Colorado Man’s iPhone Vendetta Leads to Fatal Blaze

One Colorado man is now facing the consequences of a crime that he committed as a teen after he sought revenge for a stolen iPhone.

Kevin Bui, now 20, pleaded guilty to committing arson in a Denver neighborhood in August 2020 after he used the “Find my iPhone” app to track down his stolen device, the New York Post reports.

Bui, who was 16 at the time of the act, was described as the ringleader among three friends who came up with the plot to burn down the home of a Senegalese family inside. Three adults, aged 23, 25, and 29, died at the scene of the fire, along with two children, a 22-month-old and a 6-month-old baby girl. Three people managed to escape with broken bones after jumping from the second floor of the home in the middle of the night.

Thanks to video surveillance, police identified Bui and two friends, who were seen setting fire to the home while wearing dark hoodies and full face masks.

What’s more, Bui and his friends became direct suspects in the case after police obtained a search warrant from Google to investigate the IP addresses responsible for searching the home’s address within 15 days of the fire. The teens were then arrested roughly five months afterward.

Dillon Siebert, who was 14 at the time, was sentenced to three years in juvenile detention along with seven years in a state prison program for young inmates after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2023. Gavin Seymour, 19, received a 40-year prison sentence in March 2024 after pleading guilty to one count of second-degree murder.

Bui, who was prosecuted as an adult, faced 60 charges, including first-degree murder, attempted murder, arson, and burglary. All were dropped by prosecutors under his plea deal. After pleading guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in the deal, it was proposed that Bui serve a sentence of 60 years in prison, 30 years for each count. 

He is scheduled to be sentenced July 2.