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Content Warning: This article discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
The arrest affidavit for a mother from Wellesley, Massachusetts, who stands accused of murdering her two young children in their suburban home, has unveiled shocking details surrounding the tragic incident.
Janette MacAusland, aged 49, faces charges for the deaths of her children, Kai, 7, and Ella, 6. The alleged murders took place last Friday before MacAusland reportedly fled to Vermont.
According to the affidavit, MacAusland arrived at her aunt’s residence in a state of deep distress, raising alarm among family members.
Janette MacAusland is pictured wearing an orange tank top against a backdrop of majestic mountains. The date of the photograph is unspecified. (Photo credit: Janette Reber/Facebook)
“She was hysterical. I brought her into my house. She had knocked on a window to get my attention and I could see that she had a large cut on her throat,” her aunt said. “After getting her to calm down checked her neck and could see that the blood on her was dried, Janette stated that she tried to kill herself. I asked where her husband was and she said he was at the lake.”
“I wanted the three of us to go to God together, but it didn’t work,” MacAusland told her aunt, according to the affidavit.
MacAusland’s aunt relayed to police that her niece said she killed Kai and Ella and then tried to kill herself. The affidavit mentions MacAusland told her aunt that she planned to jump off a bridge, but could not do it.
A mugshot of Janette MacAusland, 49, who is accused of killing her two young children from April 24, 2026. (Bennington Police Department)
Later, police spoke with MacAusland and asked if her children were OK. In response, she shook her head, according to the affidavit. Then, she revealed a startling detail to police.
“I strangled them and then tried to kill myself,” she told them, adding that the children could be found in her bed in their Massachusetts family home.
The affidavit says police in Wellesley were called, and confirmed what MacAusland told them.
MacAusland was jailed in Vermont on a fugitive from justice charge and appeared before a judge remotely on Monday afternoon. She was charged in Massachusetts over the weekend with two counts of murder.
A self-shot photo of Janette MacAusland taken on an unknown date. (Janette Reber/Facebook)
In the Monday hearing, she waived her extradition rights, and will be transported back to her home state to face those charges.
MacAusland’s husband, Samuel MacAusland, filed for divorce in October after nine years of marriage, citing an “irretrievable breakdown of the marriage,” court records show. He was seeking custody of the children, and the couple had
MacAusland’s attorney did not return a request for comment.