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Reginald MacLaren: Colorado man, 81, dismembers his wife and daughter with an ax, says 'they are in a better place'

Reginald MacLaren, 81, told the emergency dispatcher that 'he believed he knew the suspect and that the suspect had used a hammer' to murder them

ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO: A Colorado man was arrested for allegedly killing his wife and daughter and dismembering them with an ax. Reginald MacLaren, 81, told police that did not regret the brutal murder as he knew his slain wife and daughter were "in a better place".

On Saturday evening, the accused was arrested in connection to the slayings of Bethany MacLaren, 70, and Ruth Jennifer MacLaren, 35. He has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, according to authorities, reported Law and Crime.

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The bodies of victims were found in large trashcans

On March 25, officers of the Englewood Police Department received a call from a man reporting his wife and daughter were killed. Responding to the scene informed by the man later identified as MacLaren, officers arrived at the residence. The emergency dispatcher was told by the 81-year-old man that "he believed he knew the suspect and that the suspect had used a hammer" to murder them. Later, first responders who arrived at the scene found the "two victims inside large trashcans that were on the floor of the living room/kitchen area." Both mother and daughter seemingly sustained "substantial injuries" and were declared dead at the scene.

A joint investigation was conducted by the Arapahoe County Coroner's Office, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation Crime Scene Unit, and EPD homicide detectives. During the murder probe, investigators determined that the victims were murdered using an ax and that "one victim was dismembered with a saw." According to an affidavit, "large amounts of blood throughout the apartment" and near the trashcans, a Stanley brand hand saw was found by the detectives. Three hours after MacLaren's 911 call, he admitted to murdering his daughter and wife. Explaining the motive behind the killings, he said he had to murder them to prevent the family from becoming homeless as he was recently fired from his job and he had no money. "Approximately 10 days ago, [MacLaren] began planning to kill his family so they would not be homeless. He bought an ax, two ‘Totter’ style trash cans, and a hand saw from Home Depot. He fully intended to use these items in committing the murders," the affidavit stated.

'One of the most gruesome crime scenes'

According to the affidavit, the accused gave details about the slayings. "This morning (3/25/23) at approximately 11 am, his wife and daughter were sitting on the couch. He struck his wife in the head with the ax, immediately knocking her unconscious. He then struck his daughter in the head with the ax, knocking her unconscious. He struck each victim in the head with the ax two more times. He knew he had killed them," stated the affidavit, according to Law and Crime.

He then told the authorities as the bodies of the victims would not fit into the garbage cans that were newly purchased. He "used the saw he had purchased to dismember the victims’ arms and legs off” before putting their remains in the cans." MacLaren then added that he was not able to shift the bodies as he was not strong enough to move the cans. In the affidavit, police wrote, "[MacLaren] does not regret killing his family as he ‘knows they are in a better place.' "

MacLaren is currently held in the Arapahoe County Jail. Tracey Jones, Englewood Police Division Chief said that some of the case investigators who have been in the profession for more than 20 years shared that inside the home of MacLaren where the double-murder took place, they found it to be "one of the most gruesome crime scenes that they’d ever been a part of."