A grand jury has returned an indictment against Rashid Ali Bynum, who has been charged with the murder of Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour, the New Jersey Globe has confirmed.
Bynum, 30, was arrested near Smithfield, Virginia, on May 30 after an exhaustive investigation that began after the 30-year-old Dwumfour was found shot multiple times outside her home in the Camelot at LaMer townhouse complex in the Parlin section of Sayreville on February 1.
He was extradited to New Jersey on July 27.
Bynum has retained Thomas Ashley, a prominent Newark lawyer. No detention hearing has been held, and Ashley is away until the end of this month.
Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone, who led the investigation, and Attorney General Matthew Platkin announced charges of first-degree murder, second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun, and second-degree possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose in May.
Assistant Prosecutor Amber Gibbs represented the government before the grand jury.
The Middlesex Prosecutor’s office charged Bynum for Dwumfour’s murder through a combination of old-fashioned police work and Bynum’s mobile device tracking.
Witnesses had seen a white vehicle near the shooting, and law enforcement could pinpoint Bynum’s phone and car, a white Hyundai Elantra, using cellular tower extraction records. That led the prosecutor’s office to Smithfield, a small town of about 8,100 people in southeastern Virginia, about 20 miles from Newport News.
From his phone records, law enforcement discovered ties to the Newark chapter of the Nigerian-based church where Dwumfour worked with Bynum.
He lived in the Skytop Gardens Apartments in Parlin in 2017, where Bynum allegedly became acquainted with Dwumfour. Phone records tie Bynum to the Champions Royal Assembly Church, the Parlin-based Fire Congress Fellowship, and mutual contacts with Dwumfour.
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October 8, 2020