Denver, CO
Teen learns fate for ‘senseless’ blaze that killed Denver family of five, including toddler and infant
One of the three teens who killed five Senegalese family members — including a baby and a toddler — when he set a blaze to their Denver home was sentenced to 40 years behind bars Friday.
Gavin Seymour, 19, was handed the maximum possible term for the second-degree murder charge after dozens of grieving family members spoke against the murderous teen.
He pleaded guilty last month for setting fire to the house in the middle of the night in August 2020, killing Djibril Diol, 29, his wife Adja Diol, 23, and their daughter Khadija Diol, 1, along with Djibril’s sister, Hassan Diol, 25, and her 6-month-old daughter Hawa Baye.
“Even if you kill five sheep or goats, you should get a maximum sentence,” Hanady Diol, father to Djibril and Hassan, told the court through a translator over the phone from Senegal, the Dever Post reported.
“This person here, they are talking about 40 or 30 years. That just means there is no justice there. There is no judging that the people who died are human beings.”
Seymour was 16 when he carried out the dastardly act, which prosecutors said was at the direction of friend Kevin Bui, who mistakenly thought someone who had stolen his phone lived in the home.
The two 16-year-olds and Dillon Siebert, then 14, planned the fire for weeks, according to investigators.
Only three people escaped the fire by jumping from the second floor of the home.
KDVR
Djibril Diol tried to lead his wife and 1-year-old daughter through the flames, making it down a set of stairs before they collapsed not far from the door out, prosecutors said.
Seymour knew he and his friends had killed the family the following morning — online records showed he read news about the deaths and searched for information about the prison sentence for murder.
It took several months for investigators to pin down the teenagers, who were identified after police obtained a search warrant asking Google for which accounts had searched the home’s address within 15 days of the fire.
“This is by far the worst, most senseless murder investigation I have ever investigated,” Denver police Detective Neil Baker said in court
“I can’t think of any other one that is more deserving of a maximum sentence allowed… There are five victims. Two were babies.”
Seymour accepted a plea deal in January that set a sentencing range of between 16 and 40 years.
He apologized in court Friday for his role in the fire.
“If I could go back and prevent all this I would,” Seymour said. “There is not a moment that goes by that I don’t feel extreme guilt and remorse for my actions. … I want to say how truly sorry I am to the family members and community for all the harm I’ve done.”
Siebert, who was 14 at the time of the fire, was 17 when he was sentenced in February 2023 to three years in juvenile detention and seven years in a state prison program for young inmates.
Bui faces multiple counts of first-degree murder and is next due in court on March 21.
Denverites looking for a stellar cup of Joe don’t need to travel far to savor the flavor of excellent coffee.
That’s according to The World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops, a website that rates global hospitality establishments where coffee lovers can find better brew. The website recently announced its 2026 list of the best coffee shops in North America, Central America and the Caribbean and two local companies made the list.
Sweet Bloom Coffee Roasters came in at No. 43, while Queen City Collective Coffee ranked No. 61. Not bad for a list that includes must-hit destinations in places like Guatemala and Costa Rica, which are known for their exports of coffee beans.
The World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops decided the ranking through a mix of nominations and voting by both the public and experts. Places were evaluated based on the quality of coffee served, barista expertise, ambiance, sustainability practices, and innovation among other criteria, according to the website.
Sweet Bloom Coffee Roasters, which came on the scene in 2013, helped usher the so-called fourth wave of coffee locally, which focuses on honoring the beans’ agricultural roots and using techniques like pour-over to extract more flavor from each brew. The company started with a wholesale roastery and retail shop in Lakewood before expanding to Arvada through a merger with another company called Two Rivers, and later to Westminster. In 2022, Food and Wine magazine named Sweet Bloom’s Westminster locale the best coffee shop in Colorado.
Queen City Collective has certainly earned the popular vote among Mile High City coffee drinkers if the company’s expansion is an indication. Since opening its first retail location in 2018, in a spot shared with Novel Strand Brewing Co., Queen City has expanded to seven locations between Denver and surrounding suburbs, including Wheat Ridge and Aurora.
To see the full list of must-hit coffee shops across the globe, visit theworlds100bestcoffeeshops.com. For additional recommendations, check out our list of Colorado’s best coffee shops with picturesque patios and views.
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DENVER (KDVR) — With the mild winter and warm start to spring, beekeepers are seeing swarms earlier in the year and expect the season to be longer than usual.
Gregg McMahan is a dispatcher for the Colorado Swarm Hotline. It’s usually his job to send a beekeeper to collect a swarm when someone calls, but on Sunday afternoon, he decided to handle one himself.
“Nice little swarm,” McMahan said. “It’s tricky, though, because it’s hanging on a fence.”
A warm winter and spring mean swarm season has begun four weeks early.
“Never seen it like this ever,” McMahan said.
This call is to a house on Denver’s east side. When McMahan arrived, he saw a swarm had taken up residence on the fence.
“Absolutely typical, it is on the small side,” McMahan said.
He got to work, first luring them into a box when he spotted a good sign.
“See all these girls, they got their butts up, they’re fanning their wings. That’s telling us the queens in here,” McMahan said.
With the queen in hand, the rest began to follow her into the box.
McMahan said two years ago, he had 400 calls like this. Last year, only 100, the Swarm Hotline was as unpredictable as the weather, which has caused bee activity earlier in the year than ever.
“It makes it hard on the bees, you know? Two days ago, I’m collecting swarms in the snow,” McMahan said.
Rescuing them is integral to Colorado’s ecosystem. McMahan hopes people give a beekeeper a call instead of spraying them or harming them in any other way.
“They do a phenomenal amount of pollination within this state. Not only our native flowers but all the other flowers that people bring in,” McMahan said.
Slowly but surely, the swarm left the fence and moved into the box. McMahan loaded them into his truck to deliver them to their new home.
“Westminster to the Stanley Lake Wildlife Refuge, so these girls will have lakefront property tonight,” he said.
As he wrapped up, McMahan’s phone was buzzing more than the bees. Just another call to start a swarm season, he thinks, could be a long one.
“This year I’m already 20 swarms deep, so I’m expecting way more than 100 this year,” McMahan said.
To have a bee swarm removed for free from your property anywhere statewide, the Swarm Hotline number is 1-844-SPY-BEES.
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