An acupuncturist has been accused of killing her two young children inside her upscale Massachusetts home amid an ongoing divorce and custody battle. Janette MacAusland, 49, of Wellesley, was arrested Saturday after her two children—7-year-old Kai and 6-year-old Ella—were found dead inside their home in the affluent Boston suburb, widely considered one of the safest in the country.
The mother was detained in Vermont after arriving at a family home highly distraught, with a visible neck injury and bleeding, on Friday, according to police. State authorities grew increasingly concerned for the safety and well-being of her children, who were believed to be back in Boston, and contacted local police to request a welfare check at the home. Once there, officers found both her son and daughter dead. Their cause of death was not immediately disclosed.
MacAusland was ultimately taken into custody in Vermont on a fugitive-from-justice charge after Massachusetts State Police issued an arrest warrant Saturday for two counts of murder.
Community in Shock
Cole Darrah, who babysat the children, told The Boston Globe, 'Never did I enter the house and feel like there was anything that was extremely off.' She added, 'It doesn't really feel real at all,' noting that both Kai and Ella appeared happy and healthy. 'Not that it should happen anywhere but especially in a town like Wellesley where nothing like this ever happens.'
The investigation into the acupuncturist began Friday evening, when officers with the Bennington Police Department in Vermont were asked to conduct a welfare check at a nearby residence for a woman who appeared 'highly distraught.' Callers reportedly told police she had a visible neck injury with blood, and upon making contact, officers identified the woman as MacAusland. Officers who attempted to speak with her said they became 'increasingly concerned' about the welfare of her children during the interaction, prompting an immediate call back to police near her Massachusetts home.
Wellesley police responded to the home on Edgemoor Avenue at around 9:50 pm Friday night and made the grisly discovery. The children, one in second grade and the other in kindergarten, attended Schofield Elementary School, where Superintendent David Lussier said a 'crisis team' was being prepared to support the community. 'We were devastated to learn of the tragic death of two of our WPS students,' he said in a statement. 'This is an unimaginable loss that will be deeply felt not just at Schofield but across our entire community. I ask that we all keep this family in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.'
Ongoing Divorce and Custody Battle
Court records show that her husband, Samuel MacAusland, filed for divorce in October after nine years of marriage. In the filing, he sought custody of the children and the home. She later filed a counterclaim seeking the same relief, according to NBC Boston. On April 16, the two filed a joint motion agreeing to a neutral third-party review of custody, and a guardian ad litem was appointed on April 21.
Legal expert Margo Lindendauer told the outlet, 'Tragic doesn't even begin to like touch the surface for all parties involved. I think it's really, really hard when stuff like this happens, right? And the system can only do so much. Typically, the risk factors associated with legal cases happen during high stress points in a case, so that could be serving of documents that could be a change in disposition, and we know that this case was filed till recently, and that a guardian ad litem was recently appointed as well.'
Neighbor and Babysitter Recall Tragic Loss
Neighbor David Kessler told the Globe that he frequently heard the school-aged children playing and laughing in their backyard, which sat adjacent to his front yard, most recently less than a week ago. He was interviewed by state and local police around 8 am Saturday, where the response to his question was chilling. 'Police told me, "It's as bad as you can imagine,"' Kessler told the outlet. 'That's when I knew it was something serious.'
Darrah, the former caretaker, told the Globe that when she first heard about two young children's deaths in a family group chat Saturday morning, she immediately thought, 'What if it's them?' She described Ella as 'an absolute angel,' outgoing and very sweet, and said both children seemed to live happily in a home filled with toys, books and clothes. Darrah added that MacAusland seemed like a kind, doting mother who took care of everyday routines, including scheduling meals and making sure the children received their medication when needed. 'I kind of got the impression maybe that she felt like she was shouldering more of the stereotypical child rearing and housework kind of thing,' she told the outlet.
In a separate interview, she told Boston 25 News: 'They were two beautiful children who were full of life and laughter, and it pains me to think that the world should remember them only by the way their lives were tragically ended.'
Professional Background and Legal Proceedings
MacAusland was listed as an acupuncturist with New England Integrated Health, which has since removed her bio, according to the Globe. Her profile said she also worked at Massachusetts General Hospital and founded Boston Acupuncture Trauma Relief after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. She is being held at the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility and will be arraigned Monday in Rutland Superior Court, according to WCVB News. Massachusetts State Police and the Wellesley Police Department are working with Vermont State Police to have the defendant transported to Massachusetts to face two counts of murder. Authorities said the investigation remains ongoing.
