Mother Accused of Killing Her 6- and 7-Year-Old Children After Welfare Check Reveals Their Bodies at Home

A Massachusetts mother has been accused of killing her two children.

On Saturday, April 25, the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office said in a Facebook news release that Massachusetts State Police secured an arrest warrant for Janette MacAusland of Wellesley.

Authorities have charged MacAusland, 48, with two counts of murder in connection with the deaths of her children, ages 6 and 7, according to the DA’s office.

The charges follow a welfare check at a home on Edgemoor Avenue in Wellesley, where police discovered the children dead, as reported by NBC Boston and the Bennington Banner

Cale Darrah, who told the Globe she worked as the family’s babysitter for about a year through June 2024, identified the two children as Ella and Kai MacAusland.

Darrah described Ella as “an absolute angel,” saying she had an outgoing and sweet personality. The former babysitter also noted that both children appeared happy and healthy.

“Never did I enter the house and feel like there was anything that was extremely off,” Darrah said, per the Globe.

Cale Darrah, who told the Globe she worked as the family’s babysitter for about a year until June 2024, identified the two children as Ella and Kai MacAusland.

Darrah described Ella as “an absolute angel,” noting her outgoing and sweet personality. The former babysitter also shared that both children appeared happy and healthy.

“Never did I enter the house and feel like there was anything that was extremely off,” Darrah said, per the Globe.

MacAusland is listed as an acupuncturist with New England Integrated Health, and the company’s website also notes that she works at Mass General Hospital, according to the Globe.

“It doesn’t really feel real at all,” Darrah told the outlet. “Not that it should happen anywhere but especially in a town like Wellesley where nothing like this ever happens.”

In its news release, the District Attorney’s Office said the children were students in the Wellesley Public School System. Counselors will be available on site Monday to offer support.

According to the DA’s office, MacAusland is currently being held in Vermont and is scheduled to appear in Bennington County Superior Court on Monday on a fugitive from justice charge.

Police in Wellesley are coordinating with Vermont State Police to transport MacAusland to Massachusetts to face the murder charges.