Naman Shrestha
The episode titled ‘My Son Is Coming to Kill Me’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘Evil Lives Here: My Child the Killer’ delves deep into the shocking and tragic killing of a doting and devoted 59-year-old mother and wife named Elizabeth Bjorlow in her Castle Rock, Colorado, home. The witness statements and security footage of a neighbor revealed a dark familial conflict that led the detectives to an unlikely perpetrator. Many of Elizabeth’s loved ones and officials who played a role in solving the case feature in the documentary, providing an in-depth account of the entire tragedy.
Elizabeth Bjorlow Was Found Dead Inside Her Colorado Home Post a Fire
On December 20, 1962, in San Antonio, Texas, Rachel T. Espinoza and Dimas Espinoza welcomed their little bundle of joy, Elizabeth Anne, into the world. Accompanied by her siblings, Randall T. Espinoza, Lynda Ann Idle, and John Thomas Espinoza, she was raised in a loving and supportive household. Elizabeth grew into a kindhearted individual who greeted everyone with warmth and compassion. Always willing to lend a hand, her endearing personality naturally drew people toward her. Motivated by her desire to help others and make a difference in people’s lives, she decided to become a nurse.
To follow her dreams and build a future, Elizabeth packed her bags and moved to Colorado sometime in 1995. By enrolling in a nursing school, she began working towards her goal with hard work and determination. There, her paths crossed with Bryan Bjorlow. As they got to talking, they bonded over their shared passion for caring for others. A constant source of encouragement for one another, they stood side by side through every challenge and milestone. Ultimately, the pair tied the knot on May 15, 1999, when Elizabeth was 36-years-old. As a unit, Elizabeth and Bryan were like two peas in a pod, dedicated to raising Sarah Henniger, Cary Buchanan, Matthew Harless Buchanan, and Raquel Baird. The two were also devoted dog parents and enjoyed jamming to music and cooking together.
Likely by the 2020s, Elizabeth had also taken up gardening as a hobby. She experimented in the kitchen regularly, creating flavorful recipes from ingredients harvested on their home farm. She even volunteered to take care of her brother-in-law, Chris Bjorlow, full-time, which proved transformative and led to her establishing her in-home acute care nursing business. Drawing on her extensive healthcare experience and strong organizational skills, she took great pride in her duties as a caregiver. Unfortunately, a tragedy struck the Bjorlow household in 2022 in the form of a deadly house fire, which took the life of the doting wife, mother and grandmother. Around 2:34 pm on April 26, 2022, authorities received a call regarding a house fire in the Terrain neighborhood of Castle Rock, Colorado.
When they reached the residence in Dove Valley Place, the officials observed a cloud of smoke billowing from the roof, along with the incessant barking of the dogs. They put the fire out around 2:48 pm and entered the property to find a woman dead with multiple stab wounds on her face, hands, and feet. She was lying on the kitchen floor, and her clothing was badly burned. They also rescued Christopher from his room. He was alive but had sustained injuries, so they rushed him to a hospital. The woman was soon identified as 59-year-old Elizabeth Bjorlow. According to police records, the fire started in the bedroom of Elizabeth’s son, Matthew Harless Buchanan, but he wasn’t home. The police suspected foul play and began an investigation into her death. Her potential cause of death was determined to be from the multiple stab wounds.
Elizabeth Bjorlow’s Killer Fled to Florida to Escape Justice
As part of the investigation, the authorities reviewed the surveillance footage captured by a neighbor’s doorbell security camera. Upon going through the recording of the time the fire broke out at Elizabeth Bjorlow’s home, they noticed a white Dodge minivan with a Colorado temporary license plate fleeing the scene. The detectives then talked with her husband, Bryan Bjorlow, and asked him if he recognized the vehicle. He told the investigators that it belonged to Elizabeth’s son, Matthew Buchanan, who had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had gotten involved in an altercation with Elizabeth the day prior to her murder. At the time, he was 32 years old and had been living with his mother for 16 years. The investigators then dug deeper into his past and found out that Elizabeth filed an application for a restraining order against Matthew on July 21, 2021.
As per the order, she claimed that he threatened to take her job, her house, and her dignity. Her son was given the responsibility of taking care of Christopher Bjorlow, but when she returned home on July 21, she found the door unlocked and scolded him for being careless. It enraged Matthew, after which he followed her through the house and tried to choke her. She also wrote that he had also threatened other members of the family, including her husband, her other son, and her daughter. In light of the revelations, the police named Matthew a person of interest, and an arrest warrant was issued against him as multiple witnesses also claimed to have seen him leave the scene in his minivan. It turned out that Matthew fled the state and drove to Florida after killing his mother.
The police received a tip around 3 am on May 3, 2022, that he was in the Florida Keys at the time. They soon located him and his minivan at the 7-Eleven store, where he was with a 50-year-old woman from Daytona Beach in his van. He was arrested without incident and extradited to Colorado and booked into the Douglas County jail, where he was facing a trial for the murder of his mother, Elizabeth Bjorlow. As per investigative reports, Matthew stabbed his mother to death, set fire to the house, and left his uncle and dogs inside the burning home. He was held on suspicion of multiple charges, including first-degree murder after deliberation, first-degree murder, three counts of first-degree arson, tampering with physical evidence, tampering with a deceased body, two counts of cruelty to animals, and criminal mischief.
Matthew Buchanan is Currently Incarcerated at a Colorado Prison
About two years later, on May 6, 2024, Matthew Buchanan pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, criminal attempt to commit murder in the first-degree, and criminal attempt to commit aggravated cruelty to animals in connection with Elizabeth Bjorlow’s murder in April 2022. As for his other charges, they were dismissed as part of the plea deal. More than two months later, on July 24, 2024, the convict was sentenced to 24 years for the attempted murder charge and 24 years for the second-degree murder charge. Both sentences were ordered to be served consecutively, totaling up to 48 years in prison. In addition, he also received an 18-month sentence, which was ordered to be served concurrently. As of today, 36-year-old Matthew Buchanan is serving his sentence at Bent County Correctional Facility in Las Animas, Colorado, with his parole eligibility date scheduled for August 2051.
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