MA Acupuncturist Arrested for Killing Two Kids During Divorce Fight

Janette MacAusland, a 49-year-old acupuncturist from Massachusetts, faces two counts of first-degree murder after strangling her seven-year-old son, Kai, and six-year-old daughter, Ella. The killings took place inside the family's $1.5 million home in Wellesley during April. Police say MacAusland killed the children on or about April 22 before fleeing to a relative's residence in Vermont. Authorities arrested her there on April 24.

At that moment, she was in the midst of a bitter divorce with Kai and Ella's father, Samuel MacAusland. Court documents obtained by the Daily Mail show the couple were fighting hard over custody and control of their three-bedroom New England house. When police found her at her aunt's home, she appeared distraught and displayed a visible injury to her neck. She told family members that she had killed her kids.

MacAusland now stands without bail inside the Western Massachusetts Regional Women's Correctional Center. Her lawyer, Joseph Krowski Jr., recently asked the judge for release on $25,000 bail with 24/7 GPS monitoring, home confinement, and probation. The request failed. During a previous court appearance, he also sought to let her skip the hearing entirely.

The case will move to Norfolk County Superior Court if she is convicted of first-degree murder. That charge carries life in prison without parole. Her next arraignment is set for October 29. Police affidavits and court records state she strangled both children, yet the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has not officially released a cause of death as of September 10. Krowski Jr. argued that MacAusland should not lose her liberty while officials sort out the medical details.

This story continues to develop. Updates will follow as new information becomes available.