Queens double murder suspect has criminal record 'stretching back 30 years'

QUEENS - A manhunt is underway for the suspect police say tortured an elderly couple inside their Queens home for hours before killing them and setting the place on fire.

Who is Jamel McGriff?

The backstory:

The NYPD said the 42-year-old suspect, identified as ex-con Jamel McGriff, is considered "armed and dangerous." NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch says McGriff has a criminal record that spans 30 years.

According to police, McGriff spent 16 years in prison on a 2006 robbery conviction and was out on parole. He's also wanted by police for two recent robberies – one at a Harlem GameStop from this July and another at a Manhattan Verizon store, where the clerk noticed he had a fake gun and fought him off, police said. McGriff also failed last year to register as a sex offender, which should have violated his parole, police said.

"He had been checking in regularly and his parole officer, actually, did a great job for us not on one, but two occasions because he also did the identification for us for the robbery that took place in the confines of the 13th Precinct, which was the Verizon store," NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.

McGriff was last seen on Tuesday pawning two cellphones in the Bronx. Surveillance footage also captured him walking down a Queens sidewalk dressed in a black jacket, black hat, blue jeans, black sneakers with a paper bag and backpack in hand.

Elderly couple tortured, killed

What we know:

Police say surveillance video shows McGriff approaching one home around 10 a.m. and asking the owner if he could go inside and charge his phone – the homeowner declined. McGriff then proceeded on foot to the home of Frank and Maureen Olton, police said.

Investigators say Frank initially let McGriff into the backyard, and then both men were seeing going through a back door. McGriff wasn't seen on camera again until five hours later at 3 p.m. walking eastbound on 87th Dr. After that, the victims’ son was alerted to a fire at his parents’ home by the family's alarm system.

"Once the flames were under control, two victims were found deceased inside the home – 76-year-old Frank Olton, who was the one seen on video interacting with the suspect outside, and Mr. Olton's wife, 77-year-old Maureen Olton," Tisch said. "Mr. Olton was found in the basement tied to a pole with multiple stab wounds; Mrs. Olton was found on the 1st floor severely burned."

The Oltons had lived in their Bellerose home for decades and raised their family there. 

What they're saying:

Commissioner Tisch urged residents to use caution, saying McGriff often poses as someone seeking help in order to gain entry into homes.

"His method is to go door to door asking for some kind of assistance until he can gain entry. Do not allow anyone you do not know or are not expecting into your home," Tisch said.

What we don't know:

Tisch noted there was no prior relationship between the suspect and the victims beyond this encounter. The medical examiner is still working to determine the exact causes of death.