Detailed Summary: Serialously with Annie Elise

Episode 351: Teen Revenge Kills Over Being “Disrespected” ?! | The Diol-Beye Family
Date: December 29, 2025
Host: Annie Elise
Production: Audioboom Studios

Episode Overview

This episode of Serialously with Annie Elise delves deep into the tragic arson-murders of the Diol-Beye and TSE families in Denver, Colorado. Annie unpacks the devastating events of August 5, 2020, when five family members—two of them children—were killed in a fire set by three masked teenagers. The episode unfolds with Annie's signature mix of exhaustive detail, empathy, and frank commentary, guiding the listener through the investigation, the controversial use of digital evidence, the shocking motive, and the aftermath for those left behind.

Main Themes and Purpose

• Exploring the horrifying murder of five members of an immigrant family by three teenagers acting out a misguided and brutal revenge plot.
• Examining the investigation’s use of controversial digital tactics to identify the perpetrators.
• Addressing themes of overreaction, egotism, and senseless violence in youth.
• Contemplating the meaning of justice for survivors and the community.

Breakdown of Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Crime: Night of the Fire

[00:30 - 14:00]

• Annie begins by recounting the night of the fire, describing the peaceful Green Valley Ranch neighborhood as chaos unfolds at 2:40am.
• Survivors: Three members escape by jumping out of a second-story window: Amadou, Hawaka, and 10-year-old Adama. Others, including two toddlers, die mere feet from the door—overwhelmed by smoke.
• The house contained two Senegalese immigrant families, living the American dream until that night.

Quote:

"She had shattered her spine in two places... Intense injuries or not, you're alive and you, you're able to get medical attention and hopefully, you know, recover fully. So that was a huge blessing here."
— Annie Elise [03:23]

2. Discovery and Investigation

[14:00 - 28:30]

• Neighbors’ security footage provides the first real clue: three hooded, masked figures carrying gas cans on the property at 2:26am, later seen fleeing just as the fire erupts.
• Community and media speculate it’s a hate crime—both families were Senegalese Muslims—though Annie notes investigators resist this explanation.
• Police struggle with sparse evidence: the masked figures are unidentifiable, and a dark sedan seen driving erratically yields no make or plate information.
• Community frustration grows over lack of progress; a petition demanding action amasses 24,000 signatures. Immigrants nearby live in fear, worried they could be next.

Quote:

"This case is savage... what an overreaction it all was. It’s just so gnarly to try to wrap your head around this."
— Annie Elise [00:53]

3. The Digital Dragnet: Investigation Controversies

[28:35 - 42:49]

• Police request a "tower dump"—cell carriers provide all numbers pinging near the address at the time. An ATF digital forensics agent controversially narrows it to T-Mobile users, based on a profiling hunch about likely perpetrators.
• Eventually, 33 out-of-area T-Mobile numbers are identified but not immediately pursued for fear of suspects fleeing.
• Investigators pivot, use a Google reverse keyword search for the home’s address—revealing five Coloradans searched it in the weeks preceding the fire.
• Three names stand out: Tanya Bui (23), Dylan Seibert (14), and Gavin Seymour (15). Tanya’s little brother Kevin Bui (16) is friends with the boys—all live 20 miles away.

Quote:

"They started working on narrowing the numbers yet again... So anything that's not active, we can pull them out as people who visited that night... going from thousands to 33, that is pretty impressive."
— Annie Elise [32:30]

4. Connecting the Dots: Social Media, Commerce, and Masks

[42:49 - 50:22]

• A Toyota Camry, matching the suspect vehicle, is found at Kevin Bui’s family home.
• Digital warrants for the boys’ search histories reveal Party City searches and purchases of the white, blank “Halloween” masks seen in the video.
• Arrest warrants are secured; all three teens are taken into custody.
• Family spokespersons mourn the loss and call for love, not hate.

Quote:

"At the time of their arrest, the detectives had plenty of proof that these three young teenagers had premeditated the fire. But one very big question still remained. Right, why?"
— Annie Elise [43:26]

5. The Motive: A Revenge Fiasco Rooted in Ego

[50:22 - 55:00+]

• Kevin Bui, the ringleader, comes from a hardworking immigrant family himself—his early success corrupted by drug and gun dealing with his sister Tanya.
• He is robbed during an illicit gun sale—cash, sneakers, phone—causing him to obsess over revenge.
• Using his iPad’s “Find My [iPhone]” app, Kevin mistakenly believes his stolen phone is at 5312 Truckee Street—the Diol-Beye house.
• He ropes in Gavin and Dylan (and Tanya, peripherally) to plot "revenge"; Google address, scope the location, buy masks, and on August 5, carry out the arson.
• The intent is crystal clear in texts (e.g., “Possibly ruine our futures and burn his house down. #revenge”), but they later claim it was only to “vandalize”—a claim Annie dismisses.

Quote:

"There are literal messages on their phones talking about setting the house on fire. Like, I will say it first: you’re an idiot to use Google, but also you’re an idiot to ever text any incriminating things digitally. They will find it. But then again, these guys were teenagers. They were not mastermind criminals."
— Annie Elise [51:47]

6. The Wrong Address and Unimaginable Tragedy

[55:00+]

• The Find My app was wildly inaccurate—the device ping sent them to a home with no connection at all to the robbery.
• The victims had no involvement whatsoever; two entire families paid the price of Kevin’s flawed digital vengeance.

Quote:

"But the real reason that this case is so horrific is that Kevin and his app, his Find My Friends app, they had gotten it all wrong... burning down an entire house full of people you think might be responsible for stealing your phone? That makes no sense."
— Annie Elise [56:53]

7. The Aftermath: Sentencing, Justice, and Remorse

[63:15 - end]

• Plea deals:
  • Kevin Bui: Pleads to 2 counts of second-degree murder; 60 years. Shows limited remorse at sentencing ("I have no excuses. I do hate that we're here, but life goes on.").
  • Gavin Seymour: 40 years.
  • Dylan Seibert: Tried as a juvenile; 10 years (3 in juvenile detention, 7 in young-offender program).
  • Tanya Bui (not involved in arson): 10 years, 10 months on drug & gun charges.
• Family, community voice their pain and sense that justice was insufficient.
• The house was demolished; only a vacant lot remains, a physical marker of the tragedy.
• Annie closes with a reflection on youth entitlement, digital culture, and the real-world devastation of online misinformation and egotism.

Quote:

"What we got today is not justice. It is just. Just this, right? It's not justice. It's just this. So just this is what we get."
— Family Member [63:15]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "This case is savage... what an overreaction it all was." — Annie Elise [00:53]
• "There are literal messages on their phones talking about setting the house on fire... These guys were teenagers. They were not mastermind criminals." — Annie Elise [51:47]
• "But the real reason that this case is so horrific is that Kevin and his app... they had gotten it all wrong." — Annie Elise [56:53]
• "What we got today is not justice. It is just. Just this, right? It's not justice. It's just this. So just this is what we get." — Family member [63:15]
• "All for what? Your phone being stolen? That's why at the top of this episode, I was like, it's just the most insane overreaction." — Annie Elise [65:48]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening & Incident description: 00:30 – 14:00
• Family/Community context & hate crime discussion: 16:41 – 29:00
• Investigation tactics and digital evidence: 28:35 – 42:49
• Motive & Kevin’s confession: 50:22 – 55:00+
• Sentences and community reaction: 63:15 – 65:48
• Final personal and social reflections: 65:48 – end

Final Thoughts & Tone

Annie delivers a thorough, empathetic, and often incredulous assessment of how a senseless act, born of teenage ego and enabled by a digital mistake, destroyed two hardworking families. Throughout, her tone is conversational and direct—part best friend, part investigative journalist. She closes with a plea for kindness, sanity, and for teenagers especially: "Be nice, don't kill people, don't start any fires, and just don't be a little teenage prick, okay?... Don't do drugs."

For anyone who hasn’t listened, this episode offers a sobering examination of youth violence, investigative challenges in the digital age, and the profound, lingering pain of totally preventable tragedy.