Chilling Police Audio Reveals Moment Officers Found Two Kids Dead in Massachusetts Home as Mom Admits to Killing Them

A Massachusetts mother, Janette MacAusland, admitted to strangling her two children to death and then trying to take her own life amid a custody dispute with her ex-husband. Police dispatch audio later revealed the chilling moments when officers realized it was too late to save the children.

The children's body were discovered during a welfare check at MacAusland’s home in Wellesley. While conducting the welfare check, an officer reported seeing “blood spatter everywhere,” and noted that the back door of the home was “unsecured.”

Police were alerted after MacAusland appeared at her aunt’s home about 140 miles away in Vermont and said, “I strangled them, and then I tried to kill myself.” Authorities also observed a visible slash across her throat, which they said supported her statement.

Wellesley Police Department officers responded to the home and found Ella, 7, and Kai, 6, dead. According to the Boston Globe, EMS were initially requested, but later cancelled by officers on the scene. The dispatcher can be heard saying, “It’s a police matter.”

Shortly after, the children's father, Samuel MacAusland, called the police after learning what had happened. In the recording, the dispatcher can be heard telling the lead officer, “The father is on the phone now.”

The dispatcher added that the father was “uncontrollable on the phone. Really needs to know what’s going on.” According to the police report, it remains unclear exactly how long the children had been dead before their bodies were found.

Authorities said the aunt’s home in Vermont is about 140 miles away from Wellesley and the drive takes about 3 hours. MacAusland was found knocking at the window of her aunt, Sanda Mattison's, home.

Mattison told authorities that MacAusland was in a “hysterical” state and admitted to strangling her children before attempting to take her own life. She said MacAusland told her she thought “the three of us would go to God together, but it didn’t work.”

A police report obtained by The Boston Globe said, “Mattison did not recognize Janette at first, only seeing that a female was at her window who had a laceration to her neck. Mattison finally recognized her niece and brought her into the home.”

Janette MacAusland and Samuel MacAusland had been involved in a custody dispute following a divorce filing. The pair filed a joint motion requesting a third party to make recommendations. On April 21, 2026, just three days before the killings, a guardian was appointed in the case.