A community in Queens gathered Friday night for a candlelight vigil for a couple killed in their home before it was set on fire.
Frank Olton, 76, and Maureen Olton, 77, were honored at their home, where they were both killed earlier this week.
While the community mourns the beloved couple, the Queens district attorney’s office says they will prosecute the suspect, 42-year-old Jamel McGriff, to the fullest extent of the law.
“This could have been any of us”
Neighbors flooded 254th Street and 87th Drive, where they held candles and sang songs.
“It’s just such senseless violence. It’s not, it’s not the way things are supposed to be,” neighbor Analyse Triolo-Lewis said.
The Oltons raised their family in the neighborhood, and Frank Olton was an active member of the Bellerose Commonwealth Civic Association and the community.
“If we wanted to know something, Frank was the person to reach out to, especially in this area,” Civic Association member Lourdes Villanueva Hartrick said.
“It’s just such a shock,” neighbor Ruth Nouza said.
Borough President Donovan Richards says McGriff was knocking on a number of doors the day the Oltons were killed.
“This could have been any of us. This could have been any of our children. This could have been any of our grandparents. This could have been any of our parents,” Richards said.
Richards wants to rename 254th Street in honor of the victims.
New details of how police caught suspect James McGriff
Police say McGriff forced his way into the Oltons’ home, stabbed Frank Olton multiple times, left him tied up in the basement and set the house on fire. Maureen Olton was found dead on the first floor.
Law enforcement officials said they were able to track McGriff’s location in real time as he used the victims’ credit card to buy a movie ticket in Union Square. Detectives were immediately dispatched to the theater.
Jamel McGriff appears in court on Sept. 11, 2025.
Kevin C. Downs/Pool
“We were able to obtain video images of exactly what he was wearing. We were able to broadcast that to every police officer in New York City, a picture of what exactly he was wearing at the time. It was a very distinctive outfit,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said. “Once officers were armed with that information, a group of NYPD police officers that are assigned to the Times Square pickpocket team, they saw him in the area. They were able to contact two uniformed officers to assist them in the apprehension, and that’s how he was caught.”
McGriff faces multiple charges including murder, kidnapping and arson. He was captured on video forcing his way into the Oltons’ home. McGriff has 17 priors, and has been arrested numerous times for robbery, including a commercial robbery where he sexually abused an employee.
McGriff was on parole for a separate robbery, and identified in a recent robbery, at the time the Oltons were killed.
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