to go to God together, but it didn’t work.”
“I’ve not experienced a double homicide with two children in my tenure as the police chief,” Doucette said. “It’s almost something, like, surreal. You see that on Dateline or 20/20 or something, not something that you would normally suspect.”
“Very tragic. I mean, the little kids didn’t deserve that, other family members, I mean, they were little. Very little,” said a woman who lives in Vermont.
Court records show MacAusland’s husband filed for divorce in September 2025 and the two were in a custody battle. There was movement in the case days before the children’s deaths, but those records are sealed.
The motive for the murders is under investigation.
Ella was in Kindergarten and Kai was in second grade at Schofield Elementary School in Wellesley. A crisis team was brought in to provide support for students and staff there.
In a statement Monday, Dr. David Lussier, Superintendent of the Wellesley Public Schools wrote in part, “Today was an emotional day for our entire district as we grieved the loss of two of our young students. By all accounts, Kai and Ella were shining lights, with close connections to children and adults that extended well beyond the Schofield Elementary School.”
It’s not yet clear when MacAusland will be transported back to Massachusetts.
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