Wellesley mother arrested after children found dead was getting divorced

The Wellesley mother arrested after her children were found dead at home was in the middle of a divorce, according to court records, and both she and her husband wanted custody of their kids.

Janette MacAusland was arrested in Vermont and will appear before a court there on a charge of being a fugitive from justice, the Herald previously reported.

Massachusetts State Police issued an arrest warrant Saturday charging MacAusland, 49, of Wellesley, with two counts of murder in the deaths of her children, 7-year-old Kai and 6-year-old Ella.

Her two children were found dead at their Edgemoor Avenue home after police in Vermont called authorities in Wellesley to ask for a wellness check Friday.

MacAusland’s husband filed for divorce in October on the “ground of irretrievable breakdown,” the complaint said, and requested custody of their two children.

In a counter-claim, she noted that her husband had incorrectly written down one of the children’s birthdays and requested that she be granted custody instead.

The home where children were found was their primary residence, the document noted.

In April, MacAusland and her husband filed a joint motion to appoint a “guardian ad litem,” who would “investigate issues of legal custody and parenting plan issues raised” in their initial complaints.

According to the motion, the parties agreed to split the cost of the guardian and allow him 35 hours to spend “investigating” the family.

Because of that appointment, they also jointly asked the court to push back their next hearing date, which had been scheduled for May 5, by 120 days to allow the guardian to complete his report.

The guardian was officially appointed April 21, and both parities were due back in court Sept. 1.

Neither parent’s lawyer could be reached for comment.

The Herald also reached out to the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office who is investigating the children’s deaths alongside Wellesley Police Department and the Mass State Police, but the office did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

The children were in kindergarten and second grade at Schofield Elementary School, where counselors will be on site Monday to provide support. In a statement Saturday night, Superintendent David Lussier asked the community to keep the family in their thoughts and prayers.

“This is an unimaginable loss that will be deeply felt not just at Schofield but across our entire community,” he said.

— Material from the Associated Press used in this report