MANHUNT IN QUEENS: Career Criminal Accused of Stabbing, Burning Elderly Parents of FDNY Paramedic

Police have launched a massive manhunt for 42-year-old Jamel McGriff, a career criminal with a 30-year rap sheet who is accused of brutally murdering an elderly couple in Queens before setting their home on fire, according to The New York Post.

Authorities say McGriff tied up, stabbed, and torched Maureen Olton, 78, and her husband, Frank Thomas Olton, 76—the parents of an FDNY paramedic—during a horrifying five-hour ordeal on Monday.

The New York Post reported that McGriff gained entry to the Bellerose residence by asking to charge his phone through the back door. Once inside, he allegedly terrorized the couple before killing them. Surveillance video shows him leaving the home after setting it ablaze.

Frank Thomas Olton was found in the basement, chained to a pole and fatally stabbed. His wife Maureen was discovered dead on the first floor, officials said.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch described McGriff as “armed and dangerous,” noting his long history of violent crime, including armed robbery, burglary, and a sex assault at knifepoint. He had also failed to register as a sex offender and recently held up a Verizon employee at gunpoint with what turned out to be a fake firearm, The New York Post reported.

“This suspect’s MO is to go door to door asking for help until he can gain entry,” Tisch told reporters. “Investigators for the NYPD and our partners on the Regional Fugitive Task Force are working around the clock to locate and apprehend Mr. McGriff.”

Police are urging the public to come forward with any information. Anyone with knowledge of McGriff’s whereabouts is asked to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).