A man arrested in connection with the fatal attack and fire at a Queens home admitted on police body-worn camera that he killed the elderly couple who lived there, prosecutors said Thursday.
Prosecutors told a packed Queens courtroom that 42-year-old Jamel McGriff said, "I'll admit it. I killed them," and added, "I don't give a f–k. I killed them. I burnt the n—s. I molested them," in remarks captured after his arrest two days following the killings. McGriff was ordered held without bail on 18 charges, including murder, arson, robbery, burglary, kidnapping and identity theft.
Police and prosecutors say Frank and Maureen Olton, ages 76 and 77, were tortured in their Bellerose home before being killed on Monday. Assistant District Attorney John Esposito told the court that Maureen Olton was still alive when the suspect set fire to the upstairs of the house; her body was later described as "unrecognizable" from burns. Prosecutors said she suffered thermal burns, a fractured larynx and soot in her trachea. Frank Olton was reportedly tied to a pole in the basement, stabbed several times and had fire set to his chest before the inferno spread.
Prosecutors said surveillance and bodycam footage show McGriff entering and remaining inside the home for roughly five hours. After leaving the scene, he allegedly used the couple's credit card to buy about $500 worth of clothing at Macy's, registered a bonus-points account in his own name, pawned two cellphones for cash and attended a film at the Regal Union Square theater — all on the victims' accounts, according to the charging documents. Investigators tracked him from store and theater surveillance footage and arrested him later that day in Times Square.
Prosecutors told the court that video shows McGriff approaching several homes earlier Monday under the pretext of needing a phone charger and being rebuffed. They said he then followed Frank Olton through a back door after being again rejected; Frank Olton is heard telling the man to "Get the f–k out" in the footage, Esposito said. Authorities described the attack as random.
Court filings say McGriff has 11 prior convictions, including four for violent felonies. He was released on parole in 2023 after serving 17 years of a 20-year sentence for armed robbery and sex crimes, prosecutors said. New York's Department of Corrections and Community Supervision told reporters that it received word from the NYPD in 2024 that McGriff had failed to register his address as required on the sex-offender registry; the department spokesman said that notification did not result in an immediate parole violation charge and that McGriff remained free until his arrest on the current counts.
Prosecutors characterized the killings as "horrifying and shocking" during the hearing. McGriff was wearing what prosecutors described as a white painter's outfit in court as they recounted the details.
The case has prompted attention to supervision of people on parole and enforcement of sex-offender registration requirements, though officials cautioned that the investigation into the killings and related procedures remains ongoing. McGriff is due back in Queens Criminal Court next week as prosecutors continue to prepare their case and investigators work to gather additional evidence.
The investigation is being led by NYPD homicide detectives and the Queens District Attorney's Office. Officials did not immediately provide a motive for the attack and said they were continuing to review video, forensic evidence and other records tied to the couple's deaths and the suspect's movements in the hours after the killings.