A 28-year-old Virginia man was charged Tuesday in the fatal shooting of a New Jersey councilwoman, Eunice Dwumfour, in February, authorities said. Evidence found by investigators showed the two knew each other, officials said.
The man, Rashid Ali Bynum, of Portsmouth, Va., was taken into custody in Chesapeake City, Va., Tuesday morning and is awaiting extradition, Yolanda Ciccone, the Middlesex County, NJ, prosecutor said in a press conference. Mr. was charged. Bynum with first-degree murder and two counts of weapons, said Ms. Ciccone. It was unclear if he had an attorney.
Ms. Dwumfour, 30, has a number associated with Mr. Bynum listed in his cell phone contacts as “FCF,” an abbreviation of Fire Congress Fellowship, according to Ms. Ciccone. Mr. Bynum, Ms. Ciccone said, a member of the fellowship, who is with the church of Ms. Dwumfour, Champions Royal Assembly in Newark, is a branch of a megachurch based in Nigeria.
Federal tax filings describe the Fire Congress Fellowship as a Bible study group, identifying Ms. Dwumfour as its longtime treasurer and listed its office at an address in Parlin, an unincorporated section of Sayreville, NJ, which is a two-minute drive from the site of the fatality. shooting happened.
Ms. Ciccone did not give a motive for the killing. He said the investigation was ongoing and declined to take questions. He was joined at the news conference by other law enforcement officials; father and sister of Ms. Dwumfour; and a minister from Ms. parents’ church. Dwumfour.
John Wisniewski, a lawyer for the family of Ms. Dwumfour, said they are “relieved to know that someone has been held accountable.” But since they don’t know anything about Mr. Bynum or what might have motivated him, they have a lot of questions, he said.
“They really struggled with why,” said Mr. Wisniewski.
Ms. Dwumfour was shot while he was in his car outside the complex of apartment buildings and duplexes where he lived in Parlin shortly before 7:30 p.m. on February 1, authorities said.
The car rolled down a steep slope before the two cars collided at the bottom of the hill, police said. Officers responding to reports of a shooting found Ms. Dwumfour with multiple gunshot wounds, and he was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.
In the press conference, Ms. Ciccone some evidence that led to the arrest of Mr. Bynum, including security video from the scene of the murder, location data from his cellphone and electronic toll information that traced his route from Virginia to New Jersey and back.
Kennedy O’Brien, a former mayor of Sayreville, said the scenario outlined by authorities showed the killing was “the killing of a young woman with an 11-year-old daughter” she was raising. himself.
“I pray to God that he will be fine,” said Mr. O’Brien about the daughter of Ms. Dwumfour.
Ms Dwumfour’s family is from Ghana. She got married last year to a leader of her church, the Champions Royal Assembly, a congregation based in Nigeria, according to messages she and her husband, Eze Kings, posted on Facebook.
Ms Dwumfour graduated from Newark public schools and received a bachelor’s degree in women’s studies from William Paterson University of New Jersey in 2017. Her career includes jobs as a business analyst and professional scrum master, a type of project manager, according to LinkedIn profile that was active at the time of his death.
A Republican, Ms. Dwumfour was in her first three-year term as a Sayreville councilwoman at the time of her death, narrowly defeating an incumbent Democrat to win her seat in 2021. She was the first Black person elected to office in Sayreville.
In a statement about his campaign posted on the Sayreville Republican Party website, he said he loves the borough, which has a population of about 45,000 and is about 30 miles south of Manhattan in Middlesex County, and wants to help. to improve the lives of its residents. .
“I am completely dedicated to building a better, stronger Sayreville,” he wrote. “And with your support, we can create a brighter future for our beautiful city.”
