Teen Pleads Guilty in Denver House Fire That Killed Five

In a tragic incident that shocked the community, one of the three teenagers charged with starting a house fire in suburban Denver that claimed the lives of five people has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Gavin Seymour, 19, admitted his involvement in the fire that took place on August 5, 2020, resulting in the deaths of five members of a Senegalese family. The motive behind the fire was apparently revenge for a stolen cellphone, which was mistakenly traced to the residence. Seymour’s guilty plea could lead to a prison sentence of 16 to 40 years, pending his sentencing on March 15. As part of the plea agreement, 60 other charges will be dismissed, according to The Denver Post.

Alongside Seymour, the two other teenagers involved in the incident, Kevin Bui and Dillon Siebert, were also charged with setting the fire. The blaze, which occurred in the middle of the night, claimed the lives of Djibril and Adja Diol, as well as their 2-year-old daughter, Khadija, and Hassan Diol and her 6-month-old daughter, Hawa Baye. Three other individuals managed to escape the fire by jumping from the second floor of the house.

Siebert, who was 14 years old at the time of the fire, was sentenced last February to three years in juvenile detention and seven years in a state prison program for young inmates. Seymour and Bui, the alleged ringleader, were both 16 at the time of the incident.

The investigation into the fire initially hit a dead-end, with no leads for several months. Concerns that the fire was a hate crime prompted many Senegalese immigrants to install security cameras at their homes, fearing they could also be targeted.

Police eventually identified the teenage boys as suspects after obtaining a search warrant to determine which accounts had searched the home’s address within 15 days prior to the fire. During the investigation, Bui confessed that he had been robbed a month prior to the fire while attempting to purchase a gun. He had traced his stolen iPhone to the residence using an app, court records revealed. Bui confessed to setting the fire, only to discover the following day through news coverage that the victims were not the individuals who had robbed him, as confirmed by the police.

Attorneys representing Seymour and Bui challenged the validity of the search warrant; however, the Colorado Supreme Court upheld the search in this case, as reported by the Associated Press. Bui’s arraignment is scheduled for February 1, according to court records.