Current:Home > StocksHe traced his stolen iPhone to the wrong home and set it on fire killing 5. Now, he faces prison. -ProfitLogic
He traced his stolen iPhone to the wrong home and set it on fire killing 5. Now, he faces prison.
View
Date:2025-04-16 10:53:32
The teenager traced his stolen iPhone to a Denver neighborhood where he believed the device pinged and, in an act of revenge, set fire to the house where he thought his phone was located.
He hit the wrong home.
In what police have called a coordinated arson attack, the 2020 fire killed five Senegalese family members, including two babies. On Friday, Kevin Huy Bui, now 20, pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree murder in connection to the family's deaths.
Bui was 16 years old when he was robbed and used the "Find my iPhone" app to mistakenly track his stolen phone to the wrong home, officials said. Bui, along with two teenage co-defendants, were all later prosecuted as adults in the case, court papers show.
Under a plea deal, Bui faces up to 60 years in prison when he is sentenced this summer for his role in the quintuple homicide.
According to an arrest warrant filed by the Denver Police Department, the fatal fire took place Aug. 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 escaped the home through an upstairs back window, with some suffering broken bones, court documents show.
Suspected serial killer?Oregon man charged in the deaths of 3 women may be linked to more killings
Co-defendants also pleaded guilty to second-degree murder charges
Bui was the last of a trio of friends to enter a plea in the fatal arson fire, records show.
Dillon Siebert, 18, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2022 and was sentenced to three years in a juvenile facility followed by seven years in a state prison, Colorado Department of Corrections online records show. Siebert, age 14 when the arson occurred, remained incarcerated Tuesday, with an estimated parole release date of 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 took place, and also remained incarcerated Tuesday, records showed, with an estimated parole release date of November 2050.
Police kicked in front door but could not enter due to extreme heat
According to the 17-page arrest warrant, on the day of the fire, a police officer in the city's Green Valley Ranch neighborhood was patrolling the area around 2:40 a.m. when he spotted the family's home ablaze.
After alerting firefighters, the officer attempted to enter the home through the garage but could not due to the heat and flames.
He then rushed to the front door where "someone was attempting to unlock the door with the keypad but was unsuccessful. He then kicked the front door in but again could not enter due to the extreme heat.
Arriving fire crews managed to pull one victim from the area of the front door, and the other four victims' bodies were recovered from the front area of the house, the warrant continues.
Black bear found with all paws cut off:Paws stolen after in animal hit by vehicle in Northern California
Surveillance from neighboring home showed trio wearing masks, 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 suspect holding what appears to be a gasoline can.
Court papers also reveal, in what police called "a coordinated attack," the suspects entered the home and used gasoline as an accelerant to set fire to the rear of the home, then fled.
Detectives later obtained a search warrant after asking Google who had searched the home’s address prior to the fire and eventually identified Bui, Siebert and Seymour as suspects. The warrant goes onto say that detectives reviewed conversations between the trio on social media including one on July 15, 2020, where Bui told his friends he was robbed and another where he wrote "they gonna get theirs."
On Aug. 1, 2020, the warrant reads, Bui sent Seymour this message on Snapchat: "#possiblyruinourfuturesandburnhishousedown."
Bui remained incarcerated Tuesday in Denver's downtown detention center without bond, online records show.
He is slated 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.
veryGood! (197)
Related
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- The best games of 2022 so far, picked by the NPR staff
- How to talk to kids about radicalization and the signs of it
- Remains of missing Australian man found in crocodiles: A tragic, tragic ending
- Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
- Kim and Khloe Kardashian Share Rare Photos With Beautifully Brave Brother Rob Kardashian
- 20 Amazon Products To Use Instead Of Popping That Annoying Pimple
- The Long And Winding Journey Of The James Webb Space Telescope
- Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace
- Serbia school shooting leaves 8 students and a guard dead as teen student held as suspect
Ranking
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- Why Bachelor Nation's Andi Dorfman Says Freezing Her Eggs Kept Her From Settling
- Crowds gather ahead of coronation of King Charles III
- Robinhood cuts nearly a quarter of its staff as the pandemic darling loses its shine
- Who's hosting 'Saturday Night Live' tonight? Musical guest, how to watch Dec. 14 episode
- If You've Never Tried a Liquid Exfoliator, Alpyn Beauty's Newest Launch Will Transform Your Skin
- Elon Musk wants to get out of buying Twitter. A whistleblower's claims might help him
- King Charles III has a rainy coronation day – just like his mother's. Here are other similarities and differences between the ceremonies.
Recommendation
FACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setup
Twitter reports a revenue drop, citing uncertainty over Musk deal and the economy
A super fan collected every Super Nintendo game manual and made them free
Saweetie Reveals Why Her Debut Album Has Been Delayed for Nearly 2 Years
Could your smelly farts help science?
Demi Moore's Video of Bruce Willis' Birthday Celebration Will Warm Your Heart
King Charles' coronation will be very different from Queen Elizabeth's. Here's what the royals changed.
Josh Duggar's 12-Year Prison Sentence for Child Pornography Charges Has Been Extended