DENVER — The man accused of killing his mother at a home in Castle Rock in late April, who was arrested earlier this month in Florida, was extradited back to Douglas County this week to face potential charges.
Matthew Buchanan, 32, arrived back in Colorado on Thursday night after his extradition from Monroe County, Florida, where he was arrested on May 3.
According to Taylor Temby, a spokesperson for the Castle Rock Police Department, the department submitted the following potential charges to the district attorney’s office to consider: first-degree murder after deliberation; attempted first-degree murder; three counts of first-degree arson; tampering with a deceased body; criminal mischief; tampering with physical evidence; and two counts of animal cruelty.
All of the charges are felonies. The 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office will decide which formal charges Buchanan will face.
On April 26, there was a house fire in the Terrain neighborhood of Castle Rock. After it was extinguished, investigators found the body of Buchanan’s mother, 59-year-old Elizabeth Bjorlow. Court records showed Bjorlow had been granted a permanent protection order against Buchanan.
A judge signed a warrant for Buchanan’s arrest after Bjorlow’s body was found. He was found in Plantation Key, Florida, at a gas station around 3 a.m. on May 3, along with a 50-year-old Daytona Beach woman who was released.
Court records show a judge set a no-bond hold in the case on Friday. A hearing is scheduled for June 8.