Kevin Bui pleads guilty after arson of a Denver home killed five people

The teenager tracked his stolen iPhone to a Denver neighborhood where he believed the device pinged and, in revenge, set fire to the house where he suspected his phone was located.

He made the wrong decision.

The 2020 fire, which police described as a coordinated arson attack, killed five Senegalese family members, including two babies. On Friday, Kevin Huy Bui, now 20, pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree murder in connection with the family’s deaths.

Bui was 16 when he was robbed and used the “Find my iPhone” app to falsely track his stolen phone to the wrong home, officials said. Bui and two juvenile co-defendants were all later charged as adults in the case, court records show.

As part of a plea deal, Bui faces up to 60 years in prison when he is convicted this summer for his role in the five-fold murder.

According to a Denver Police arrest warrant, the fatal fire occurred on August 5, 2020, and killed Djibril Diol, 29, and Adja Diol, 23, and their 22-month-old daughter Khadija Diol. Hassan Diol, a 25-year-old mother, and her 7-month-old daughter Hawa Beye also died.

Three other people were able to escape from the house through a rear upstairs window. Some of them suffered broken bones, court documents show.

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The co-defendants also pleaded guilty to second-degree murder

According to records, Bui was the last of three friends to confess in the fatal arson attack.

Dillon Siebert, 18, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2022 and was sentenced to three years in a juvenile detention center followed by seven years in a state prison, according to Colorado Department of Corrections online records. Siebert, who was 14 at the time of the arson, remained jailed Tuesday and is expected to be paroled in February 2029.

A third co-defendant in the case, Gavin Seymour, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in January and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. He was 16 when the crime occurred and also remained incarcerated Tuesday, records show. He is expected to be eligible for parole in November 2050.

Police kicked down the front door but were unable to enter due to the extreme heat

According to the 17-page arrest warrant, a police officer in the Green Valley Ranch neighborhood was patrolling the area on the day of the fire when he discovered the family’s burning home at around 2:40 a.m.

After alerting the fire department, the officer attempted to enter the house through the garage, but was unable to do so due to the heat and flames.

He then rushed to the front door, where “someone unsuccessfully attempted to unlock the door using the keypad. He then kicked the front door in, but again was unable to get in due to the extreme heat.

The arriving firefighters managed to rescue one victim from the front door area, and the bodies of the other four victims were recovered from the front area of the house, the arrest warrant continues.

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Surveillance from the neighboring house showed trio wearing masks and hoodies

Surveillance video provided by a neighbor showed three masked suspects wearing dark hoodies outside the home at 2:26 a.m., according to the warrant. The footage also showed at least one of the suspects holding what appeared to be a gas can.

Court records also show that the suspects entered the home in what police called a “coordinated attack,” set fire to the back of the house using gasoline as an accelerant, and then fled.

Investigators later obtained a search warrant after asking Google who searched the home’s address before the fire and ultimately identified Bui, Siebert and Seymour as suspects. The warrant goes on to say that investigators have reviewed conversations between the trio on social media, including one on July 15, 2020 in which Bui told his friends that he was robbed and another in which he wrote: ” They will get theirs.”

On August 1, 2020, the warrant states, Bui sent Seymour this message via Snapchat: “#possiblyruinourfutureandburndownhishouse.”

Bui remained jailed Tuesday without bail at the detention center in downtown Denver, online records show.

He is scheduled to be sentenced in Denver County District Court on July 2.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.

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