Keith Coffman

DENVER, (Reuters) – Five Senegalese migrants were murdered in a 2020 house fire. One of the teens charged was mistakenly believing that someone stole his cell phone. Court testimony revealed this on Friday.

These disclosures were made during Gavin Seymour and Kevin Bui’s preliminary hearing. They have been accused of first-degree murder and arson as well as other offenses related to the August 2020 fire.

Martin Egelhoff of Denver District Court ruled in favor of the prosecution, and the youths were ordered to remain without bail.

They were sixteen years old when they were taken into custody in January 2021.

The juvenile court charges a third suspect who was just 15 at the time of his arrest.

The fire erupted in the early morning hours, killing 29-year-old Djibril Diol, his wife Adja Diol, 23, and the couple’s 2-year-old daughter, Khadija.

Also killed were Hassan Diol, 25, the husband’s sister, and her infant daughter, Hawa Beye. Another three family members managed to escape the fire by jumping from a second story window.

On Friday, Neil Baker, a Denver detective testified that Bui had confessed to his crime after being arrested. Baker claims that Bui said that he stole his cellphone and tracked it to Denver, where he and two of his accomplices put gasoline in the home and started the fire.

Baker stated that Baker admitted setting fire to the house.

Bui realized after viewing news articles about the fire that not all the victims had been robbed of him. Baker agreed.

Denver was rocked by the crime. Senegalese immigrant community in Denver was alarmed when they feared that the victims of the arson would be attacked because they were West African Muslims.  

According to authorities, police tracked the getaway car and used cellphone data to lead them to the three suspects.