New images show armed ex-con hunted for torturing, killing elderly couple after ruse to enter home: police

New York City police are urging residents to be on alert for a man suspected of torturing an elderly Queens couple for hours before killing them and setting their home on fire – all under the guise of needing to come inside to charge his phone. 

The NYPD has released new photos of 42-year-old Jamel McGriff, an ex-con with a decades-long rap sheet, as police warn he is considered armed and dangerous. 

The victims have been identified as Frank and Maureen Olton, 76 and 77.

This still image taken from security video shows the man police are seeking in connection with a double-homicide arson attack near New York’s Belmont Park racetrack.  (NYPD)

McGriff has a lengthy criminal history spanning decades, including a 16-year-long prison sentence stemming from a 2006 robbery conviction in which he was out on parole, FOX 5 reported. He is also wanted for two recent robberies – one at a Harlem GameStop in July and another at a Manhattan Verizon store, where he was reportedly fought off by a store clerk who noticed he was carrying a fake gun, police said. 

Last year, McGriff also failed to register as a sex offender, a parole violation, police said. 

McGriff was last spotted pawning two cellphones in the Bronx on Tuesday, police said. He was also seen on surveillance video walking down a sidewalk in Queens wearing a black hat, black jacket, blue jeans and black sneakers while carrying a backpack and paper bag. 

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS, share tips online at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org or on X @NYPDTips.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.