Mental health, divorce expected to shape case of Wellesley mom accused in deaths of her children

The most traumatic stories we cover involve the murders of Children by their own parents. Over the past few years, three major cases come to mind in Duxbury. Lindsay Clancy is accused of killing her three Children in 2023. She's currently awaiting trial. And in Madbury, New Hampshire, police say Emily Long killed her husband and two kids in a murder suicide. It happened in August of last year. The most recent case, a Wellesley woman charged with murdering her two kids last week. She will soon be brought back to Massachusetts from Vermont to be arraigned. Boston 25 News reporter Bob Ward is live in studio. And Bob, you spoke with a local criminal defense attorney about these cases. Okay, you know, these domestic violence cases are all tragic, but it is rare to see mothers accused of killing their own Children. Boston attorney Elise Hershon tells me as we learn more about what happened in Wellesley, investigators are considering all of the events that led up to these murders in a Vermont courtroom. Monday, 49 year old Jeanette McCausland made her first courtroom appearance since the bodies of her two young Children were discovered in a Wellesley home on Friday. McCausland will be returned to Massachusetts soon, where she'll be charged for the murders of seven year old Ella and six year old Kai McCausland. There's more going on to this case than we know. Boston attorney Elise Hershon tells me it's likely that as investigators try to unravel what happened to the Children, they're focused on what was happening in Jeanette McCausland's life. A report she and her husband were locked in a contentious divorce. Clearly something very there's something very wrong here that led to the death of these two Children. It's very sad. It's very tragic. Um, and state of mind is going to be important. It's important in any criminal case. According to Vermont police, Jeanette McCausland fled from Wellesley to the Bennington home of her relative, where she told an aunt that she killed her two Children and then unsuccessfully tried to take her own life. The case is similar to the case of Lindsay Clancy, the Duxbury mom charged with killing her three young Children before trying to kill herself. It's expected Clancy's postpartum psychosis diagnosis will be raised in her defense at her upcoming trial. In McCausland's case, attorney Hershon expects mental health will also be a major focus. Generally speaking, someone can be overcome by a depressive state without having it come from the birth of their Children, right? It could come from a very contentious divorce. It could come from some sort of abuse. It could come from any type of traumatic event that may be resulted in PTSD or depression, but clearly something that put somebody in crisis. Jeanette McCausland will be returned to Massachusetts at some point over the next two weeks. That's when we expect she will be charged with two counts of murder for the deaths of her two young Children. I'm Bob Ward for your local station. Boston 25. Such a tragedy, Bob. Thank you very much. By the way, if you or someone you know is struggling, the suicide lifeline is 988. You can call or text that number 24 7 and be connected with somebody you can speak with.