A 28-year-old Virginia man has been arrested for murdering New Jersey Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour, who was gunned down outside her Sayreville home in February.
State and federal authorities seized Rashid Ali Bynum outside a home in Chesapeake City, Virginia, at about 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday and charged him with first-degree murder and a pair of gun offenses, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone said during a press conference.
“The murder has shaken the community, and no arrest will bring back the late councilwoman,” Ciccone said. “However, I do trust that justice will be found through the criminal justice process.”
Bynum, who lives in Portsmouth, Virginia, is awaiting extradition to the Garden State. When he arrives, he will be held at the Middlesex County Adult Correctional facility while he waits for a pre-trial detention hearing in the state Superior Court.
Dwumfour, a 30-year-old Republican, died after Bynum allegedly pumped several rounds into her SUV at about 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 1 while Dwumfour’s 12-year-old daughter sat inside their home.
Witnesses said they saw a man dressed in black running from the scene, but investigators said nothing for months about how the case was progressing if they identified a suspect and what the motive for Dwumfour’s killing might be.
On Tuesday, Ciccone said authorities placed Bynum’s cell phone and his white Hyundai Elantra near the murder scene that day. His appearance also matched descriptions gleaned from eyewitness statements and nearby surveillance videos, she said.
Dwumfour apparently knew Bynum beforehand he was listed as a contact in the councilwoman’s phone.
Next to his name was the acronym “FCF,” which Ciccone said stands for “Fire Congress Fellowship,” a church Dwumfour was once associated with.
The fellowship is also affiliated with the Champion Royal Assembly, which Dwumfour belonged to at the time of her death, Ciccone said.
Bynum allegedly searched the internet for information about Dwumfour’s church, the town in which she lived, and which magazines were compatible with a specific handgun, the prosecutor said.
Authorities also found a handgun at the Smithfield, Virginia, address to which Bynum returned after allegedly shooting Dwumfour dead.
But Ciccone did not say why Bynum would have wanted the councilwoman dead. She did not take any questions following the announcement.
Dwumfour’s family who was at Ciccone’s press conference has said they didn’t know why anyone would target the newly married Newark native, who was also a pastor.
Friends and family described her as a well-liked woman who was deeply religious.
“We feel the pain that you all feel,” New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin told the family. “The work that’s been done … is extraordinary. And no stone was left unturned.”
