The parolee who murdered an elderly Queens couple and torched their house also repeatedly tried to steal more than $10,000 from the victims’ bank account, prosecutors said after the suspect was hit with a 50-count indictment Tuesday.
Jamel McGriff, 42, was arraigned in Queens Supreme Court Tuesday on first-degree murder, kidnapping and a host of other charges in the monstrous killing of Frank Olton, 76, and his wife, Maureen Olton, 77, on Sept. 8.
“The level of violence and depravity that this defendant perpetrated against the Oltons during that five hours will shock your conscience,” Assistant District Attorney John Esposito said at McGriff’s grand jury arraignment, referring to the amount of time McGriff spent in the couple’s Bellerose home.
“The defendant separated Frank and Maureen during their final moments, which must have been terrifying, tied Frank Olton to a pole in the basement, stabbing him multiple times in the chest and neck, killing him,” Esposito said. “He tried to set Frank Olton on fire to conceal evidence of his vicious crime, but that fire failed to catch. He appears to have tied Maureen Olton to a chair upstairs in the living room, where he then strangled her to death.”
Gardiner Anderson / New York Daily News
Jamel McGriff is pictured in police custody outside the NYPD 107th Precinct station house in Queens on Sept. 11. (Gardiner Anderson / New York Daily News)
McGriff, a registered sex offender with a lengthy rap sheet, knocked on the Oltons’ door, telling the couple that he was lost and needed to charge his dead cell phone, authorities allege. He had already tried a neighbor’s door, but was rebuffed, prosecutors said.
Frank Olton offered him help, and when he went back inside, McGriff followed, pushing his way into the home on 254th St. near 87th Drive while the septuagenarian husband yelled in desperation, “Get the f— out!” Esposito said.
McGriff made several attempts to drain the couple’s bank accounts, trying to move more than $10,000 to his own Cash App account, only to be thwarted by the bank’s transfer limits, the prosecutor said. He then called their bank directly for help, but failed to answer their security questions, Esposito said. The call was recorded.
Before he left, McGriff set the place’s living room on fire and “created a raging inferno” that left Maureen Olton’s charred remains unrecognizable.
“He clearly took the credit cards, because he went from the Oltons’ house to Macy’s and used Mr. Olton’s credit cards, not only for clothing, but also for movies the next day,” Queens D.A. Melinda Katz told reporters Tuesday. “So there’s a lot of evidence that shows he was trying to utilize that time (in the house) to get access to financial means.”
McGriff’s post-murder shopping spree included a trip to Macy’s in Herald Square in Manhattan, where he bought $796.10 worth of clothes with Frank Olton’s credit card, using his own store loyalty account, prosecutors allege. He also used his own ID when he deposited the victims’ cell phones into a machine that disburses cash for mobile devices at a Bronx check-cashing store on Sept. 9, prosecutors said.
The next day, he caught a matinee movie in Manhattan, buying snacks with the victim’s credit card, Esposito said.
Police caught up with McGriff in Times Square after the movie let out, Esposito said, and he was caught on police body camera confessing, “I admit it. I killed them. I don’t give a f—.”
Police found two of Frank Olton’s credit cards in his possession, as well as a signed baseball from the victims’ basement, Esposito said.
McGriff pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, and remains held without bail. His lawyer, Michelle Benoit of Legal Aid, said she reserved the right to apply for bail at a later date.
He could face life without parole if convicted at trial.
Originally Published: October 14, 2025 at 2:46 PM EDT
