Revenge Arson Gone Wrong: Colorado Man Sentenced to 60 Years for Murdering Innocent Family

A 20-year-old Colorado man has admitted to setting fire to an innocent family's home in a revenge plot that killed five people, including a toddler and a baby. The arson was fueled by a stolen cellphone and mistaken identity.

Kevin Bui, now 20, pleaded guilty to a 2020 arson that 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. The blaze, which erupted in the middle of the night, left the family trapped and unable to escape.

As part of a plea deal, Bui will spend 60 years in prison, while prosecutors dropped 60 criminal charges. He was the last of three friends to plead guilty in the quintuple murder.

According to prosecutors, Bui, who was 16 at the time, believed his stolen cellphone was in the victims' home and used the "Find My iPhone" app to track its location. However, the victims had no connection to the stolen device.

Bui and his accomplices, Gavin Seymour and Dillon Siebert, spent weeks planning the attack, sending texts and social media messages that outlined their intentions. One Snapchat message from Bui read, "#possiblyruinourfuturesandburnhishousedown."

On August 5, 2020, the trio carried out their plan, dousing the Diol family's home in gasoline and igniting it. Three other victims survived by jumping from the second-floor window, but suffered severe injuries.

Graphic bodycam footage from a responding Denver police officer showed a small human body lying inside the doorway of the burning home. Despite desperate attempts to rescue the victim, the intense heat forced the officer to retreat.

Firefighters battled the blaze for hours, but the family members were pronounced dead at the scene, having suffocated from smoke inhalation.

Authorities released surveillance footage that captured the suspects breaking into the home, pouring gasoline, and setting it alight in a coordinated attack.

In January 2021, Bui, Seymour, and Siebert were arrested and charged with the arson and murders. Siebert, who was 15 at the time, was sentenced to three years in a juvenile detention center and seven more years in state prison. Seymour pleaded guilty earlier this year and received a 40-year sentence.

Bui, who remained silent during his Friday court appearance, will be formally sentenced on July 2. The tragic arson has left an indelible scar on the Denver community, highlighting the devastating consequences of revenge and mistaken identity.