Fugitive Parolee Nabbed in Shocking Slay of Elderly NYC Couple
Larry Celona et al., New York Post, September 10, 2025
The career criminal accused of killing then torching an elderly couple in their Queens home was busted by “eagle-eyed” cops Wednesday after he romped with his victims’ credit cards, cops and sources said.
Jamel McGriff, 42, was taken into custody by the NYPD in Times Square two days after he allegedly stabbed and burned Frank and Maureen Olton and then set their home on fire in a shocking double homicide Monday in the typically safe Bellerose neighborhood, the sources said.
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McGriff allegedly terrorized the couple, whose son is an FDNY paramedic, for up to five hours after entering the home {snip}
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The suspect has a long rap sheet and is the prime suspect in two incidents this past summer — one just a week before the horrifying murders.
On Aug 31, McGriff allegedly forced an employee at a Verizon store on Sixth Avenue into a back room at gunpoint — only to have the victim notice it was a fake gun and chase him away.
McGriff allegedly walked into a GameStop in Harlem in July with a gun and made off with cash, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said Tuesday.
He spent nearly 17 years of a 20-year sentence in state prison on a 2006 robbery, sex act and assault conviction and was released on parole in 2023, according to state records.
In 2005, he robbed a 34-year-old man at knifepoint on the F-train, according to sources.
The creep was also convicted of molesting a 23-year-old female employee of a business at knifepoint in 2006, cops said.
Police said he remained free despite failing to register as a sex offender in 2025 following his release.
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[Editor’s Note: Here is a photo of the suspect.]
