Man Found Guilty Of Murder In Shooting Death Of Sayreville Councilwoman

SAYREVILLE, NJ — A Middlesex County jury found Rashid Bynum guilty of murder Monday in the Feb. 1, 2023 shooting of Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour.

Authorities said Bynum, 31, shot Dwumfour 14 times at close range shortly after 7 p.m. on that date, killing her. Middlesex County prosecutors described Dwumfour's murder as an execution, News 12 reported.

The jury reached its verdict after a brief deliberation Monday morning. The four-week trial concluded Friday. Bynum will be sentenced Aug. 18 and he is facing 30 years to life in prison.

Dwumfour, 30, was returning home to her condo in the Camelot at La Mer complex in Sayreville, where she lived with her daughter, 12. She had just recently been elected a Sayreville councilwoman and she was a member of the Republican party. She was also very active in a Christian church, where she was a pastor.

She was also recently married, but her husband lived in Nigeria at the time of her murder.

Prosecutors say Bynum planned the murder ahead of time and drove up from Virginia to New Jersey to shoot Dwumfour.

Officials said Bynum laid in wait for Dwumfour as she drove home on the evening of Feb. 1. As she pulled her SUV up to park outside her condo on Samuel Circle, Bynum emerged from the darkness and approached the vehicle. Neighbors heard the two exchange words, in what they said sounded like an argument.

Bynum then fired a gun 14 times into Dwumfour's car, killing her. Residents who lived nearby said they saw Dwumfour's car rolling down the street that night, before coming to a stop at the bottom of the street. She was found dead sitting in the driver's seat.

Her daughter was inside the condo at the time.

All 14 of those shell casings ended up matching a gun that was found in a fanny pack in the Virginia home where Bynum was arrested in May 2023, three months after the shooting, said prosecutors. Bynum’s phone GPS records showed he drove up to Sayreville on that date, and returned to Virginia immediately after the shooting that night.

A motive has never been revealed for why he killed her. But Dwumfour and Bynum met through a church they both attended. The young man and woman met through Champions Royal Assembly of God, a Christian mega-church in Newark.

She was a pastor in the church, and several years before her death, she had been asked by church elders to give counseling to Bynum, who had been "in trouble," said former Middlesex County assemblyman John Wisniewski, a lawyer who serves as a media spokesman for the Dwumfour family.

"This was at the suggestion of church elders," Wisniewski said in 2023. "My understanding is she was a pastor for this church and she would go down to conferences at the sister parish in Newport News (Virginia). The leaders of the church in Newport News asked Eunice to provide him with spiritual guidance. It was a coaching relationship. He had gotten into some trouble down in Virginia and they thought having him go up to New Jersey under her tutelage would be beneficial for him."

This was about six years ago. At one point, the two even briefly lived together, in what Wisniewski stressed was not a romantic relationship. Bynum moved in with her and her daughter, then about 6, and lived with them for less than a year, said Wisniewski. Part of her rent may have been paid by the church.

"There is no indication it was a romantic relationship," he said.

At some point, Bynum was asked to leave Champions Royal Assembly. He remained stored in Dwumfour's phone under Fire Congress Fellowship, a Bible study the two attended together.

The defense had said Bynum didn’t pull the trigger and had no motive to kill the woman.

The murder trial against Bynum began May 13 and lasted for four weeks. It was led by Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Kristen Pridgen and Middlesex County Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor Tzvi Dolinger. After a little more than one day of deliberations, the jury found Bynum guilty of the murder of Dwumfour, plus two counts of illegal gun possession.

“Securing justice for the victim and her family would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of all of the members of law enforcement who worked tirelessly on this case for over two years,” Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone said. “The collaborative effort of multiple state agencies in New Jersey and Virginia, along with the FBI, should not go unrecognized.”

Fatal Shooting Of Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour (Feb. 2, 2023)

Family Of Slain Sayreville Councilwoman: We Want Answers (March 2023)

Mom Of Slain Sayreville Councilwoman Throws Bottle At Murder Suspect (August 2023)