A tragic event has unfolded involving a mother from a well-to-do suburb of Boston, who now faces serious charges in Vermont. Authorities have arrested 49-year-old Janette MacAusland of Wellesley, Massachusetts, after a disturbing sequence of events led to the death of her two young children.
The situation came to light when MacAusland appeared at a family residence in Bennington, Vermont, on a Friday night. Witnesses described her as appearing extremely distraught, and she was noted to have a noticeable, bloody injury on her neck. Her alarming state prompted the Bennington Police Department to intervene.
“During our interaction with her, officers grew increasingly concerned about the safety of her children,” stated the Bennington Police Department in a press release.
Subsequently, police contacted the Wellesley authorities to conduct a welfare check at MacAusland’s home in Massachusetts. Upon their arrival, Wellesley police made a grim discovery—the lifeless bodies of her two children.
Janette MacAusland, depicted in a self-shot photograph from an unspecified date, was taken into custody by the authorities. She is currently being held as a fugitive from justice, with Massachusetts having issued a criminal warrant charging her with two counts of murder. MacAusland is detained at the Marble Valley Correctional Facility in Vermont and is scheduled to be arraigned in Rutland Criminal Division court on Monday afternoon.
They took MacAusland into custody as a fugitive from justice, and said Massachusetts issued a criminal warrant for two counts of murder. She is being held in the Marble Valley Correctional Facility in Vermont and will be arraigned Monday afternoon at Rutland Criminal Division court.
A mugshot of Janette MacAusland, 49, who is accused of killing her two young children from April 24, 2026. (Bennington Police Department)
The court said it did not know whether Rutland has an attorney.
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. Those documents also list their two children, seven-year-old Kai and six-year-old Ella. Samuel was seeking custody of the children.
The children attended Schofield Elementary School.
A Wellesley, Massachusetts police cruiser from 2024. (Wellesley Police Department)
“We were devastated to learn of the tragic death of two of our WPS students, a second-grader and kindergartener at Schofield Elementary School,” Wellesley Public schools said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital.
“This is an unimaginable loss that will be deeply felt not just at Schofield but across our entire community. Our crisis team is planning support for students, staff, and families as we prepare for the reopening of school on Monday. I ask that we all keep this family in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”
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