The woman who took care of a 91-year-old man and his 100-year-old wife who were tied up during a home invasion was arrested for allegedly setting them up.
Suzette Troutman, 45, was arrested on a second-degree murder and other charges connected to the burglary that resulted in the death of Waldiman Thompson in his family’s Brooklyn, New York, home.
Troutman – the second person arrested in connection to the robbery – was hired two years ago, helping Thompson and his wife Ethlin with shopping and other housekeeping chores.
Suzette Troutman, 45, was arrested over burglary that resulted in the death of Waldiman Thompson, 91, in Brooklyn, New York. Troutman – the second person arrested in connection to the robbery – was hired two years ago, helping Thompson and his 100-year-old wife Ethlin
She was charged with second-degree murder and two counts of assault and burglary: a charge also faced by 27-year-old Dwayne Blackwood
The Brooklyn native was at the home on October 11 when $5,000 was stolen from the couple as they were tied up by the robbers.
‘For two years now, she would go by there and somehow check on them, now and then,’ Ethlin Thompson’s brother, Garfield Bringle, told theNew York Daily News.
Four men broke into the ground floor apartment of Waldiman, 91 (left), and Ethlin Thompson, 100 (right), Wednesday afternoon
‘I met her, talked to her. Looks are deceiving; you can’t see people’s true colors.’
She was charged with second-degree murder and two counts of assault and burglary.
The same charges are also faced by her nephew, 27-year-old Dwayne Blackwood.
According to local law enforcement, Blackwood’s cell phone placed him at the scene.
At the announcement of Troutman’s arrest, Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said that two more suspects were being searched for in connection to the heist.
He added: ‘We believe there are at least two others involved, one person who was known to the victim. They are identified. I have detectives right now seeking them out.
‘Not a family member, someone known to the family.’.
Waldiman, 91, and Ethlin Thompson, 100, were inside their ground-floor apartment in Brooklyn, New York around 3:30pm when four men broke in.
The men attacked Ethlin first. They sneaked up behind her, put a pillowcase over her head and then tied her up with cord. They then proceeded to do the same thing to her husband.
Ethlin eventually managed to untie herself and ran out onto the street to get help.
Neighbor Paul Paterson, 55, says Mrs Thompson came running up to him and he noticed rope burns on her legs.
The robbers tied the couple up and then ransacked the home
PIX 11 reports that the group was after rent money that the couple collects from tenants, but it’s unclear if they found any cash
‘I come walking up the block from work and she came running out the house screaming,’ Paterson told the New York Post. This was the first time I ever saw her screaming. She said, ‘They robbed me and my husband and tied us up, they came in from the back. My husband laying there and might be dead.’ I said I can’t go in there because it would be a crime scene.’
By the time paramedics arrived at the Bedford-Stuyvesant home, the intruders were gone, and Waldiman was found unresponsive on the floor of his home, still tied up. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. NY1 reports that he died of a heart attack.
Ethlin was also taken to the hospital for minor injuries, including rope burns.
Ethlin managed to untie herself and ran out onto the street for help
Paramedics found Waldiman tied up and unresponsive on the floor of the apartment and was pronounced dead at the hospital
Investigators say the home was ransacked but it’s unclear if anything was stolen.
The Thompsons were landlords and PIX 11 reported that the intruders may have been after money the couple collected from their tenants.
According to the Post, residents said they saw at least two men walking up and down the street before the home invasion.
2nd arrest in Brooklyn home invasion that killed 91y/o man. Suzette Troutman—who worked as an aide for family—is alleged “mastermind.” pic.twitter.com/34GkHO5STF
— Marcus Solis (@MarcusSolis7) October 24, 2017
The suspects were reportedly caught on surveillance tape and one of the men appeared to be carrying a small box, while another one had a backpack.
Police are still trying to figure out how the men got into the house since there did not appear to be evidence of a break in. It’s possible that the intruders knew the couple, since the invasion does not appear to be random, they said.
A nephew was at the home 30 minutes before the invasion and has since been questioned by police but he is not believed to be a suspect.
NY1 reports that he died of a heart attack. Ethlin was treated for minor injuries including rope burns
The couple had been married for decades and moved to the U.S. from Jamaica when they were younger. Mrs Thompson worked as a nurse before retiring.
Mr Thompson’s niece Karlene Grose says she saw her uncle last Sunday, when he visited her to say goodbye to her terminally ill mom.
‘He came to see his sister because my mom is critically ill and he wanted to see her before she died, and now he died before her,’ Grose told NY1.
‘To see my uncle go like this, someone has to be punished,’ Grose added.