Kevin Bui, 20, pleaded guilty to a 2020 arson that killed five people, including a toddler and a baby, and will be sentenced to 60 years in prison. Bui and two other accomplices targeted the wrong house in retaliation for a stolen phone, resulting in a tragic loss of innocent lives.
Kevin Bui, now 20, pleaded guilty to a 2020 arson that killed five people, including a toddler and a baby, and will be sentenced to 60 years in prison.
Bui, along with Gavin Seymour and Dillon Siebert, planned the arson for weeks, using the "Find My iPhone" app to track the location of Bui's stolen phone to the area of the victims' home. However, they mistakenly targeted the wrong house.
The blaze killed Djibril "Jibby" Diol, his wife Adja, and their 22-month-old daughter, Khadija, as well as Diol's sister, Hassan, and her 6-month-old daughter, Hawa Beye. Three other victims survived by jumping from the second-floor window, but suffered injuries.
Bui, who was 16 at the time, was the last of the three friends to plead guilty to the quintuple murder. As part of the plea deal, Bui will spend 60 years in prison in exchange for prosecutors dropping 60 criminal charges.
Siebert pleaded guilty first and was sentenced to three years in a juvenile detention center plus seven more years in state prison. Seymour pleaded guilty earlier this year and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
A neighbor's camera captured surveillance footage of the suspects wearing hockey masks. The video showed them breaking into the home, pouring gasoline on the living room walls, and lighting the accelerant in a "coordinated" and "planned attack."
Prosecutors presented a probable cause affidavit detailing texts and social media messages between the suspects, including Bui's Snapchat message: "#possiblyruinourfuturesandburnhishousedown."
During the arson, a Denver police officer saw a crowd outside the burning home and tried to break in by kicking down the front door but was forced away due to intense heat. He witnessed "a small human body approximately three feet inside the front door" but was unable to reach the victim.
Firefighters made Herculean efforts to rescue anyone in the house, but it was too late. Five members of the family perished in the fire, leaving behind a community devastated by their senseless deaths.
Bui's sentencing is scheduled for July 2. The tragedy serves as a sobering reminder of the devastating consequences of senseless violence and the importance of holding perpetrators accountable for their actions.
