Man stole signed baseball after killing Queens couple, used own ID to sell phones, DA says
A Bronx man accused of killing an elderly Queens couple stole a signed baseball from their home and later used his own identification to sell their phones for cash, according to an indictment unsealed Monday.
Jamel McGriff, 42, faces 50 charges, including 13 counts of first-degree murder, in connection with the Sept. 8 deaths of Frank Olton, 76, and Maureen Olton, 77, in their Bellerose home. Prosecutors said McGriff spent hours inside the house.
“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,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement.
Among the items taken were cellphones, credit cards and a signed baseball, according to prosecutors.
Surveillance video captured McGriff leaving the home around 3 p.m. with a duffel bag, several hours after he allegedly entered around 10 a.m., prosecutors said.
Firefighters responding to a call later that afternoon found Frank Olton tied to a pole in the basement with multiple stab wounds to his neck and chest, officials said. Maureen Olton was found in the living room with burns, a fractured larynx, and soot in her trachea and lung.
Around 6 p.m. that day, McGriff allegedly used one of the victims’ credit cards to buy nearly $800 in clothing at Macy’s in Herald Square, giving his personal loyalty number during the transaction.
The next morning, he allegedly deposited the couple’s iPhones at a Bronx check-cashing store that offers cash for mobile devices, using his own state-issued ID.
McGriff was arrested Sept. 10 in Midtown after a two-day manhunt. According to earlier court filings, he told police, “I’ll admit it. I killed them.”
He was arraigned Tuesday in Queens Supreme Court, where Justice Kenneth Holder ordered him held without bail. McGriff's attorney did not respond to requests for comment.
