A Massachusetts mother accused of killing her two young children was denied bail and a request to dismiss the charges against her, as prosecutors revealed they are still awaiting official findings from the medical examiner.
Janette MacAusland, 49, faces two counts of murder in the deaths of her 7-year-old son, Kai, and 6-year-old daughter, Ella. They were found deceased in their Wellesley home in April following a welfare check. The case returned to court Thursday, where MacAusland's defense attorney, Joseph Krowski, argued for dismissal or release on bail, citing the pending medical examiner's report.
Prosecutors informed the court that the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner's determination of the cause and manner of death for the children is still pending. The judge ultimately denied both the dismissal and bail requests, ordering MacAusland to remain held without bail.
MacAusland was arrested in Bennington, Vermont, after arriving at a relative's home with a self-inflicted bloody neck wound. Vermont police, concerned for the welfare of her children, contacted authorities in Wellesley. Upon entering the family's home, officers discovered Kai and Ella dead.
An arrest affidavit obtained previously alleges MacAusland confessed to strangling her children and attempting to take her own life. She reportedly told her aunt she had wanted "the three of us to go to God together." MacAusland allegedly told officers the children could be found in her bed at the Massachusetts home.
Court records indicate MacAusland's husband had filed for divorce months prior to the children's deaths, citing an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage and seeking custody of their two children.
This case surfaces less than a week after a mistrial was declared in the case of Lindsay Clancy, another Massachusetts mother accused of killing her children. Clancy's defense had focused on postpartum psychosis and mental health issues, a defense strategy that retired judge Jack Lu suggested could become more prominent in similar cases following the national attention on Clancy's trial. No such defense has been publicly announced in MacAusland's case, which remains in its early stages.