Home owned by Johnny Manziel’s grandfather destroyed by fire; arson suspected

A home in East Texas owned by Paul Manziel, grandfather of Browns’ quarterback Johnny Manziel, was destroyed by fire early Wednesday morning.

The Whitehouse Fire Department responded to a call of a structure fire around 1:30 a.m. Smith County fire marshal Jay Brooks said by the time the fire was called in by a neighbor, it was already fully involved. By 2 a.m., it had collapsed.

No one was harmed in the fire; Brooks said it had been unoccupied for two days. 

Brooks said the fire is suspicious in nature in will be investigated thoroughly; investigators from the State Fire Marshals Office are being called in to do a search of the residence, and arson canines will also be called.

Beverly Green, the girlfriend of Paul Manziel, released this statement to local station CBS19 on Wednesday:

“Everything Paul loved and cherished was in that home. He loved his house. Thank you to friends and family for all of your prayers. We are just blessed no one was in the house and everyone is safe.”

Whitehouse, Texas is just south of Tyler, where Johnny Manziel grew up and starred for Tivy High School.