Englewood Police Chief Tracy Jones described the scene as one of the most gruesome his detectives have ever worked on.
An 81-year-old Colorado man was arrested after he allegedly confessed to the brutal murders of his 70-year-old wife and adult daughter, police said.
Englewood Police received a call from 81-year-old Reginald Maclaren on Saturday evening to report that his wife and adult daughter had been murdered, according to a press release from police. Police say on the phone call, Maclaren also told them that he knew the suspect and the suspect had used a hammer.
When police arrived they found the two victims, Bethany Maclaren, 70, and Ruth Jennifer Maclaren, 35, deceased inside large trash cans in the living room/kitchen area, the Mercury News reported.
Police said the victims were killed with an axe and one was dismembered by a saw. Englewood Police Chief Tracy Jones described the scene as one of the most gruesome his detectives have ever worked on.
Detectives working the case were able to collect enough evidence to establish probable cause to arrest Maclaren on murder charges, Jones said.
According to an arrest affidavit, Maclaren confessed to the murders and allegedly told police that he doesn’t regret the killings because he lost his job and didn’t want his family to become homeless, according to 9 News.
He allegedly told detectives he knew “what a miserable life that was" and that he "knows they are in a better place," 9 News reported.
Maclaren was charged with first-degree murder and is currently being held without bail in the Arapahoe County Jail, according to jail records.
