A 40-year-old woman has been accused of killing her children, Kai, 7, and Ella, 6, inside their family home in Wellesley, Massachusetts last week. Janette MacAusland appeared to live an ideal life in one of America’s wealthiest suburbs. She had a successful career as an acupuncturist, a large $1.5 million home in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and two young children who often appeared in happy family photos.
“When I heard the news, it was probably the biggest shock of my life,” one of MacAusland’s friends told The New York Post. “I couldn’t process it. I’m still trying to reckon with it. It doesn’t make sense,” she added.
Details of Janette MacAusland’s family
The friend described MacAusland as a calm and caring person who worked as an acupuncturist and meditation teacher. According to the friend, she often spoke lovingly about her children and behaved like any other mother.
“She talked about her kids like any normal mother would,” the friend said. “It really seemed like she loved them.”
Only months earlier, MacAusland reportedly discussed school activities and parent-teacher meetings for Kai and Ella. Friends said nothing appeared unusual during recent conversations with her.
The family’s former babysitter, Cale Darrah, told The New York Post about the family’s outward appearance. Darrah told the Boston Globe that the home never appeared troubled from the outside.
“Never did I enter the house and feel like there was anything that was extremely off,” Darrah said.
Still, court documents revealed serious problems inside the marriage, reportd WCVB. MacAusland and her husband, Samuel MacAusland, faced a bitter divorce and custody dispute in the months before the children’s deaths.
Samuel MacAusland filed for divorce in October 2025. He cited an “irretrievable breakdown” of the couple’s nine-year marriage. The couple fought over custody of the children and ownership of their home.
Legal challenges
The legal fight between the couple grew more intense shortly before the killings. On April 16, both sides asked the court to appoint a third party to review custody arrangements. Authorities said the court appointed a guardian on April 21, one day before the children died, reported The New York Post.
Authorities said the tragedy unfolded inside the family’s Wellesley home last week. Investigators allege MacAusland strangled Kai and Ella before leaving Massachusetts and driving about 140 miles north to her aunt’s home in Bennington, Vermont.
Police said MacAusland arrived at the Vermont house with severe cuts on her throat. Authorities said she made a shocking statement after arriving.
“I strangled them and then I tried to kill myself,” she allegedly told her aunt.
Back in Massachusetts, police found the bodies of Kai and Ella inside the family home. Family friend Albert Bowley described Samuel MacAusland as a devoted father who deeply loved his children, reported The New York Post.
“Fatherhood was the joy of his life,” Bowley told the Boston Globe. “It was like a piece of life he finally fulfilled,” Bowley added.
MacAusland remains in custody in Vermont. She faces a fugitive from justice charge there while awaiting transfer to Massachusetts. Prosecutors in Massachusetts charged her with two counts of murder.
During a court hearing on Monday, MacAusland agreed to return to Massachusetts to face the charges.
“MacAusland decided that the best thing is to get back to Massachusetts as soon as possible and address these charges,” her attorney Jeff Rubin said in court, reported New York Post.
Her next court appearance in Vermont is scheduled for May 11.