The 18th Judicial District Attorney’s office Monday filed murder charges against an 81-year-old Englewood man in connection with the killing his wife and adult daughter with an ax. The man, Reginald Maclaren, reportedly told police he killed them because the family faced homelessness after he lost his job. Prosecutors filed two charges of first-degree murder, two charges of tampering with a dead body and one charge of making a false report.
Maclaren told police he had recently lost his job and run out of money, according to his arrest affidavit. He said he killed his wife and daughter — Bethany Maclaren, 70, and Ruth Jennifer Maclaren, 35 — so they would not have to face eviction and homelessness. He told investigators he often dealt with the homeless population and knew it was a miserable life.
Maclaren allegedly first reported to police he believed someone the family knew killed his wife and daughter with a hammer. Officers who responded found two-brand new trash cans in the family apartment’s living room, each of which had a body inside, according to the arrest affidavit. They also found an ax in a closet and a hand saw near the garbage cans.
Maclaren reportedly told police he dismembered the bodies so they would fit in the trash cans, but he could not lift them to move them outside.
He’s being held without bond. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for July 19.
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