If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Just days after the high-profile Lindsay Clancy murder case ended with a mistrial, a separate Massachusetts case involving a mother accused in the deaths of her children was back before a judge Thursday. Defense attorneys moved to have the charges thrown out after prosecutors acknowledged they are still waiting for key findings from the medical examiner.
In court, prosecutors said the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has not yet issued its final ruling on the cause and manner of the children’s deaths. That delay led defense attorney Joseph Krowski to request either a dismissal of the case or that Janette MacAusland be allowed to leave custody on bail, according to WCVB.
The judge rejected both arguments, ruling that MacAusland will continue to be held without bail as the case moves forward.
News Outlet has contacted Krowski and the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office seeking comment.
A mugshot of Janette MacAusland, who is accused of killing her two young children, from April 24, 2026. (Bennington Police Department)
MacAusland, 49, faces two murder charges in connection with the deaths of her children, 7-year-old Kai and 6-year-old Ella. The children were discovered dead inside the family’s Wellesley, Massachusetts, home in April after officers arrived for a welfare check.
The case has drawn renewed attention in the wake of the Lindsay Clancy trial, though the legal issues appear different at this stage. Clancy’s defense focused on claims that postpartum psychosis left her legally insane, while no comparable defense has been publicly raised in MacAusland’s case, which is still in its preliminary phase.
MacAusland was arrested in Bennington, Vermont, after arriving at a relative’s home with what police described as a bloody neck wound.
Janette MacAusland stands in an orange tank top in front of a scenic mountain range. Photo taken on an unknown date. (Janette Reber/Facebook)
ALSO READ: Erin Burnett Illness: What Happened To American Journalist? Before And After Photo
Police said officers in Vermont became concerned about the welfare of MacAusland’s children and contacted authorities in Wellesley, where officers found Kai and Ella dead inside the family’s home.
An arrest affidavit previously obtained by News Outlet alleges MacAusland confessed to killing the children after arriving at her aunt’s home.
According to the affidavit, MacAusland told her aunt she had wanted “the three of us to go to God together” before later telling police she had strangled the children and attempted to take her own life.
A self-shot photo of Janette MacAusland taken on an unknown date. (Janette Reber/Facebook)
The affidavit alleges MacAusland told officers the children could be found in her bed at the family’s Massachusetts home.
Court records previously reviewed by News Outlet show MacAusland’s husband filed for divorce months before the killings, citing an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage and seeking custody of the couple’s two children.
MacAusland remains jailed without bail as prosecutors await the medical examiner’s findings and the case moves forward.
