First teen to face sentencing for deadly 2020 house fire in Green Valley Ranch
JULIA CARDI/THE DENVER GAZETTE
The youngest teenager facing charges for the 2020 arson in Green Valley Ranch that killed five members of a family is scheduled to be sentenced in Denver District Court Wednesday. He has pleaded guilty to a count of second-degree murder, and the plea also includes sentence enhancer of using a weapon to commit a violent crime, court records show.
Dillon Siebert, now 17, is scheduled to be sentenced at 9 a.m. in adult court. His name has not previously been published because his case proceeded in juvenile court. Siebert was 14 at the time of the fire in August 2020, though previous reports have stated he was 15.
Reverse-keyword search warrant used to identify suspects in deadly arson case goes to Colorado Supreme Court
He is one of three teenagers accused of intentionally setting fire to a home on Truckee Street on August, 5, 2020. The blaze killed five members of a Senegalese family: Djibril Diol, 29, Adja Diol, 23, their 21-month-old daughter, Khadija, Hassan Diol, 25, and her 7-month-old daughter, Hawa Beye.
The teens intended to get revenge for a robbery now 18-year-old Kevin Bui had been the victim of a few weeks earlier. But they targeted the wrong house, and defense attorneys for Bui and the other teen charged as an adult, Gavin Seymour, have argued they did not intend to kill anyone. They sought to have the two’s cases transferred to juvenile court since Seymour and Bui were both 16 at the time of the fire.
Defense: Actions by teenage suspect in Green Valley Ranch arson case were out of character
Siebert will turn 18 in October, according to court records.
Seymour and Bui face dozens of charges, including premeditated first-degree murder.
In denying the transfers, Judge Martin Egelhoff emphasized the viciousness of the crime and the extensive planning the teenagers did for setting the fire. They wore masks, threw gasoline in the house and appear to have researched its layout beforehand. He has also noted that in the months between the blaze and when police made arrests the following January, Denver’s West African community lived in fear of whether it had been a targeted hate crime.
Bui and Seymour’s cases are currently on hold. Seymour’s attorneys have challenged the validity of a warrant Denver police obtained for web searches of the home’s address, which ultimately led them to the teens. They argue the warrant was overly broad and unconstitutional. The Colorado Supreme Court has agreed to review the issue, and has scheduled oral arguments for May. Egelhoff upheld the warrant last year, along with evidence gotten from it and other warrants that flowed from the findings.
Denver judge upholds search warrants used in Green Valley Ranch arson investigation




