Judge sentences 20-year-old man for Green Valley Ranch fire that killed 5 people

A judge sentenced a 20-year-old man to 60 years in prison for starting a house fire that killed five people in Denver’s Green Valley Ranch neighborhood nearly four years ago. This was part of a plea agreement reached earlier this year.

The prosecution said Tuesday that Kevin Bui's sentencing closes one of the darkest chapters in Denver history.

Bui agreed to serve 60 years in the Department of Corrections for two counts of second-degree murder (which normally carries a sentence of up to 48 years in prison for each count) in connection with the Aug. 5, 2020, fire .

Each count that Bui agreed to, instead, carries a sentence of 30 years in the DOC to be served consecutively, totaling 60 years. Bui's pre-sentence confinement will count toward that total, according to the judge Tuesday.

Dozens of other charges against Bui, as well as a separate case in which he was accused of distributing drugs while in jail in 2022 , were dismissed as part of the deal.

Bui and two teenagers — Gavin Seymour and Dillon Siebert — were accused in January 2021 of intentionally setting the house on fire in the middle of the night. The trio incorrectly thought Bui's stolen iPhone was in the home and set the home ablaze as revenge, according to an arrest affidavit.

Djibril Diol, 29; Adja Diol, 23; Khadija Diol, 2; Hassan Diol, 25; and 6-month-old Hawa Baye were killed in the blaze.

Denver Police Department.

"These were the best of the best people who came to this country hoping for a better life," the judge presiding over Bui's case said Tuesday during his sentencing.

Seymour pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in January 2024. He faced between 16 and 40 years in prison on the single count. Dozens of other charges were also dismissed as part of his deal.

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Siebert was sentenced to seven years in district court in February 2024, as well as a suspended sentence of 26 years should he violate the terms of that sentence, according to Denver District Attorney Beth McCann. He was also sentenced to three years in juvenile court.

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Bui was the last of the trio to be sentenced.

The case against Bui was stalled for several months while the Colorado Supreme Court considered whether the methods used by police to identify them as suspects in the arson were legal in the first place .

At his sentencing Tuesday, 11 people made statements about how this case has impacted them.

One of whom was one of the detectives that worked on the investigation to find the three people responsible for the fire. He described it as one of the most senseless murder investigations he's had to conduct.

"I just wanted to be able to speak on behalf of the family and City of Denver. Our heart breaks for this family. We owed it to get up and tell their stories," Detective Neil Baker said.

The family members and friends who spoke Tuesday recounted, for what the prosecution estimated was the seventh time, how having to wait months to learn who was behind the arson created divisions in the Senegalese community. The people testifying explained how no one knew if it was someone they trusted or if they were targeted because the people killed were Black, Muslim or immigrants.

The people speaking Tuesday said, beyond honoring the victims whose lives were lost and the other people who were directly impacted, they want justice for the Senegalese people.

While it's been almost four years since the five people died, the loved ones who spoke Tuesday said, they haven't had a chance to grieve.

"We have spent most of our lives in this courtroom. Our lives have revolved around the court cases," one of the victim's family members said.

"It feels like it just happened yesterday," another person said.

The husband of one of the victims who died was in the Senegalese military when the fire happened. He said he has since lost his job dealing with the death of his wife and child and the subsequent court cases prosecuting Seyour, Siebert and Bui.

Many people shared stories about having trouble sleeping and struggling to be alone with their thoughts because they remember what happened.

Restitution was not decided during Tuesday's sentencing. The prosecution and defense have 49 days for the People to file a motion of restitution.

Final person to plead guilty in Denver fire that killed 5 people from Senegal could get 60 years

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