Kevin Bui, a Colorado man, has been sentenced to 60 years in prison for intentionally setting fire to a Senegalese family of five.

Kevin Bui, now 20 years old, was sentenced to 60 years in prison on Tuesday for setting a fire that resulted in the tragic deaths of five members of a Senegalese family in August 2020. Bui pleaded guilty to the killings in May, marking the conclusion of legal proceedings for the trio of friends involved in the incident.

Prosecutors described Bui as the leader among his friends who orchestrated the fatal arson. The tragedy unfolded when Bui, believing his stolen iPhone was in the victims' home after tracking it via an app, set the fire out of mistaken revenge following a robbery where he lost his phone, money, and shoes while attempting to purchase a firearm.

Among those lost in the fire were Hassan Diol, his infant daughter Hawa, Diol's brother Djibril Diol, Djibril's wife Adja Diol, and their 22-month-old daughter Khadija. Hassan Diol, who worked at Amazon and awaited her husband's arrival from Senegal, regularly communicated with him and cared for their children alongside her sister-in-law.

Amadou Beye, Hassan Diol's husband, was devastated by the loss and described Bui's actions as terrorism. He was granted an emergency visa to join the investigation, working as a mover to cope with the grief and avoid solitude. Despite Bui's admission of guilt and the plea deal that dropped numerous charges, including first-degree murder, prosecutors recommended the lengthy sentence in light of the severity of the crime.