ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — A man in Englewood, Colorado told investigators that he planned his family’s murder after he lost his job, according to an arrest affidavit.
In a news release, Englewood Police Department said on Saturday just after 6 p.m., they received a call from Reginald Maclaren, 81, who said his wife and daughter were murdered. Maclaren said that he knew the suspect and that they had a hammer.
Officers went to his apartment near Santa Fe Drive and West Hampden Avenue in Englewood, Colorado. According to KUSA, officers found Maclaren. They also found two bodies inside large trash cans in the living room and kitchen area.
Investigators determined that both victims were killed with an ax and one of them was dismembered with a saw, police say.
In an arrest affidavit obtained by KUSA, Maclaren told police he recently had been fired from his job and dealt with people who were homeless. He didn’t want his family to go through that. Maclaren said he didn’t have any money to pay the rent and started to plan the murders.
Maclaren told police that he hit his wife and daughter in their heads with an ax when they were on the couch Saturday morning. Both were unconscious so he hit them a couple more times and then put them in the trash cans, according to the news outlet. He was unable to move the cans outside.
Maclaren told police he bought the trash cans, an ax, and a saw, with the intention to kill his family.
In a news conference Tuesday, according to the Denver Post, Division Chief Tracy Jones said Maclaren has been cooperative with police.
The victims have been identified as Bethany Maclaren, 70, and Ruth Jennifer Maclaren, 35, according to the arrest affidavit obtained by the newspaper.
Reginald Maclaren is facing first-degree murder charges, according to KUSA.
