Man Accused Of Bed-Stuy Home Invasion Murder Pleads Not Guilty

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, BROOKLYN — An man has been charged with murdering a 91-year-old and tied up his victim's 100-year-old wife to steal a lock box from the couple’s Bed-Stuy home, prosecutors said.

Dwayne Blackwood, 27, from East New York, has been charged with murdering Waldiman Thompson and burglarizing his Decatur Street home on Oct. 11, according to a criminal complaint filed in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Friday.

The victim's wife Ethline Thompson found two strange men in her home and one of them shoved her to the ground and tied her up with a belt, court records show.

Thompson’s assailants told her they would kill her if she didn’t “shut up" before fleeing her home, according to the complaint.

When Thompson was finally able to break free, she discovered her husband also tied up with cord and with a sheet over his head, prosecutors said.

Thompson called 911 and her husband was rushed to a nearby hospital, but doctors were unable to save his life, said police.

The Medical Examiner later determined he died from sudden cardiac arrest, court records show.

Police released surveillance footage five days after the attack that shows Blackwood carrying what appears to be a lock box near the house after the crime had been committed.

The lock box resembles one that Thompson reported as being stolen from her home, according to the complaint.

Blackwood was arrested on Oct. 20 — the same day of Waldiman Thompson’s funeral — and pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, assault and burglary in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Friday, police said.

Christopher Booth, Blackwood's attorney, noted that Blackwood had not named in the complaint and told Patch the evidence against his client is weak.

“The D.A. was rushed to charge someone,” said Booth. "They have charged my client despite his not having committed the crimes.

“We will be fighting the case every step of the way.”

Booth also told Patch news reports that his client had confessed to police were inaccurate — upon arrest, Blackwood declined to speak to police except to ask for an attorney, he said.

Blackwood was remanded without bail and is expected to return to court on Oct. 26, court records show.

Photo of Blackwood courtesy of the NYPD/Photos of Waldiman Thompson courtesy of the Thompson family