Fire that killed Queens couple in their home was intentionally set, police say

A Queens couple in their late 70s was killed Monday in a fire someone intentionally set in the family’s home, according to NYPD officials, leaving neighbors on edge as police worked to find the person responsible.

Firefighters and police responded to a 911 call about the blaze at a house on 254th Street and 87th Drive in Bellerose around 3:30 p.m., officials said. Once the flames were extinguished, the responders discovered a 76-year-old man and a 77-year-old woman, both dead.

Police on Tuesday identified a person of interest as Jamel McGriff, who they said was identified by his parole officer.

He has not been arrested or charged, but is considered armed and dangerous, according to authorities. Officials said they are investigating the incident as a double homicide.

The NYPD confirmed that the couple, Frank and Maureen Olton, were found on separate floors of the home. Frank was discovered in the basement; Maureen was upstairs. Their official causes of death have not yet been released.

Investigators said McGriff knocked on the door of a neighbor earlier in the day, asking for help to charge his phone. Surveillance video captured a man matching his description knocking on the door of Frank and Maureen Olton, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

She said McGriff was in the home for about five hours before leaving with two bags.

“Mr. Olton was found in the basement tied to a pole with multiple stab wounds,” she said. “Mrs. Olton was found on the first floor severely burned.”

Neighbors remembered the couple on Tuesday as friendly, longtime community members. They and the police said the suspect was spotted knocking on doors in the area and asking people to charge his phone on Monday before the fire.

“This is like some true-crime horror story type of thing,” said Jamar Williams, who lives down the block from the couple’s home and saw flames leaping from the top of the house.

Stephan Galicia, one of the couple’s next-door neighbors, said he waved to them this past weekend as they sat in their backyard. He went to the gym Monday afternoon and returned home to find their house damaged by the fire, he said.

“It happened fairly quickly,” Galicia said. “They’re nice people. It’s been pretty shocking to my family.”

The charred interior of the home was visible Tuesday morning through its shattered windows, with burned chairs and miscellaneous furniture littering the grass outside. Someone had stopped by to leave several candles and flowers as a small memorial.

Neighbors said they had previously seen a man who appeared to match the suspect’s description walking around the area with a bag in his hands, as recently as Monday afternoon.

Maria Castro, who works at a hair salon on Little Neck Parkway around the corner from the couple's home, said she saw someone who looked like the suspect around 2:30 p.m.

Lisa Conte said she’ll encourage her father, who also lives in the vicinity, to take more precautions, like locking the front door and not answering the door.

“It’s very chilling, it’s scary,” she said of the incident.

City Councilmember Linda Lee, who represents Bellerose and came by the scene Tuesday, said the incident was rare for the neighborhood. She encouraged neighbors to secure their homes with Ring cameras, which she said were in place at some of the other homes the suspect had approached.

NYPD data shows homicides are rare in the 105th Precinct, which includes Bellerose and several of Queens’ other easternmost neighborhoods. There was only one homicide in the precinct through Sept. 7 this year, compared to zero in the same period last year.

Police are asking anyone with information about the incident to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or, for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). People can also submit tips on the Crime Stoppers website.

This is a developing story based on preliminary information from police and has been updated with additional details.