Widow, 101, records testimony on Brooklyn home invasion that killed her husband

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Ethlin Thompson, 101, gave a recorded testimony about the day her husband was killed during a Brooklyn home invasion. (Barry Williams for New York Daily News)

Prosecutors have recorded the testimony of a 101-year-old woman whose husband was murdered in a heartless home invasion last year in case she's not around to speak at the trial.

Gutsy Ethlin Thompson survived the brutal break-in that killed her 91-year-old husband, Waldiman Thompson, when thieves pushed their way into their Bedford-Stuyvesant home on Oct. 11, tied her up and made off with $5,000 in cash.

But Thompson is waging a tougher battle against kidney disease and hypertension, and prosecutors preparing for trial against three people charged in the break-in want to get her testimony while she can still give it.

"I felt someone grab me from the back and threw me backways and squeeze, told me 'Shut up! I'll kill you,'" Ethlin said in testimony recorded Wednesday.

She said the intruder covered her face, and tied her feet and hands.

Waldiman Thompson (pictured with his wife Ethlin Thompson) died as a result of the home invasion. (Obtained by Daily News)

"I could hardly breath, could hardly speak. It was a heavy hand choking me... I prayed to God, I prayed to God," said Thompson, a retired teacher.

She testified that she could not see who was in her home, but said it sounded like a man with a heavy voice that made the house shake.

Thompson told the prosecutor that it was divine intervention that lead her to a pair of scissors next to her bed.

"I cut down. I stand up and walked to the door. I saw a man at the door passing by and I said 'Sir! Call 911! Call 911!' and he did me that favor," Thompson said.

Three suspects were arrested, including 45-year-old home health aide Suzette Troutman (pictured). (Barry Williams for New York Daily News)

A few feet away, her husband's body was on the ground with a sheet and cord over his head, prosecutors said.

He suffered a heart attack during the break-in and died, authorities said. The ambulance took Thompson to the hospital for pain to her right shoulder.

"It still hurts," explained Thompson, who wasn't allowed back in her Decatur Street home of 30 years for 13 days.

When Thompson returned, she noticed three "vaults" that were hidden in various parts of the house were raided. They held a total of $25,000 in cash, she said.

Howard Morris and two others are charged in the 2017 home invasion that resulted in the death of Walkman Thompson, 91. (Barry Williams for New York Daily News)

Three suspects were arrested, including home health aide Suzette Troutman, 45, who was accused of masterminding the crime and driving the robbers to the couple's home.

She was charged with second-degree murder and assault and burglary.

Troutman had helped the couple with odd jobs, as well as shopping and housekeeping.

Howard Morris, 27, and Dwayne Blackwood, 27, were also arrested.

Dwayne Blackwood enters court on Wednesday, May 23, 2018 in Brooklyn Supreme Court. (Barry Williams for New York Daily News)

Morris and Blackwood, Troutman's nephew, were hit with the same charges.

Morris was captured on video leaving the scene carrying a lockbox, cops said.

Relatives said Thompson has forgiven the burglars.

If convicted, they all face 25 years to life in prison.