Grand jury indicts man accused of killing Sayreville Council Member Eunice Dwumfour
The grand jury indicted Rashid Ali Bynum on multiple charges, including first-degree murder regarding the Feb. 1 killing of the Republican councilwoman.
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A Middlesex County grand jury has indicted the man accused of killing Sayreville Council Member Eunice Dwumfour earlier this year.
The grand jury indicted Rashid Ali Bynum on multiple charges, including first-degree murder regarding the Feb. 1 killing of the Republican councilwoman.
The Portsmouth, Virginia resident was charged with murder and weapons offenses. He was arrested on May 30 in Virginia, nearly four months after Dwumfour was shot multiple times outside her apartment complex.
Bynum said little while in court in Virginia for a hearing in late June. He was extradited from Virginia to New Jersey on July 28. Bynum still hasn’t appeared in a New Jersey courtroom yet.
The indictment did not come with any explanation of why Bynum allegedly killed Dwumfour, a bright and beloved Republican rising star who was elected Sayreville’s first Black female councilwoman in 2021.
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Officials had said Bynum was associated with the Bible study group Fire Congress Fellowship - a prayer study group formed by some of the people from the Newark church, Champions Royal Assembly, including Dwumfour. But the Dwumfour family says they didn’t recognize Bynum and said they were unaware he knew the councilwoman.
Dwumfour’s husband, Pastor Peter Ezechukwu, is in the United States awaiting the Bynum hearing. He lives in Nigeria but returned to the U.S. to attend Dwumfour’s funeral in March before leaving in May.
Dwumfour was returning with two roommates from grocery shopping when she was shot. Surveillance video showed a figure running from the scene. Authorities have not confirmed that this was Bynum. But they do allege Bynum rented a vehicle, parked at a nearby apartment complex, and walked to the Camelot at La Mer complex parking lot to ambush Dwumfour.
Detectives used E-ZPass records and cell phone tower data to tie Bynum to the crime.
Authorities would not say if they believed he had any accomplices in the killing.
Authorities did recover a handgun in Virginia when they arrested Bynum. But despite the gun charge, have not confirmed if they believe that it was the murder weapon.
Bynum will have his first appearance in a New Jersey courtroom on Aug. 28.
