Overview
- At a Dedham District Court hearing Thursday, Sept. 10, the judge denied defense requests to dismiss the case or set bail and ordered Janette MacAusland to remain held without bail on two first‑degree murder counts.
- Prosecutors told the court they are still waiting for the Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to issue the official cause and manner of the children’s deaths, a routine report prosecutors say is needed as they develop the case.
- Police say MacAusland drove to an aunt’s home in Bennington, Vermont, on April 24 with a large cut on her throat and, according to an arrest affidavit, told officers, “I strangled them, and then I tried to kill myself,” before being arrested there.
- Court records show the killings occurred during a pending divorce and custody dispute, with a guardian appointed on April 21, three days before the children, Kai, 7, and Ella, 6, were found dead in their Wellesley home.
- The case is being watched in the wake of the Lindsay Clancy trial as defense lawyers raise MacAusland’s history of mental illness and legal observers note that the medical examiner’s findings and public debate could shape charging decisions and possible defenses; the next hearing is set for Oct. 29, 2026.