Colorado authorities are offering a $14,000 reward in hopes of identifying three people they believe started a house fire that killed a Senegalese family of five, including two children.
On Aug. 5, a house fire on N Truckee Street in Denver took the lives of Djibril and Adja Diol, and their 3-year-old daughter Kadidia. Djibril’s sister Hassan Diol and her infant daughter, Hawa Beye, were also died in the blaze.
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In an update on Tuesday, Denver Police Department released a photo of a masked trio in connection to their investigation, saying that the “fire appeared to be deliberately set by three unknown individuals wearing dark hoodies and full-face masks … who fled the area in a dark-colored 4-door sedan.”
RELATED: Denver Police Seek Leads in Arson House Fire That Killed 5 Members of ‘Thriving’ Family
Police Department Division Chief Joe Montoya said in a press conference on Aug. 7 that authorities suspect arson and have been investigating the case as a homicide.
“We need to find these individuals or individual and we have to be able to hold them accountable for what they did on that day,” he said. “Beyond the money, what I’m asking for is a heartfelt plea. I want people to look into their hearts…This was a family that was thriving. They were headed in the right direction.”
At the time, Montoya said investigators have not determined a motive or if their deaths are bias-related.
“We don’t want to get tunnel-visioned into a motive,” he said. “There are some cases, on the front end it’s very evident as to what the motive was for a crime. This is not one of those cases. We have to go into this very open-minded and look at every possible angle and if at some point we determine it was hate-motivated or bias-motivated then we will definitely share it with the community.”
Djibril Diol, his wife Adja, and their daughter, Kadidia
Denver Police Department
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Djibril Diol “was doing all the things he needed to do to provide his family with an amazing life in America, and that was all cut short on that day,” Montoya added.
A GoFundme page has been set up in support of the victims’ family.
Djibril and Adja Diol, and their daughter
GoFundMe
“Djiby, a young man with a promising future in Civil Engineering, has left behind a community that he so deeply loved and cared for,” according to the page. “We are saddened by the loss of a loving Dad, a nurturing husband, and a caring brother to all of us.”
As of Tuesday, the campaign has surpassed its goal, raising $187,876.
Anyone with information about the fire is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867 or 720-913-STOP.