A man seeking revenge for his stolen iPhone set fire to the wrong house. He pleaded guilty to killing an innocent family of 5.
Thomas Peipert/AP Photo
- A Colorado man pleaded guilty to killing a family by setting their home on fire in 2020.
- He wanted revenge after his iPhone was stolen, but targeted the wrong house, investigators said.
- Five people, including two young children, were killed in the fire.
A Colorado man set a house in Denver on fire in 2020, thinking he was avenging the theft of his iPhone. But he targeted the wrong house.
He pleaded guilty last week to killing an innocent family who lived there.
Kevin Bui, 20, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder last Friday, Denver's District Attorney's Office said in a post on X.
Bui, who was 16 at the time of the fire on August 5, 2020, was prosecuted as an adult.
According to an arrest affidavit, Bui's iPhone was stolen during a drug deal.
Investigators said in the affidavit that Bui, seeking revenge against those who robbed him, intended to set fire to their house.
According to testimony in the trial, NBC News reported that Bui had used an app to track his stolen iPhone.
However, investigators said in the affidavit that Bui somehow identified the wrong property, and instead set alight the home of a Senegalese immigrant family.
The fire resulted in the deaths of five people, including a 21-month-old child and a six-month-old baby.
According to NBC News, as part of a plea deal, Bui had 60 other charges, including first-degree murder and arson, dropped.
He now faces 60 years in prison, Denver's District Attorney's office said, with sentencing scheduled for July 2.
Bui is the last of three people to enter a plea in connection to the fire.
Dillon Siebert, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder under a plea deal, was sentenced last year to three years in juvenile detention and seven years in a state prison program for young inmates.
Gavin Seymour was sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to a count of second-degree murder in March, according to The Denver Post.
The Washington Post reported last year that while apps like Find My can be incredibly accurate, they're not entirely reliable.
In addition to the house fire incident, a SWAT team in Denver mistakenly raided the home of a 77-year-old woman in 2022 while searching for a truck with stolen guns and an iPhone.
According to the Post, a lawyer for the woman stated that police relied on the Find My app, which ultimately led them to the wrong address.
In March, the woman was awarded $3.76 million by a jury for the bungled raid.