The legal battle surrounding Janette MacAusland has entered a new and closely watched phase after her defense attorney asked a Mᴀssachusetts court to dismiss the murder case against her, arguing that the prosecution has not yet provided enough information to move the case forward. The request came during a September 10 hearing in Dedham District Court, nearly five months after MacAusland’s two children, 7-year-old Kai and 6-year-old Ella, were found ᴅᴇᴀᴅ at the family’s Wellesley home. MacAusland, 49, faces two first-degree murder charges and has pleaded not guilty. Her attorney, Joseph Krowski Jr., argued that his client should either be released on bail or have the charges dismissed while prosecutors continue waiting for the official findings from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The judge rejected both requests and ordered MacAusland to remain held without bail.

The dispute is now centered partly on a procedural problem that has kept the case from moving into its next stage. Prosecutors told the court that the medical examiner has not yet determined the official cause and manner of the children’s deaths. According to reports from the hearing, that information is considered necessary before prosecutors can proceed with a probable-cause hearing and continue the grand-jury process. A grand jury had already been convened in the case, but prosecutors said it would need to be reconvened after the medical examiner’s findings become available. That delay has become one of the central arguments raised by the defense. Krowski maintained that MacAusland should not remain incarcerated indefinitely while the government waits for a forensic determination.

The circumstances surrounding the original investigation remain part of the prosecution’s case. According to police records and court reporting, MacAusland allegedly went to her aunt’s home in Bennington, Vermont, after the children’s deaths. Authorities were contacted after she arrived with an injury to her neck, and investigators later went to the Wellesley residence, where the two children were found. Prosecutors have described statements MacAusland allegedly made after arriving in Vermont as part of the evidence in the case. Those allegations have not been tested at trial, and MacAusland remains legally presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Another important element is the family’s circumstances before the deaths. Court records cited by news organizations indicate that MacAusland and her husband, Samuel MacAusland, were involved in divorce and custody proceedings. Her husband filed for divorce in October 2025, and the family was involved in a dispute concerning custody and the home. A guardian was appointed to make recommendations concerning custody shortly before the children died, according to reporting on the case. These details provide important context for understanding the legal background surrounding the family, although they do not by themselves establish a motive or explain what occurred inside the home.

MacAusland’s defense has also raised a broader question about mental illness and criminal prosecution. Krowski has said his client has a history of mental illness and has urged prosecutors to reconsider how the case is being handled. He has also stressed that MacAusland’s situation should not simply be treated as another version of the Lindsay Clancy case. His comments came shortly after Clancy’s murder trial ended in a mistrial when jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict concerning criminal responsibility.

For now, however, the court has not dismissed the charges. MacAusland remains in custody without bail, while prosecutors await the medical examiner’s findings. The next stage of the case is therefore likely to depend heavily on when those findings become available and how prosecutors proceed afterward. The case remains unresolved, and the allegations against MacAusland have not been adjudicated at trial.

Source: https://nypost.com/2026/09/10/us-news/janette-macauslands-attorney-requests-child-murder-case-be-dismissed/?utm_campaign=nypost&utm_medium=referral