DNA found in a flower bed leads to Midlothian arson arrests, but family still wants answers

A gasoline nozzle found in a flower bed helped police identify two men accused of setting a Midlothian family's home on fire while children were inside.

Fifteen months later, Darryl Wilson and his family have seen arrests, but there are no answers to the question that has haunted them since the flames.

Who wanted them hurt and why?

It's the same question Midlothian police are still trying to answer.

Bennie McGriff Jr. and Rashad Harrington face first-degree felony arson charges in connection with the August 2025 fire at Wilson's home on McAlpin Road.

Search warrants obtained by CBS News Texas from Ellis County reveal how investigators used surveillance video, license plate readers, cellphone records and DNA to connect the men to the crime.

The family's surveillance camera captured a masked person pouring what appeared to be gasoline along the front of the house before igniting it. The suspect then fled.

Wilson, awakened by his daughter, discovered the house was on fire. He managed to extinguish the flames with water.

A trail of technology

The family's surveillance video lacked a timestamp, but another camera captured a white Ford F-450 near the home around the time of the fire.

Investigators traced the truck to McGriff.

According to court documents, license plate readers and cellular data helped detectives reconstruct the truck's movements from Kerens to Duncanville, where they believe McGriff picked up Harrington, and then to Midlothian.

Police say the truck returned to Duncanville after the fire before heading back toward Kerens.

Investigators also focused on a Bluetooth connection inside the truck. Court records indicate McGriff's phone connected to the vehicle during the trip.

When detectives interviewed McGriff at the Navarro County Jail in February, he denied knowing anyone in Midlothian and denied driving there the night of the fire. Yet, the document said he owned the number investigators pinged.

Harrington's cellphone activity raised additional questions. Investigators say the two men communicated before the fire, but Harrington's phone went silent during the time of the arson.

Then came evidence investigators believe is even harder to explain.

DNA in the flower bed

Police recovered a gasoline nozzle from Wilson's front flower bed.

According to search warrants, DNA testing linked Harrington to the nozzle by the Texas DPS Crime Lab. Investigators say the evidence, combined with surveillance footage and cellphone records, helped establish probable cause against the two men.

But the growing evidence has not answered the Wilson family's most troubling question. Why?

Wilson and his family declined an on-camera interview, citing the ongoing legal process and attacks on social media. They told CBS News Texas they do not know either suspect.

Midlothian police declined an interview, saying the investigation remains active and additional charges are possible.

For Wilson and his family, the arrests mark progress, not closure.