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Newly released surveillance footage captured the terrifying moment an elderly victim shouted ‘get the f*** out of here!’ at a brazen criminal who allegedly broke into their home, tied one of them up, and then set the house on fire.
Frank and Maureen Olton were tragically killed on Monday after they welcomed Jamel McGriff, 42, into their Queens home when he asked to charge his phone, police said.
But things quickly turned violent after McGriff, who was taken into custody Wednesday, allegedly tied Frank up and then set the house ablaze.
Video from a neighbor’s home captured the moment Frank, 76, let the stranger enter his backyard around 10.15am.
Several minutes later, Maureen, 77, went to the backdoor to speak to her husband. As she did so, Frank attempted to shut the door, but McGriff quickly snuck into the home.
A male voice, believed to be Frank’s, was then heard yelling ‘get the f*** out of here’ – but the alleged murderer ignored him and forced his way into their house anyway.
Once inside, police said McGriff tied the pair up, stabbed them and then set them on fire.
Frank was found tied with a bungee cord and wire to a pole in their basement, suffering from multiple stab wounds. His wife was located on the first floor, severely burned, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Tuesday.
New surveillance video captured the terrifying moment an elderly victim shouted ‘get the f*** out of here!’ at a career criminal who allegedly broke into a Queens home and tortured them. (Pictured: Frank Olton seen standing outside his home before the incident)
Jamel McGriff, 42, is accused of the heinous crime. He initially fled the scene afterward and was on the run until NYPD officers arrested him Wednesday in Times Square
McGriff fled the residence around 3.10pm before there was any sign of a fire, witnesses said, the New York Post reported.
Their son, a New York City Fire Department paramedic, rushed to his parent’s home after he was alerted to the blaze by an alarm system, police said.
Tisch said there is no known connection between the victims and the suspect.
McGriff fled the neighborhood and allegedly went on a spending spree with the victim’s credit cards, leading police to nab him in Times Square.
The suspect allegedly purchased items at Macy’s and a Regal Cinema movie theater with the couple’s cards, sources told the Post.
‘He was spotted in Midtown Manhattan by eagle-eyed cops who didn’t hesitate before jumping into action,’ Tisch said on X Tuesday evening.
‘Thank you to the best detectives and the best cops in the world for their work tracking and apprehending this violent criminal.’
Prior to his arrest, McGriff was spotted pawning two cell phone in the Bronx, Tisch said.
Frank was found tied to a pole in the home’s basement, suffering from multiple stab wounds. His wife was found severely burned on the first floor of the home (pictured)
McGriff is believed to have entered the couple’s home after asking if he could charge his phone. Frank welcomed him to their backyard before the suspect allegedly made his way inside
McGriff was identified by his parole officer after he was caught on surveillance footage at the scene of Monday’s crime.
That footage showed the suspect approaching the Olton home and interacting with Frank before he entered, police said.
He was seen again leaving the home five hours later, with two bags in his hands.
Councilwoman Linda Lee said the suspect was recorded on electronic doorbell cameras approaching several homes before he went inside the Olton home.
McGriff was caught in other footage from that day that police released in a bid to catch him while on the run
McGriff (pictured) was out on parole following his release in 2023 after serving 16 years of a 20 year sentence for a 2006 first-degree robbery, officials said
The Olton’s nephew Sean Kelly told The New York Times the victims were ‘amazing people’ who ‘did not deserve this.’
This is not McGriff’s first run-in with the law as he is also the main suspect in two New York City robberies that took place in July and August.
One involved a robbery at a Verizon store, where he got beaten up by an employee, the outlet reported.
He was out on parole following his release in 2023 after serving 16 years of a 20 year sentence for a 2006 first-degree robbery, officials said.
