On September 8, a horrifying double murder shocked the Bellerose neighborhood in Queens, New York, when 76-year-old Frank Olton and his wife Maureen Olton were found dead in their home. The elderly couple had been tortured for five hours before the perpetrator set their house on fire.
According to reports, 42-year-old Jamel McGriff knocked on the Oltons’ door that day, asking if he could charge his phone. The kind-hearted couple let him inside, unknowingly inviting danger. McGriff then brutally tortured the couple for hours, ransacked the home for valuables, and set the house ablaze before fleeing.
Police who arrived at the scene discovered both victims with multiple stab and burn wounds. Frank Olton was tied to a basement post, while Maureen Olton was found on the first floor. Surveillance footage later revealed that McGriff had gone door to door in the neighborhood that day, but only the Oltons allowed him in.
Investigators also found that McGriff had a 30-year criminal history, including a 16-year prison sentence for robbery in 2006. After being released on parole, he committed this latest crime and was arrested on September 10.
