A man accused of killing an elderly couple in Queens and setting their home on fire pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Criminal Court.
Prosecutors say 42-year-old Jamel McGriff forced his way into the couple’s Bellerose home on Sept. 8.
According to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, 76-year-old Frank Olton was found in the basement tied to a pole with multiple stab wounds to his neck and chest. His wife, 77-year-old Mauren Olton, was discovered in the living room with burns and a fractured larynx.
“This is an extremely gruesome case. It’s one of the most that we’ve had,” Katz said. “I will say that anytime there is a murder, there is a family that suffers.”
Investigators say surveillance video showed McGriff leaving the home just after 3 p.m. carrying a duffel bag. He was arrested the next day in Midtown Manhattan after allegedly using the couple’s credit cards to make purchases.
“He came out several hours later, almost five hours later, then took a trip with Frank Olton’s credit cards into the Bronx, into Manhattan, turned in the phones to pawn shops until he was finally caught on a two-day manhunt by the NYPD,” Katz said.
McGriff was arraigned on a 50-count indictment, including 13 counts of first-degree murder, as well as kidnapping, burglary and arson. Members of the victims’ family were in the courtroom during the arraignment.
“I can only talk for most families that I know,” Katz said. “They would be devastated by this news. To hear in a courtroom the way that their parents died, to hear in the courtroom all of the things that happened that we can talk about, would devastate any family.”
A spokesperson for the Legal Aid Society, which is representing McGriff, said in a statement, “Mr. McGriff is entitled to the presumption of innocence. We are in the early stages of our investigation, and we urge the public not to draw any conclusions until all the facts are known.”
McGriff faces life in prison if convicted. He is due back in court Nov. 12.