An acupuncturist mother accused of strangling her two young children at the family’s $1.5 million New England home during a bitter divorce became emotional in court Tuesday as she pleaded not guilty to their murders.
Janette MacAusland, 49, sobbed through her arraignment in Norfolk Superior Court, keeping her head bowed and her eyes closed while appearing in handcuffs, the Boston Globe reported.
MacAusland was indicted last month on two counts of first-degree murder in the April deaths of her seven-year-old son, Kai, and six-year-old daughter, Ella, at their home in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
Autopsies determined that the children died from strangulation and the combined effects of multiple substances, including zolpidem, acetaminophen, ibuprofen and lorazepam.
After the hearing, defense attorney Joseph Krowski Jr. highlighted MacAusland’s long history of mental health difficulties and treatment.
‘She’s broken,’ he told the Boston Globe. ‘You saw that today in the courtroom.’
When asked whether he planned to pursue an insanity defense, Krowski said no option had been ruled out. He cited the Lindsay Clancy case and the broader debate over women’s mental health care.
‘Janette MacAusland spent her life as a healer and a nurturer, so we have to ask ourselves, ‘How does someone get accused of this? What went wrong?” he said.
The acupuncturist mother accused of strangling her two young children at their $1.5 million New England home during a bitter divorce broke down in court as she pleaded not guilty to their murders
Janette MacAusland, 49, wept throughout her Tuesday afternoon arraignment, keeping her head down and her eyes shut
MacAusland was indicted last month on two first-degree murder charges in the April deaths of her seven-year-old son, Kai, and six-year-old daughter, Ella
The siblings died from strangulation and the combined effects of several substances, according to autopsy results
‘We have to start addressing these problems before these tragedies occur.’
If convicted of first-degree murder, MacAusland faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Judge Peter B. Krupp ordered her held without bail. Her attorney did not challenge that decision, though Krowski said he could seek bail after examining approximately 2,000 pages of evidence recently provided by prosecutors.
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The judge also granted a defense request to temporarily seal the prosecution’s statement of the case. Krowski argued that the document was ‘nothing more than a glorified press release’ and included details seemingly ‘designed to elicit a visceral response’ from prospective jurors.
MacAusland is due back in court on December 16, although her attorney has asked that she be excused from attending.
MacAusland allegedly strangled her children before fleeing to her aunt’s home in Vermont, where police arrested her on April 24.
Police said she arrived distraught and with a visible injury to her neck. She then confessed to her aunt that she had killed Kai and Ella.
Investigators said she later told them she had intended for herself and the children ‘to go to God together.’
She allegedly strangled Kai and Ella (pictured) on April 24 before fleeing to her aunt’s home in Vermont, where she was arrested
She confessed to killing her children, saying she had planned for herself and the children ‘to go to God together’
According to court documents previously obtained by Our News Outlet, she and the children’s father, Samuel MacAusland, were embroiled in a bitter divorce dispute over custody and control of their three-bedroom New England home (pictured)
Samuel filed for divorce from MacAusland in October 2025, and the couple agreed at a May 5 hearing that never occurred to have a court-appointed guardian represent the children
MacAusland also told investigators that she drove to Vermont’s Quechee Gorge Bridge intending to jump to her death, but ultimately could not go through with it.
At the time of the killings, MacAusland and her estranged husband, Samuel, were engaged in a contentious divorce battle over custody of their children and control of their three-bedroom family home, according to court documents previously obtained by Our News Outlet.
Samuel filed for divorce in October 2025. The couple had agreed to appoint a court-appointed guardian to represent Kai and Ella at a hearing set for May 5.
That hearing never took place because the children were killed beforehand.
Before their marriage deteriorated, MacAusland frequently praised Samuel on social media, depicting him as a devoted husband and father to their two children.
