A convict on parole, with a criminal history going back to his teens, has been identified as the suspect in the torture-murders of an elderly couple on Monday in New York City.
Jamel McGriff, 42, out of prison on parole, is the target of a manhunt, suspected in the deaths of Frank and Maureen Olten in the Queens section of the city, according to news reports.
And all the couple tried to do was help him.
According to WABC-TV, McGriff was going door to door in the neighborhood asking if he could charge his cell phone. At least one neighbor, who was unidentified, turned McGriff away, the station reported.
It might have been a life-saving decision.
Jamel McGriff is a suspect for a double homicide in Bellerose, Queens. He is considered armed and dangerous.
If you see him, do not approach and call 9-1-1 immediately. If you have any info, contact @NYPDTips or call 800-577-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/6Yil2K3eoS
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) September 9, 2025
Video from security cameras showed Frank Olten, 76, letting McGriff into the couple’s home by the back door about 10:15 a.m., WABC reported.
Five hours later, neighbors reported the house was on fire.
The Oltens’ bodies were found inside, both with multiple stab wounds, the station reported.
Maureen Olten’s body was on the floor of the living room. She had been doused with accelerant and set on fire. Frank Olten’s body was in the basement tied to a pole with bungee cords. He had also been set on fire.
“It’s one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever heard of,” a neighbor told the station. “That a crime like this could be committed in this area.”
McGriff’s criminal record dates back nearly 30 years, according to WABC.
Coming in the wake of the brutal August murder of a Ukraine war refugee in Charlotte, North Carolina, by another career criminal who should have been behind bars, the Oltens killing is already putting more national attention on violent crime committed by repeat offenders.
It’s a subject the establishment news media have downplayed..
Jamel McGriff is on parole after serving more than 16 years for robbery.
Since his release, he’s been involved in multiple robberies and he failed to register as a sex offender.
Yet, he wasn’t jailed, and instead, was free to murder this elderly couple.
This has to end. https://t.co/2L8d631Gzl pic.twitter.com/ZOHP7XQFfD
— Adam Johnston (@ConquestTheory) September 9, 2025
Jamel McGriff, sex offender and career criminal, tied up and lit the elderly couple Thomas and Maureen Olton ablaze, tied up in the basement of their home. Their paramedic son later found them.
We shouldn’t have to live like this. pic.twitter.com/rwddYF90ny
— Bluesky Libs (@BlueskyLibs) September 10, 2025
Police launched a massive manhunt Tuesday for a violent sex offender and career criminal sought in the horrific Queens fire that killed the elderly parents of an FDNY paramedic.
Jamel McGriff, 42, an ex-con on probation with a string of career busts, has been identified as a… pic.twitter.com/Ur9PjLonsF
— Crime In NYC (@Crime_In_NYC) September 9, 2025
According to WNYW, the Fox station in New York, McGriff was out on parole after serving 16 years in prison for a 2006 robbery.
He was also a sex offender who had failed to register on his release, which itself was a violation of his parole.
In addition, he is suspected of one robbery, in July, and one attempted robbery, in August, according to the New York Post.
“It is not clear why McGriff was not jailed on a parole violation despite the sex registry violation and the suspected robberies,” the Post noted.
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