Accident – Death – Obituary News :

House Fire in Denver Kills Five, Teen Pleads Guilty to Second-Degree Murder

DENVER (AP) — In a tragic incident that shocked the community, a house fire in suburban Denver claimed the lives of five people. The incident, which occurred on Aug. 5, 2020, was allegedly sparked by three teenagers as an act of revenge for a stolen cellphone. Mistakenly believing that the stolen device was traced to the residence, the teenagers set the house on fire, resulting in a devastating loss of life.

Gavin Seymour, one of the three teenagers involved, pleaded guilty on Friday to one count of second-degree murder. The 19-year-old admitted his role in the deadly fire and now faces a prison sentence of 16 to 40 years. As part of the plea agreement, an additional 60 charges against Seymour will be dismissed, as reported by The Denver Post. Seymour’s sentencing is scheduled for March 15.

The other two teenagers, Kevin Bui and Dillon Siebert, were also charged in connection with the arson. All three were accused of intentionally setting the fire in the middle of the night, resulting in the tragic deaths of Djibril and Adja Diol, their 2-year-old daughter Khadija, Hassan Diol, and her 6-month-old daughter Hawa Baye. Fortunately, three other individuals managed to escape the blazing inferno by jumping from the second floor of the house.

While Siebert, who was 14 at the time of the incident, was sentenced last February to three years in juvenile detention and seven years in a state prison program for young inmates, Seymour and Bui were both 16 years old when they allegedly committed the crime.

The investigation into the fire proved to be a challenging and lengthy process, with no immediate leads. Concerns that the incident might have been a hate crime prompted many Senegalese immigrants in the area to install security cameras at their homes as a precaution against potential targeting.

The breakthrough in the case came when the boys were identified as suspects through a search warrant issued to Google. The warrant sought information about the accounts that had searched the address of the targeted home within 15 days prior to the fire.

According to court records, Bui confessed to investigators that he had been robbed the month before the fire while attempting to purchase a gun. In an effort to retrieve his stolen iPhone, he traced its location to the residence using a mobile app. However, Bui later discovered through news coverage the following day that the victims of the fire were not the individuals who had robbed him.

Attorneys representing Seymour and Bui challenged the validity of the search warrant. Nevertheless, the Colorado Supreme Court upheld the legality of the search, allowing the evidence obtained through it to be used in the case.

Bui’s arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 1, as per court records.

The loss of lives in this tragic incident sent shockwaves through the community, leaving many grieving for the victims and their families. The guilty plea entered by Gavin Seymour is a step towards justice for the lives lost and the impact it had on the Senegalese community in suburban Denver.

The Associated Press

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