A Colorado man admitted guilt to murder charges on Friday for starting a 2020 house fire that resulted in the deaths of five members of a Senegalese family.
Kevin Bui, who was a teenager at the time but tried as an adult, was described by prosecutors as the leader among three friends who set fire to a house in a Denver neighborhood on August 5, 2020. Bui mistakenly believed that individuals who had stolen his iPhone were living in the house, based on information from an app that tracked his phone to the area.
Bui pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder as part of a plea deal with prosecutors that could lead to a sentence of up to 60 years in prison — 30 years for each count. The maximum penalty for each second-degree murder charge is 48 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
Investigators outside the burned home (Via Tom Keenan/Getty Images)
Sentencing is scheduled for July 2, with Bui appearing in court in a green jail uniform with his hands cuffed in front of him. His parents, present in the courtroom, followed the proceedings through an interpreter. Bui’s father indicated to reporters afterward that they accepted the plea deal.
Bui is the final one of the three friends to plead guilty in connection with the fire that claimed the lives of Djibril Diol, 29, and Adja Diol, 23, along with their 22-month-old daughter, Khadija Diol. Also killed were their relative Hassan Diol, 25, and his 6-month-old daughter, Hawa Beye. Three others managed to escape by jumping from the home’s second floor, sustaining broken bones in the process.
