Kevin Huy Bui traced his stolen iPhone to a Denver neighbourhood where he believed the device pinged and, in an act of revenge, set fire to the house where he thought his phone was located.
However, like many who rely on App’s apps, Bui hit the wrong home and killed a family of five who never even touched his shiny gadget.
Bui was 16 years old when he was robbed and used the "Find my iPhone" app to mistakenly track his stolen phone to the wrong home, officials said. Bui and two teenage co-defendants were later prosecuted as adults in the case, court papers show.
Under a plea deal, Bui faces up to 60 years in prison when he is sentenced this summer for his role in the quintuple homicide.
According to an arrest warrant filed by the Denver Police Department, the fatal fire took place on Aug. 5, 2020, and killed Djibril Diol, 29, and Adja Diol, 23, and their 22-month-old daughter, Khadija Diol. Hassan Diol, a 25-year-old mother, and her 7-month-old daughter Hawa Beye also died.
Three other people escaped the home through an upstairs back window, with some suffering broken bones, court documents show.
Bui was the last of a trio of friends to enter a plea in the fatal arson fire, records show.
Dillon Siebert, 18, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2022 and was sentenced to three years in a juvenile facility followed by seven years in a state prison, Colorado Department of Corrections online records show. Siebert, age 14 when the arson occurred, remained incarcerated Tuesday, with an estimated parole release date of February 2029.
A third co-defendant in the case, Gavin Seymour, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in January and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. He was 16 when the crime took place, and also remained incarcerated Tuesday, records showed, with an estimated parole release date of November 2050.
According to the 17-page arrest warrant, on the day of the fire, a copper in the city's Green Valley Ranch neighbourhood was patrolling the area around 2:40 am when he spotted the family's home ablaze.
After alerting firefighters, the officer attempted to enter the home through the garage but could not due to the heat and flames.
He then rushed to the front door where "someone was attempting to unlock the door with the keypad but was unsuccessful. He kicked the front door in but again could not enter due to the extreme heat.
Surveillance video provided by a neighbour showed three masked suspects wearing dark hoodies outside the home at 2:26 am. The footage also showed at least one suspect holding what appears to be a gasoline can.
Suspects caught on a neighbour’s surveillance video just minutes before an August 5, 2020, fatal fire in Denver that killed five members of a Senegalese family, including two babies. Kevin Bui, 20, pleaded guilty on May 17, 2024, in connection to their deaths.
Ironically, they were caught because police asked Google who had searched the home’s address before the fire and eventually identified Bui, Siebert and Seymour as suspects. The warrant goes on to say that detectives reviewed conversations between the trio on social media, including one on 15 July, 2020, where Bui told his friends he was robbed and another where he wrote, "They gonna get theirs."
On 1 August 2020, the warrant reads, Bui sent Seymour this message on Snapchat: "#possiblyruinourfuturesandburnhishousedown."