Acupuncturist mom shakes and cries in court as judge denies her bail for allegedly strangling her two kids amidst of bitter divorce

A Massachusetts mother who allegedly killed her young son and daughter was seen sobbing and shaking in court after the judge denied her bail on Thursday morning.

Janette MacAusland, 49, pleaded not guilty after being arrested and charged with two counts of murder after police said she allegedly strangled her kids at their $1.5 million home in an affluent Boston suburb.

Kai and Ella MacAusland, seven and six, died on April 24 after MacAusland strangled them at their home in Wellesley while she was going through a bitter divorce with their father, according to police. 

The accused mom was handcuffed at her Thursday hearing at Dedham District Court where she sported a red jumpsuit and black glasses.

Throughout the hearing, acupuncturist MacAusland nodded with her head several times, cried and winced when the kids were mentioned, using her arms to wipe away tears.

Her lawyer, Joseph Krowski Jr, suggested a $25,000 bail, 24/7 GPS surveillance, home confinement and a probation period.

Krowski Jr added that MacAusland ‘should not be deprived of her liberty while they get their act together,’ in reference to the medical examiner as the cause of her children’s death remains unclear.

‘We are really in an intermediate state of limbo,’ the lawyer added. 

The defense said that they are ready to determine probable cause but the prosecution stated they are not just yet. Krowski Jr asked for it to be dismissed or for the judge to ‘propose a reasonable bail.’ 

A conference was held yesterday where the Commonwealth said that they needed two more months. The judge granted an additional time of six weeks to move forward.

MacAusland’s lawyer also asked to waive her presence in court on October 29. 

During this time MacAusland will be held without bail. 

After the hearing, her lawyer said: ‘This is not Lindsay Clancy 2.0.

‘Jeanette MacAusland is her own woman, but there’s been a discussion, a discourse that’s opened up in this country about whether or not we want to criminalize mental illness.’

Krowski Jr further claimed mental health insitutions, legal institutions and criminal justice institutions for ‘failed’ MacAusland.

He also said that he thinks the case could not be decided ‘in this building,’ adding that it should be brought to the Dedham Superior Court.

The investigation into the acupuncturist began on April 24, 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. 

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.

The killings came as MacAusland was in the middle of a turbulent separation from her husband, Sam MacAusland, 62.

Following the children’s deaths, MacAusland drove to her aunt’s home in Bennington, Vermont, where she was arrested and confessed to taking her children’s lives, saying she wanted the three of them ‘to go to God together,’ according to a police report obtained by The Boston Globe. 

In October 2025, months before the death of the children, her husband Samuel filed for divorce, citing an ‘irretrievable breakdown,’ according to court documents reviewed by the Daily Mail.

The legal battle included the couple feuding over the custody of their children and who would get control of their three-bed home in recent months.

This is a developing story.