Colorado jury finds Reginald MacLaren guilty of murdering wife and daughter

A jury in Colorado found Reginald MacLaren guilty on two counts of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence in the deaths of his wife and daughter. Bethany MacLaren, 70, and her daughter, Ruth MacLaren, 35, were found dead on March 25, 2023, in the family's home, an Englewood apartment.

MacLaren, 83, was also convicted of false reporting after calling the police to say the women had been murdered and he believed he knew who killed them. 

Prosecutors with the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office said Reginald MacLaren killed his wife and daughter with an axe after he said he lost his job and worried that they would soon be homeless without money. The bodies were found partially dismembered in trash bins in the apartment in the 900 block of Englewood Parkway. 

MacLaren is scheduled to be sentenced to mandatory life in prison without parole. That hearing is scheduled for July 10.