The acupuncturist mother accused of strangling her two young children inside their $1.5 million New England home during a bitter divorce broke down in court as she pleaded not guilty to their murders.
Janette MacAusland, 49, sobbed throughout her arraignment Tuesday afternoon, keeping her head down and her eyes shut as she appeared handcuffed in Norfolk Superior Court, according to the Boston Globe.
Autopsy results revealed the siblings died from strangulation and the combined effects of several substances, including zolpidem, acetaminophen, ibuprofen and lorazepam.
Following the hearing, defense attorney Joseph Krowski Jr. pointed to MacAusland's long history of mental health struggles and treatment.
'She's broken,' he told the Boston Globe. 'You saw that today in the courtroom.'
Asked whether he would pursue an insanity defense, Krowski said all options remained on the table, citing the Lindsay Clancy case and the discussion surrounding women's mental health care.
'Janette MacAusland spent her life as a healer and a nurturer, so we have to ask ourselves, 'How does someone get accused of this? What went wrong?' he said.
The acupuncturist mother accused of strangling her two young children inside their $1.5 million New England home during a bitter divorce broke down in court as she pleaded not guilty to their murders
Janette MacAusland, 49, sobbed throughout her arraignment Tuesday afternoon, keeping her head down and her eyes shut
MacAusland was indicted last month on two counts of first-degree murder in the April deaths of her seven-year-old son, Kai, and six-year-old daughter, Ella
Autopsy results revealed the siblings died from strangulation and the combined effects of several substances
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'We have to start addressing these problems before these tragedies occur.'
MacAusland faces life in prison without parole if convicted of first-degree murder.
Judge Peter B. Krupp ordered her held without bail, a decision her attorney did not contest, although Krowski said he may seek bail after reviewing roughly 2,000 pages of evidence prosecutors recently turned over.
The judge also granted a defense request to temporarily seal the prosecution's statement of the case after Krowski argued it was 'nothing more than a glorified press release' containing details that appeared 'designed to elicit a visceral response' from potential jurors.
Her next court appearance is scheduled for December 16, although her attorney has requested that she be excused from attending.
MacAusland strangled her children before fleeing to her aunt's home in Vermont, where she was arrested on April 24.
Police said she arrived distraught, with a visible neck injury, and confessed to her aunt that she had killed Kai and Ella.
She later told investigators she had planned for herself and the children 'to go to God together.'
She allegedly strangled Kai and Ella (pictured) to death on April 24 before fleeing to her aunt's home in Vermont, where she was arrested
She confessed to taking her children's lives, stating that she planned for her and her children 'to go to God together'
She and the children's father, Samuel MacAusland, were in the middle of a bitter divorce, feuding over custody of the children and control of the three-bedroom New England home (pictured), according to court documents previously obtained by the Daily Mail
Samuel filed for divorce from MacAusland in October 2025, and they agreed to have a court-appointed guardian assigned to represent the children during a May 5 hearing that never took place
MacAusland also admitted driving to the Quechee Gorge Bridge in Vermont, where she intended to jump to her death but could not bring herself to do it.
At the time of the killings, MacAusland and her estranged husband, Samuel, were locked in a bitter divorce battle involving custody of their children and control of their three-bedroom family home, according to court documents previously obtained by the Daily Mail.
Samuel filed for divorce in October 2025, and the couple had agreed to have a court-appointed guardian represent Kai and Ella at a hearing scheduled for May 5.
The children were killed before that hearing could take place.
Before their marriage turned ugly, MacAusland often praised Samuel on social media, portraying him as a devoted husband and father to their two children.
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