Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone made the announcement during a press conference on Tuesday.
An arrest has been made in the tragic murder case of New Jersey councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour, who was fatally shot outside her residence in Sayreville on February 1
Authorities have taken Rashid Ali Bynum, a 28-year-old individual from Portsmouth, Virginia, into custody in connection with the murder, according to Ciccone. Bynum was arrested without incident in Chesapeake City, Virginia, and is currently awaiting extradition to New Jersey. He now faces charges of first-degree murder, second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun, and second-degree possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose.
The incident occurred on the evening of February 1 when Dwumfour was shot while seated in her car. Police responded to a 911 call reporting shots fired around 7:30 p.m. that night, discovering the lifeless body of the 30-year-old councilwoman with multiple gunshot wounds.
Eyewitnesses recalled seeing a suspicious white Hyundai Elantra with Virginia license plates in the vicinity, providing crucial leads for the investigation. Investigators were able to track a white Hyundai Elantra using E-ZPass logs and license plate trackers, revealing its travel from Virginia to New Jersey and back again.
Additional evidence came from witnesses who described a thin Black male with braids and surveillance footage capturing a figure with similar characteristics near the crime scene
Further advancements in the case involved tracing a cellphone registered to Bynum, which traveled from Virginia to New Jersey and then returned after the shooting.
Significant connections between Bynum and Dwumfour emerged during the investigation. Bynum was saved as a contact in Dwumfour’s phone under the name “FCF,” which was found to represent Fire Congress Fellowship church. This church was found to be associated with the Champions Royal Assembly, a religious institution Dwumfour attended. However, details regarding the connection between the two organizations were not disclosed.
Additionally, records revealed that on the day of the murder, Bynum searched online for information about the Champions Royal Assembly and the Sayreville, New Jersey area. Days preceding the incident, Bynum also searched for magazines compatible with a specific handgun.
READ ALSO: Man Charged In Ohio Shooting Now Faces Charges In Decade-Old New Jersey Slaying
Leave a Reply