The man accused of torturing and killing an elderly couple before setting their home on fire in Queens will be arraigned on his indictment Tuesday.
Investigators say Jamel McGriff, 42, was walking around the couple’s neighborhood in Bellrose knocking on doors and asking to charge his phone last month.
Mcgriff allegedly pushed his way into the home of Frank and Maureen Olton, 76 and 77 years old.
Police say he then set them on fire after spending five hours inside their home.
He was later arrested in Times Square after a multi-day manhunt.
McGriff is facing multiple counts of first degree murder, two counts of robbery, three charges of burglary, grand larceny, kidnap abduction resulting in death, kidnapping, arson, criminal possession of a weapon, identity theft and criminal possession of stolen property.
Despite initially believing Frank Olton let McGriff into his home, a new analysis of surveillance videos appears to show that was not the case.
Detectives now believe the victim told the suspect to hand over his phone and wait by the gate as he charged it inside, but once inside the gate, the suspect appears to have taken advantage of Olton’s kindness by pushing his way into the house.
The surveillance video recovered by police has audio, and on it detectives believe they can hear Olton ordering the suspect to “get the f- out of here.”
The victims’ family, who requested privacy, released a photo of the couple last month.
New details from McGriff’s arraignment revealed that he was tracked on video from Queens Herald Square. Officials say he went straight to Macy’s where he used Frank Olton’s credit card to purchase $500 in luxury clothes but used his own Macy’s rewards account number, with his own name.
He was caught on video at the Regal Union Square movie theater in a recliner, watching a movie with tickets purchased with Frank Olton’s credit card.
McGriff, described by police as a career criminal, is a level 3 sex offender with a lengthy criminal record stretching 30 years. He was released from prison in 2023.
McGriff served 16 years in prison for an armed robbery and is wanted in two more armed robberies this summer.
He now faces multiple, consecutive life sentences if convicted in the murder of the Queens couple.
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