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A mother from an affluent Boston suburb was arrested in Vermont after police say she killed her two young children.
Janette MacAusland, 49, of Wellesley, Massachusetts, was taken into custody by police in Bennington, Vermont on Friday night after she arrived at a family home in that town “appearing highly distraught,” and having a visible, bloody neck injury.
“Officers attempted to engage her in conversation and, during the interaction, became increasingly concerned for the welfare of her children,” the Bennington Police Department said in a release.
A self-shot photo of Janette MacAusland taken on an unknown date. (Janette Reber/Facebook)
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Police say they contacted Wellesley authorities for a welfare check at her Massachusetts home. When Wellesley police arrived on the scene, they made a grisly discovery. They say MacAusland’s two children were found dead.
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)
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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)
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“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.”
