“NOT ENOUGH INFORMATION TO KEEP HER BEHIND BARS” — LAWYER MAKES SHOCKING BID TO DISMISS CASE AGAINST MOM ACCUSED OF KILLING HER TWO CHILDREN

Janette MacAusland is accused of killing her two young children before fleeing to Vermont — but her attorney has now made a dramatic request to have the case dismissed and his client released without bail.

A Massachusetts mother accused of killing her two young children is making a dramatic new legal move — with her attorney asking a judge to dismiss the case and release her from custody.

Janette MacAusland, 49, is facing two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of her children, 7-year-old Kai and 6-year-old Ella, in April 2026.

But on Thursday, September 10, her attorney, Joseph Krowski, argued that there was not enough information to justify keeping MacAusland behind bars.

The judge rejected the request.

MacAusland remains in custody without bail and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

THE CASE THAT BEGAN WITH A FRANTIC TRIP TO VERMONT

The investigation began after MacAusland allegedly traveled roughly 140 miles from her Wellesley, Massachusetts, home to her aunt’s house in Bennington, Vermont.

According to a Vermont police report cited by the New York Post, MacAusland arrived with wounds across her neck.

When police spoke with her, she allegedly made a startling statement about what had happened to her children.

Authorities say she told an officer:

“I strangled them and then I tried to kill myself.”

She allegedly also said she had wanted the three of them to “go to God together,” but that the suicide attempt had failed.

The allegations have not been proven in court.

POLICE DISCOVERED THE CHILDREN AT THE FAMILY HOME

After MacAusland’s aunt became concerned and contacted authorities, Wellesley police went to the family’s home.

Investigators discovered Kai and Ella inside a bedroom.

According to police accounts cited in court reporting, officers observed extensive blood evidence inside the residence.

The children were students at Schofield Elementary School, where Kai was in second grade and Ella was in kindergarten.

Their deaths devastated a community that had known the family as seemingly ordinary and close-knit.

People who knew MacAusland reportedly described her as a devoted mother.

A FAMILY UNDER CUSTODY PRESSURE

In the months before the children’s deaths, MacAusland and her husband, Samuel MacAusland, were involved in a contentious divorce and custody dispute.

Court records indicate that Samuel had filed for divorce in October 2025 after approximately nine years of marriage.

The couple were also fighting over custody of their children and the family home.

The legal dispute intensified in April.

A court-appointed guardian was reportedly assigned on April 21, just three days before the children were found.

Prosecutors have pointed to the custody conflict as part of the circumstances surrounding the case.

But the precise relationship between the custody dispute and the alleged killings remains a matter for the court to determine.

WHY DID HER LAWYER ASK FOR THE CASE TO BE DISMISSED?

MacAusland’s attorney Joseph Krowski made the unusual request during Thursday’s hearing.

He argued that prosecutors had not provided enough information to justify continuing to hold his client.

The defense sought both dismissal of the charges and MacAusland’s release.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, told the judge they were still waiting for the medical examiner’s official determination concerning the children’s deaths.

The judge ultimately rejected the defense request and ordered MacAusland to remain behind bars without bail.

THE LINDSAY CLANCY CASE HAS ADDED ANOTHER LAYER

The latest development comes just days after another Massachusetts mother, Lindsay Clancy, saw her high-profile child-murder trial end in a mistrial.

Clancy was accused of killing her three children in Duxbury in 2023, while her defense argued that she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis.

The jury ultimately failed to reach a unanimous verdict.

That case has intensified national discussion over mental illness, criminal responsibility and how prosecutors handle cases involving mothers accused of killing their children.

MacAusland’s attorney has pushed back against comparisons between the two cases, saying his client should not simply be treated as another version of Clancy.

He has instead called for a broader discussion about how the justice system handles defendants suffering from serious mental-health problems.

A CASE STILL FAR FROM OVER

For now, Janette MacAusland remains charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

She has pleaded not guilty.

The defense’s attempt to have the case dismissed has failed, meaning the criminal proceedings will continue while prosecutors await additional medical evidence.

The case leaves a series of questions that will have to be addressed through the legal process:

What exactly happened inside the family home?

What led to the events of April 24?

And what role, if any, did the bitter custody dispute play in the tragedy?

Those questions remain unresolved.

For the families involved, however, the consequences are already permanent.

And with MacAusland still behind bars and the prosecution continuing to build its case, the next chapter of this deeply disturbing Massachusetts case has yet to be written.

A mother accused of killing her two children. A shocking request to walk free. And a judge’s decision that keeps the case moving forward.