A 83-year-old Colorado man was convicted this week of killing and dismembering his wife and adult daughter because he’d lost his job and didn’t want them to be homeless.

A jury in Arapahoe County found Reginald L. Maclaren guilty of two counts of murder, two counts of tampering with a body, and false reporting, according to the 18th District Attorney’s Office.

Englewood Police said Maclaren called police at about 6 p.m. on March 25, 2023, telling them that his wife and daughter “had been murdered,” as CrimeOnline reported. Officer sarrived and found the two victims, 70-year-old Bethany Maclaren and 35-year-old Ruth Jennifer Maclaren — inside large trashcans on the living room floor.

“Both victims had substantial injuries and showed no signs of life,” the department said.

Investigators determined that both victims were killed with an ax and that one had been dismembered with a saw.

Maclaren was arrested for murder and reportedly confessed, telling investigators he had recently lost a job where he worked with people who are homeless. He said because of the job loss, he wouldn’t be able to pay the rent, so he killed his wife and daughter to keep them from being homeless.

Maclaren said he planned the murders, recently buying the trashcans, ax, and saw he “fully intended” to use. He said he hit his wife and daughter in the head with the ax Saturday morning, then struck them two more times before putting their bodies in the trashcans, which he said he could not lift when he tried to get them out of the apartment.

The affidavit says that Maclaren told detectives had no regrets because he “knows they are in a better place.”

Chief Deputy District Atorney Jake Adkins said that the murders were a betrayal and a “senseless ambush that he planned for weeks.”

“He violently murdered his wife and daughter and planned to dispose of their bodies like trash,” Adkins said.

“It is difficult to imagine the fear and confusion that these two women endured in their final moments.”  Senior Deputy DA Corrie Caler said. “Ruth and Bethany Maclaren lives’ were needlessly cut short, and we are thankful for the jury in returning a just verdict.”

Sentencing is scheduled for July 10. Maclaren’s first degree murder convictions carry a mandatory life sentence without parole.

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[Featured image: Reginald Maclaren/Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office]