A manhunt has been launched for a violent sex offender and career criminal in connection with the violent deaths of an elderly couple.
Maureen Olton, 78, and her husband Frank Thomas Olton, 76, had both been stabbed multiple times, and he had been tied to a pole and doused in flammable liquid, before their house was set alight.
Now, 42-year-old Jamel McGriff has been identified as a suspect.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the ex-convict is "armed and dangerous" and has a criminal record dating back 30 years.
PICTURED: Jamel McGriff, a suspect in the double homicide
|NYPD
She told reporters on Tuesday: "The suspect's MO is to go door to door, asking for some kind of assistance until he can gain entry.
"Investigators for the NYPD and our partners on the Regional Fugitive Task Force are working around the clock to locate and to apprehend Mr McGriff."
According to authorities, the suspected killer entered the Olton's home through a backdoor at around 10.15am on Monday.
He was then caught on camera leaving the property nearly five hours later.
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The house was torched with the couple inside
|FNTV
Mrs Olton's body was found on the first floor of the building, while her husband's body was in the basement.
Tragically, the couple's son, who is an paramedic for the New York City Fire Department, was alerted to the fire and was on the scene at his parents' house while it was put out.
According to state correction records, McGriff was still on parole after his release from prison in 2023.
He had served 17 years of a 20-year sentence in state prison for a criminal sex act, burglary, robbery and sex abuse.
PICTURED: Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch giving an update on the ongoing investigation
|NYPD
He is believed to have robbed a 34-year-old at knifepoint on a train in November 2005 and molesting a 23-year-old female employee at knifepoint later that month.
He was due to be on parole until at least next year.
According to police, he failed to register as a sex offender following his release, and is the lead suspect in at least two robberies in New York since his release.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said on Tuesday that in July McGriff had allegedly walked into a GameStop in Manhattan armed with a gun and taken cash.
Then, at the end of August, McGriff forced an employee at another store into a backroom at gunpoint.
However, when the employee realised it was a fake weapon, he chased McGriff away.
Mr Kenny said McGriff had been "checking in regularly" with his parole officer.