May 31, 2023
SAYREVILLE, N.J. – A Virginia man has been arrested for the February murder of a Republican councilwoman in New Jersey who was gunned down in her vehicle near her residence.
Rashid Ali Bynum, 28, of Chesapeake City, Virginia, is facing murder charges in the shooting death of 30-year-old Eunice Dwumfour. She was shot and killed shortly before 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 1 when her Nissan SUV was riddled with gunfire.
Dwumfour was a Republican councilwoman from Sayreville, New Jersey, and also a former EMT and active in her local church.
Witnesses heard between six and nine gunshots – and then the sound of the slain woman’s vehicle slamming into a row of parked cars. The gunman fired into her window before fleeing on foot, Fox News Digital reported.
Bynum was taken into custody at his home in Chesapeake City, Virginia, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone. He was arrested with assistance from local police and the FBI.
Rashid Ali Bynum (Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office)
Investigators discovered Bynum’s number stored in Dwumfour’s phone with the letters FCF, an acronym for the Fire Congress Fellowship, a church with which Dwumfour had previously associated, Ciccone said.
The prosecutor noted that detectives tracked the phone and a vehicle that he rented from Virginia to New Jersey and back around the time of the murder. Further investigative details were not immediately provided.
Bynum awaits extradition from Virginia to New Jersey where he’ll face charges of first-degree murder and firearms violations.
“This was a very complex, extensive case with painstaking police work every single moment until today,” Ciccone said, “and it will continue after today.”
Law Officer article, Feb. 2, 2023
SAYREVILLE, N.J. – A Republican councilwoman was gunned down and killed near her New Jersey home Wednesday evening, according to officials.
A 911 call reported shots fired around 7:22 p.m, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office said. A woman was found dead in her white Nissan SUV after it crashed near the Camelot at La Mer apartment complex in Sayreville. The victim was identified as 30-year-old Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour, ABC 7 News reported.
“This is an active and ongoing investigation anyone with information or surveillance footage of the area is asked to call Detective Rebecca Morales of the Sayreville Police Department at 732-727-4444 or Detective Michelle Coppola of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office 732-745-3477,” the prosecutor’s office said.
Some local residents told RLS Media that the gunman was seen racing off to the Garden State Parkway, which edges the complex. No other details on the suspect(s) or getaway vehicle were provided
Dwumfour — who also worked for a Nigeria-based church group — appeared to be the intended target, authorities told the outlet. There was no obvious motive for the homicide.
Mayor Victoria Kilpatrick referred to the murder as a “despicable criminal act,” and said Councilwoman Dwumfour was a “dedicated member of our Borough Council who was truly committed to serve all of our residents.”
A Facebook account for Detective Juan Rodriguez and Pastor Doctor Nelia Rodriguez commented on Dwumfour’s killing, according to Fox News.
“We are so heartbroken to announce that our friend, Councilwoman from Sayreville, part of our HRC (Human Relation Commission), our personal friend, a woman of God Eunice Dwumfour was [murdered] tonight in Sayreville,” the couple wrote.
They added, “She was an amazing friend, a woman who loved God. We were just at our HRC meeting January 5th 2023 and I just saw her this morning at the store. I remember saying to her I see you at the HRC meeting tomorrow not knowing tonight was going to be the end of her life. I can’t stop crying. She was 30 years young and full of life.”
Sayreville, New Jersey Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour. (Facebook)
The town’s mayor had additional comments on her colleague.
“Beyond her dedication to our community, I can share that she was a woman of deep faith and worked hard to integrate her strong Christian beliefs in to her daily life as a person and a community leader,” Kilpatrick noted. “On a personal note, I can’t adequately express my feeling of sorrow at the loss of a friend.”
Charles Kratovil, a community organizer, commented on the crime.
“A huge loss for the Sayreville community as Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour was shot and killed at approximately 7:20pm causing a crash near Samuel Circle & Check Avenue,” Kratovil tweeted.
He added, “I personally knew her to be a very kind person and public servant. May she rest in peace.”
A huge loss for the Sayreville community as Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour was shot and killed at approximately 7:20pm causing a crash near Samuel Circle & Check Avenue
I personally knew her to be a very kind person and public servant. May she rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/asxtrg1TW3
— Charlie Kratovil (@Charlie4Change) February 2, 2023
Dwumfour had served the Borough of Sayreville since November 2021, when she ousted the sitting Democrat in a surprising election victory. She was not up for re-election until 2024, the New York Post reported.
She was also a member of Sayreville’s Human Relations Commission. Fellow member Mahesh Chitnis was stunned and said she was “still processing the news.”
“I am shocked, scared and heartbroken,” she said of the fatal shooting, which took place just 300 feet from her own residence.
“She was shot while returning back home. She was a woman full of life,” she said. “Eunice, rest in peace my friend…”
Dwumfour was a scrum master, with a background as an IT Business consultant, according to her LinkedIn profile. She graduated from William Paterson University with a B.A. in Women & Gender Studies.
