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Less than a week after the closely watched Lindsay Clancy murder trial ended in a mistrial, another Massachusetts case involving a mother accused of killing her children returned to court Thursday as the defense sought to have the charges dismissed after prosecutors said they were still awaiting the medical examiner’s findings.
Prosecutors told the court they are still awaiting the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s official determination of the children’s cause and manner of death, prompting defense attorney Joseph Krowski to ask that the case be dismissed or that Janette MacAusland be released on bail, WCVB reported.
A judge denied both requests, ordering MacAusland to remain held without bail.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Krowski and the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office for comment.
A mugshot of Janette MacAusland, who is accused of killing her two young children, from April 24, 2026. (Bennington Police Department)
MacAusland, 49, is charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of her 7-year-old son, Kai, and 6-year-old daughter, Ella, who were found dead inside the family’s Wellesley home in April after police conducted a welfare check.
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While Clancy’s case centered on whether postpartum psychosis rendered her legally insane, no such defense has been announced in MacAusland’s case, which remains in its early stages.
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MacAusland was arrested in Bennington, Vermont, after arriving at a relative’s home with what police described as a bloody neck wound.
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Janette MacAusland stands in an orange tank top in front of a scenic mountain range. Photo taken on an unknown date. (Janette Reber/Facebook)
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Police said officers in Vermont became concerned about the welfare of MacAusland’s children and contacted authorities in Wellesley, where officers found Kai and Ella dead inside the family’s home.
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An arrest affidavit previously obtained by Fox News Digital alleges MacAusland confessed to killing the children after arriving at her aunt’s home.
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According to the affidavit, MacAusland told her aunt she had wanted “the three of us to go to God together” before later telling police she had strangled the children and attempted to take her own life.
A self-shot photo of Janette MacAusland taken on an unknown date. (Janette Reber/Facebook)
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The affidavit alleges MacAusland told officers the children could be found in her bed at the family’s Massachusetts home.
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Court records previously reviewed by Fox News Digital show MacAusland’s husband filed for divorce months before the killings, citing an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage and seeking custody of the couple’s two children.
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MacAusland remains jailed without bail as prosecutors await the medical examiner’s findings and the case moves forward.
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Fox News Digital’s Peter D’Abrosca contributed to this report.
