Man follows wife after argument, then burns her grandmother’s house down, Texas cops say
A woman went to her grandmother’s house after an argument with her husband turned “hostile,” Texas police said. Her husband is now accused of setting the grandmother’s home on fire.
Details of the investigation unfolded after police witnessed the New Boston home “fully engulfed in flames” on Nov. 19, according to a probable cause statement filed in court on Dec. 3. A man drove up to the scene and asked one of the investigators if “everyone is ok,” adding that it was his wife’s home, police said.
The man, identified as Dennis McGill, then drove to another part of the property where officers heard a loud argument before he left, according to police.
The wife’s daughter later told police what led up to the fire, accusing McGill of starting it, court documents said.
After the wife left the home, she and her daughter received numerous texts and voicemails from McGill threatening to set fire to the family, police said.
“There will not be any incriminating evidence,” McGill, who was slurring his words, said in one of the voicemails, per court documents. “Let me talk to my wife.”
In another voicemail, he told his wife to “call me or pay the consequences,” police said.
When confronted, McGill denied making the threats, but said he and his wife had gotten into an argument and left the home, according to court documents.
He told police that he had been drinking “Everclear ‘whiskey’” throughout the night and had left his home around 5:30 a.m.
However, police said they had a voicemail of him threatening to “burn the family down,” according to court documents. When McGill learned this, “he put his arms in front of him and told us to arrest him,” police said.
McGill was charged with arson. His next court date was not listed.
New Boston is about a 165-mile drive northeast from Dallas.
This story was originally published December 4, 2024 at 5:07 PM with the headline "Man follows wife after argument, then burns her grandmother’s house down, Texas cops say."
