Elderly man confesses to killing his daughter and wife with an ax to avoid homelessness after losing his job, police say

Colorado police said that an 81-year-old man confessed to murdering his adult daughter and his wife with an ax after losing his job in order to avoid them becoming homeless.

The Englewood Police Department responded to a call on Saturday at about 6 p.m. from Reginald Maclaren, an 81-year-old man, to his apartment in Englewood, a suburb of Denver.

Maclaren allegedly told police that someone had killed his daughter and wife with a hammer and that he knew who had committed the crime.

When they arrived at the residence, they found the two bodies inside of garbage bins in the living room of the apartment. One was dismembered while the other was intact, but both were dead.

Maclaren allegedly confessed to police that he had recently lost his job, was running out of money, and began plotting to murder his family. He reportedly hacked both his daughter and his wife to death on Saturday morning as they sat on a couch watching their television.

He allegedly said that his work involved interacting with homeless people and made him understand "what a miserable life that was."

The affidavit said that Maclaren told police he was unable to move the garbage bins out of the apartment because they were too heavy.

Englewood police division chief Tracy Jones said Tuesday that police were shocked by what they saw inside the man's apartment.

"Some of our detectives have been detectives for 20 years, and they described this as one of the most gruesome crime scenes that they've ever been a part of," Jones said. "Our officers who responded, obviously we're taking their mental health into consideration, and we're getting them all the help and resources that they need."

The affidavit said that Maclaren told police he did not regret killing his family because he "knows they are in a better place."

Maclaren was booked into the Arapahoe County Jail on charges of first-degree murder.

Here's a local news report about the incident:

81-year-old man accused of killing wife, daughter with axwww.youtube.com

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