An 81-year-old man in Englewood has been arrested on suspicion of killing his wife and daughter with an ax after he called police and reported they had been murdered, police said.

About 6 p.m. Saturday, Reginald Maclaren called police and said that his wife and daughter had been “murdered,” that he knew the suspect and the suspect had used a hammer, according to an Englewood Police Department news release.

Officers responded to 901 Englewood Parkway and found Maclaren inside the residence. Officers also found “two victims inside large trash cans” in the living room/kitchen area, the release said. “Both victims had substantial injuries and showed no signs of life.”

Englewood detectives, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office responded to the grisly scene and a homicide investigation ensued.

“During the course of this investigation, it was determined that the victims were both killed with an ax,” police said. One victim was dismembered with a saw.

Division Chief Tracy Jones, in an afternoon news conference Tuesday, described Maclaren as being cooperative with investigators. On Saturday Maclaren was taken to a hospital, for a pre-existing medical condition, before being arrested.

Jones also described Maclaren as “distraught” during the ongoing investigation.

“We are trying to determine why he did what he did,” Jones said. “He did confess.”

The victims were identified in an arrest affidavit as Bethany Maclaren, 70, and Ruth Jennifer Maclaren, 35.

According to the affidavit, Reginald Maclaren told investigators that he recently lost a job at which he worked with people who are homeless. Maclaren said the job loss would leave him unable to pay the rent, so he planned and carried out the killings so his family would not have to experience homelessness, according to the affidavit.

Maclaren is being held without bond. An advisement hearing is scheduled this week in Arapahoe County District Court.

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