MIDLOTHIAN, Texas - A daughter's late-night warning saved her family from an intentional house fire in 2025, and now, over a year later, police have arrested two men for the crime.
What we know:
On Aug. 12, 2025, Midlothian police and fire crews responded to a home in the 900 block of McAlpin Road around 1:05 a.m.
Two men, who police have identified as 55-year-old Bennie Leon McGriff Jr. and 27-year-old Rashad Gilbert Harrington, were captured on video lighting the home on fire, police say.
Using neighborhood surveillance, Flock cameras, vehicle telematics, and cell phone records, investigators tracked a white Ford F-450 to McGriff.
Police say McGriff drove Harrington to the home to commit the arson.
DNA evidence linked Harrington to the crime scene, officials said.
Both men face a first-degree felony charge for arson of a habitation.
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Arsonist sets Midlothian home on fire overnight
Terrifying video shows a man setting a North Texas family of eight's home on fire early Tuesday morning. One family member happened to be awake at the time and woke everyone up after she realized flames were shooting up the front of her house.
The backstory:
The fire happened at the Wilson family’s two-story home on McAlpine Road in Midlothian.
Darryl Wilson’s 21-year-old daughter, Malia, was home from college on summer break and was still awake at the time. Since her bedroom is directly above the garage, she saw the motion-activated security lights turn on.
She walked downstairs to get a closer look, and that’s when she saw the flames outside the living room window. She called 911 and woke her dad up.
The family was able to use pots of water to keep the flames at bay until firefighters arrived to put them all out.
Luckily, no one was hurt, and the damage was minimized.
What we don't know:
Police did not release a motive for the arson or say whether the suspects knew the family living inside the home.
The Source: The information in this article comes from the Midlothian Police Department.