NEED TO KNOW<\/p>\n
A man accused by police of killing an elderly couple and setting fire to their New York City home has been arrested.\n<\/p>\n
Jamel McGriff was taken into custody on Wednesday, Sept. 10 after being spotted by officers in Midtown Manhattan, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a post on X<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n In a previous post<\/a>, Tisch said McGriff was wanted for a “horrific double homicide” in Queens on Monday, Sept. 8, claiming he is known to “knock on doors asking for some kind of assistance until he can gain entry into a home.”\n<\/p>\n According to CNN<\/a>, Tisch alleged at a news conference that McGriff, 42, used a ruse to get into Frank and Maureen Olton’s home in the Bellrose neighborhood, where security footage purportedly showed he stayed for about five hours before re-emerging. The homeowners, both in their 70s, denied him entry at first but he’s later seen entering the couple’s backyard, the outlet reported.\n<\/p>\n Tisch further claimed that McGriff had been going door-to-door in the neighborhood asking to charge his phone, a request investigators believe he made to the Oltons that morning, the Associated Press<\/a> reported.\n<\/p>\n Fifteen minutes after McGriff was seen leaving the home with two bags in his hand, the couple’s home went up in flames, the New York Times<\/a> reported, citing police officials. Officers who responded to the scene by 3:30 p.m. found Maureen severely burned on the first floor and Frank stabbed and tied to a pole in the basement, per the Times.\n<\/p>\n The following day, the New York City Fire Department confirmed in a post on X<\/a> that the fire was set intentionally.\n<\/p>\n \nQueens double murder suspect now believed to have forced his way into victims’ home, sources say<\/p>\n Law enforcement officials told CNN that investigators were able to track down McGriff after monitoring his usage of the couple’s credit cards. The outlet also reported, citing police, that McGriff was allegedly seen trying to pawn two phones in the Bronx on Tuesday, Sept. 9.\n<\/p>\n