A Massachusetts acupuncturist has been indicted for the strangulation murders of her two young children. 

Janette MacAusland, 49, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder on Monday by a grand jury after she killed her son Kai, seven, and six-year-old daughter Ella inside the family’s $1.5 million Wellesley home in April. 

MacAusland strangled the brother and sister before fleeing to her aunt’s home in Vermont, where she was arrested on April 24. 

At the time, she and the children’s father, Samuel MacAusland, were in the middle of a bitter divorce, feuding over custody of the children and control of the three-bedroom New England home, according to court documents previously obtained by the Daily Mail. 

She arrived at her aunt’s home distraught and with a visible neck injury and told her family member that she had killed the children, police said. 

MacAusland is believed to have killed her kids ‘on or about’ April 22, the indictments stated, according to The Boston Globe. 

She faces life in prison withoug parole if convicted of first-degree murder and her case will now be moved to Norfolk County Superior Court. 

Her arraignment has been scheduled for October 29. During her last court apperance, MacAusland’s attorney, Joseph Krowski Jr, asked to waive her presence in court that day. 

Janette MacAusland, 49, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder on Monday by a grand jury

She allegedly strangled Kai and Ella (pictured) to death on April 24 before fleeing to her aunt’s home in Vermont, where she was arrested

She remains held without bail inside the Western Massachusetts Regional Women’s Correctional Center. 

The latest move in her case comes just a little more than a month after she appeared in court, shaking and sobbing. 

Her lawyer, Joseph Krowski Jr, asked that she be released on a $25,000 bail, 24/7 GPS surveillance, home confinement and a probation period, but a judge denied his request. 

He also argued that MacAusland ‘should not be deprived of her liberty while they get their act together,’ in reference to the medical examiner as the definative cause of deaths for Kai and Ella remained unclear. 

Court records and police affidavits stated that MacAusland strangled the two of them to death, but the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has not released their officials cause of death as of September 10. 

A grand jury can move forward with the case as long as they believe there is enough evidence to charge someone with a crime.  

The Daily Mail contacted the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and Krowski Jr. for comment.

An investigation into MacAusland began when officers with the Bennington Police Department in Vermont were asked to conduct a welfare check at a nearby residence for a woman who appeared ‘highly distraught,’ the Bennington Police Department said.

She and the children’s father, Samuel MacAusland, were in the middle of a bitter divorce, feuding over custody of the children and control of the three-bedroom New England home (pictured), according to court documents previously obtained by the Daily Mail

She confessed to taking her children’s lives, stating that she planned for her and her children ‘to go to God together’

Callers reportedly told police she had a visible neck injury with blood, and upon making contact, officers identified the woman as MacAusland. 

Officers who attempted to speak with her said they became ‘increasingly concerned’ about the welfare of her children during the interaction, prompting an immediate call back to police near her Massachusetts home.

Wellesley police responded to the home later that evening and made the grisly discovery.

She confessed to taking her children’s lives, stating that she planned for her and her children ‘to go to God together,’ according to a police report obtained by the Globe. 

MacAusland also told police that she drove to the Quechee Gorge Bridge in Vermont and tried to jump, but couldn’t do it, the report stated. 

Samuel filed for divorce from MacAusland in Octobe 2025, and they agreed to have a court-appointed guradian assigned to represent the children during a May 5 hearing that never took place. 

Her arraignment has been scheduled for October 29. During her last court apperance, MacAusland’s attorney, Joseph Krowski Jr (pictured center), asked to waive her presence in court that day

This is breaking news…Updates to follow.