DENVER, CO – Kevin Bui, a 20-year-old male, entered a guilty plea to two charges of second-degree murder for initiating a house fire that took the lives of five family members. The horrific incident took place in a Denver, Colorado, residence nearly four years back.
As part of a plea agreement, Bui will serve a 60-year prison sentence for the 13 counts of second-degree murder for the devastating fire that occurred on August 5, 2020, claiming the lives of five Senegalese family members. In addition to this, several other charges against Bui, some pertaining to a separate case where he was alleged to have been involved in drug distribution while incarcerated in 2022, were dropped.
This case also involved Siebert, who was 15 years old at the time of the incident. In December 2022, he pled guilty to a charge of second-degree murder that necessitated a sentence enhancement due to weapon usage in the crime. His sentencing took place approximately two months later.
The cases against Seymour and Bui were temporarily suspended as the Colorado Supreme Court evaluated the legality of police methods used to identify them as suspects in the arson case. A contested search warrant from the Denver Police Department led Google to disclose records of keyword searches for the specific address within a set time frame, possibly infringing on the Fourth Amendment rights of the suspects, which guard against unreasonable searches and seizures. The state Supreme Court upheld the contentious search warrant in October last year, enabling the cases against Seymour and Bui to proceed.
While Bui also faced charges of attempted murder, assault, burglary, and arson, these were abandoned due to the plea deal. Following Siebert’s 10-year sentence issued in February 2023, Seymour received a 40-year prison sentence in March 2024.
Bui’s sentencing hearing is set for July 2, 2024, at 9 a.m. in Denver District Court.