Husband and father of fire victims heartbroken by plea deal: "16 to 40 years, I'm not going to call that justice"
Gavin Seymour, one of the suspects accused in a deadly arson attack on Truckee Street in Denver's Green Valley Ranch neighborhood, pleaded guilty on Friday morning to second-degree murder.
Seymour and two other underage suspects allegedly set the fire at a home in Green Valley Ranch that killed five Senegalese immigrants in 2020.
The house fire killed Djibril Diol, his wife Adja, and their 2-year-old daughter, Hassan Diol and her infant daughter Hawa Beye. Three people escaped by jumping from windows.
The husband of Hassan Diol and father of Hawa Beye, who was in his native Senegal when the fire happened in August of 2020, reacted to the plea deal that meant reducing the charge from first-degree murder and dropping other potential charges saying he initially believed the sentencing range of 16 to 40 years was for each of the five killed. It is not.
"16 to 40 years, I'm not going to call that justice," said Amadou Beye. He called other relatives in Senegal after the plea on Friday. "They were crying on the phone talking to me when they heard the sixteen to forty. It's just unbelievable."
The motive was an alleged desire for revenge over something that had been stolen from another of the alleged killers, Kevin Bui. Bui has yet to be tried in the case and has an arraignment coming up Feb. 1.
He is still facing first degree murder charges and dozens of other potential charges. Prosecutors say he admitted he was seeking revenge for a stolen cellphone, which he tracked with an app to the wrong address, which was the house on Truckee Street, where the victims had no connection to the stolen cell phone or Bui.
The three suspects, dressed in masks and hoodies broke into the home and spread gasoline before lighting the fire say investigators. The third suspect, Dillion Siebert was 14 at the time of the crime and charged in juvenile court.
He was ultimately sentenced to seven years in district court and three more in juvenile court as a youth offender after pleading guilty to a second degree murder charge a year ago.
Amadou Beye believes the sentence is far too lenient and there is an element of race.
"It's just because they're white. And I know that. And it hurts me a lot," he said. "As a Black man, if an African man killed an entire white people family they (are) going to die in jail. So this is not justice."
He also expressed criticism for the families of the young suspects.
"If you're a good parent, you've got to raise your kid and make sure they're not going to do anything bad. They're not going to hurt anybody else. They're not going to burn something, someone's house. They're not going to kill someone, for nothing."
