A Massachusetts acupuncturist accused of murdering her own children amid a bitter divorce battle cried in court as she pleaded not guilty.
Janette MacAusland, 49, appeared in Dedham District Court on Wednesday facing two counts of murder relating to the deaths of her children Ella, 6, and Kai, 7.
She wept with her head bowed after being arrested last month following the discovery of her children’s bodies inside her $1.5 million home in Wellesley.
According to the Boston Globe, a wound was also visible on her neck in the courtroom which could be the result of a suicide attempt mentioned in court papers.
Her lawyer also requested that she be housed inside Western Mass Regional Women’s Correctional Center during the hearing, the outlet reported.
Investigators said Kai and Ella were strangled to death in their family home, and their bodies were left for ‘some time’ before they were discovered
Police said after allegedly murdering her children she arrive at her aunt’s house in Vermont covered in blood with a cut across her throat.
MacAusland is seen here inside Dedham District Court on Wednesday
She is facing two counts of murder relating to the deaths of her children Ella, 6, and Kai, 7 .
She weeped with her head bowed after being arrested last month following the discovery of her children’s bodies inside her $1.5 million home
A statement from her relative to police said: ‘After getting her to calm down, I checked her neck and could see that the blood on her was dried.
‘Janette stated that she tried to kill herself. I asked her where her children were and she told me that she had killed them.’
When questioned by investigators, MacAusland allegedly confessed to the killings and wanted to take her own life so they could ‘go to God together’.
She was arrested in Vermont and made her first court appearance in the state before being returned to Massachusetts.
Documents say she was in the midst of a bitter divorce from her husband Samuel at the time.
Her social media shows she had become obsessed with spirituality and ‘enlightenment’ in recent months.
The officer at the scene told dispatch that seconds after entering the home, he found evidence that a gruesome crime had been committed.
‘There’s blood splatter,’ the officer said, according to police recordings posted by Broadcastify.
After police say she allegedly killed her young children, MacAusland is said to have dashed to her aunt’s home in Vermont, according to a police report
MacAusland is accused of killing her children while in the middle of an ugly divorce with her husband, Samuel MacAusland, the two are seen here together
As more units arrived at the home, officers then found the bodies of Kai and Ella strangled to death.
MacAusland is due to appear back in court in July and has been held without bail following her arrest.
An official cause of death has not yet been released for the two children, it is also unclear when they died.
MacAusland attended New England School of Acupuncture and was listed as an acupuncturist with New England Integrated Health, which has since removed her description.
Her profile said she also worked at Massachusetts General Hospital and founded Boston Acupuncture Trauma Relief after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
