Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jamel McGriff was arraigned on a grand jury indictment charging him with 13 counts of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, kidnapping, arson, burglary and other crimes for the violent home invasion and murder of Frank and Maureen Olton. The defendant allegedly forced his way into the victims’ Bellerose home on September 8, killing both and then setting the house on fire.

District Attorney Katz said: “According to the charges, on a Monday morning in a quiet neighborhood, the defendant forced his way into the home of Frank and Maureen Olton, made multiple attempts to transfer money from their bank account, murdered them and set the house ablaze before fleeing with their phones and credit cards. He used the credit cards before the NYPD finally caught up with him. In custody and indicted on first-degree murder and other charges, the defendant is facing a maximum of life in prison, if convicted.”

McGriff, 42, of Creston Avenue in the Bronx, was arraigned today on a 50-count indictment charging him with 13 counts of murder in the first degree, two counts of murder in the second degree, two counts of kidnapping in the first degree, two counts of kidnapping in the second degree, three counts of burglary in the first degree, two counts of arson in the second degree, three counts of robbery in the first degree, two counts of burglary in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, two counts of grand larceny in the fourth degree, two counts of criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree, three counts of criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree, identity theft in the second degree, three counts of identity theft in the third degree, three counts of unlawful possession of personal information in the third degree and six counts of attempted identity theft in the third degree.

Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder, who presided at the arraignment, continued remand and set the defendant’s return date for November 12. If convicted, McGriff faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

District Attorney Katz said that, according to the charges and investigation, the defendant forced his way inside the Oltons’ home on September 8, shortly after 10 a.m. McGriff did not exit the 254^th Street residence until roughly 3:08 p.m. He was observed walking from the home carrying a duffel bag. Shortly thereafter, the Oltons’ son was notified by an alarm company that there was a fire at the location.

Responding firefighters found both Maureen and Frank Olton dead inside the home. Frank Olton, 76, was found in the basement. He had been tied to a pole and repeatedly stabbed in his neck and chest. Maureen Olton, 77, was found in the living room. She had sustained burns, had a fractured larynx and soot was present in her trachea and one lung.

Later that same day, at approximately 6 p.m., the defendant allegedly made two purchases totaling $796.10 on Frank Olton’s credit card at Macy’s in Herald Square. The defendant purchased clothes and provided the cashier with his personal loyalty number for the transactions.

On September 9, at approximately 7:45 a.m., the defendant allegedly deposited the Oltons’ cell phones into a machine that disburses cash for mobile devices at a Bronx check cashing store. The defendant used his own personal identification for the transactions.

McGriff was stopped by members of the NYPD in midtown Manhattan at approximately 5:30 p.m. on September 10 and taken into custody.

Senior Assistant District Attorney John Esposito of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Assistant District Attorney Caitlyn Muldoon under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys John Kosinski, Bureau Chief, Karen Ross and Jonathan Selkowe, Deputy Bureau Chiefs, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Shawn Clark.