ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — An 83-year-old man was convicted Friday on all counts in the 2023 murders of his wife and daughter with an ax.
An Arapahoe County jury found Reginald Maclaren guilty of the following charges in the deaths of 70-year-old Bethany Maclaren and 35-year-old Ruth Jennifer Maclaren:
- Two counts of first-degree murder after deliberation
- Two counts of tampering with a deceased body
- False reporting
On March 26, 2023, Maclaren called 911 and said his wife and daughter had been murdered.
When officers arrived at their apartment at 901 Englewood Pkwy., they found the bodies of the two victims inside large trash cans in the living room/kitchen area of the apartment, according to Englewood Police.
Anne Hines is the executive director of the Colorado Nepal Alliance and has been working with the victims' family in India for the past year.
Hines said the defense argued that the murder did not add up, pointing to the fact Maclaren was the one who called 911 and stayed at the scene until police came. But she said the evidence presented by the prosecution was insurmountable.
According to an arrest affidavit from the Englewood Police Department, Maclaren confessed to a detective after the crime. He described striking his wife and daughter in their heads with an ax as they sat on the couch Saturday morning. He said both were knocked unconscious and that he struck each of them two more times and then placed their bodies in the trash cans. He said he was unable to lift the cans to move them outside the apartment, according to the affidavit.
Maclaren told police he had recently purchased the trash cans, ax and a saw, and he said he "fully intended" to use those items to kill his family. He also told police that he "does not regret" killing his family because he "knows they are in a better place," the affidavit says.
"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," Englewood Police division chief Tracy Jones said at the time. "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 jury deliberated for two hours before handing down the guilty verdict. While the evidence was clear, Hines said the motive is still unclear.
Maclaren originally told police he had recently been terminated from his job and he frequently dealt with people who were experiencing homelessness. He said he knew "what a miserable life that was" and didn't want his family to go through that, the affidavit says. He told investigators he had no money to pay rent and began planning to kill his family.
However, Hines says both sides presented evidence suggesting the family was not destitute.
"I think everyone was left trying to figure out why. Why exactly did he feel that he needed to do this?" Hines said. "I thought maybe having him convicted might make me feel better. But I don't. Ruth and Bethany are still deceased."
In March 2023, the Arapahoe County Coroner's Office contacted the Colorado Nepal Alliance to help them find Bethany and Ruth's family. Hines and her colleague Sangeeta Shrotriya found their relatives in India and have been in contact with them over the past year.
With no next of kin in the U.S., Hines and Shrotriya organized their funeral last year and are still waiting on headstones. Hines hopes they come in time for the family in India, who plan on visiting this summer. Now, Hines wants to make sure the victims are remembered for who they were, not how they died.
Bethany, whose Indian name is Pavitra Rana, was in the Indian Army as a nurse before she moved to the U.S. with Maclaren. In a letter sent to Hines by one of Bethany's close friends, the friend said they both grew up in Kalimpong, "a small hill town in eastern India... She liked to do embroidery and tatting laces in her free time. She was warm and friendly, but reserved socially."
Ruth had cerebral palsy and lived with her parents as an adult because she needed assistance due to her disability. She had aspirations of becoming an attorney and had just begun schooling before she died.
"Ruth was described as being just the kindest soul, that she had a lot of childlike wonder," Hines said.
Jennifer Campbell-Hicks contributed to this report.
> Watch 9NEWS original shows, live Colorado news and weather updates, daily forecasts, and sports coverage for free on the 9NEWS+ app on Roku and Fire TV.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Investigations & Crime
9NEWS+ has multiple live daily shows including 9NEWS Mornings, Next with Kyle Clark and The Culture Report, an original streaming program. 9NEWS+ is where you can watch live breaking news, weather updates and press conferences. You can also replay recent newscasts and find videos on demand of our top stories, local politics, investigations and Colorado specific features.
To download 9NEWS+ on Roku search for KUSA.
To download 9NEWS+ on Fire TV search for 9NEWS.