Suspect arrested for murder of Sayreville councilwoman

A 28-year-old man connected to the Champions Royal Assembly Church was arrested today for the murder of Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour, who was gunned down outside her home on February 1, the New Jersey Globe has confirmed.

Rashid Ali Bynum was arrested near Smithfield, Virginia, this morning 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.

Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone, who led the investigation, and Attorney General Matthew Platkin are expected to announce the charges against Bynum this afternoon of first-degree murder, second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun, and second-degree possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose.

The Middlesex Prosecutor’s office appears to have solved 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.

According to the Prosecutor’s office, Bynum lives in Portsmouth, Virginia.

Bynum lived in the Skytop Gardens Apartments in Parlin in 2017, where he 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.

Records show that Bynum also has outstanding warrants for failure to appear on four summonses connected to a June 2019 traffic stop in Cranbury.  He had been stopped for making an illegal U-Turn and then received a summons for driving with a suspended license and other violations.

The murder suspect was arrested after a joint effort between the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Sayreville Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Virginia State Police, and the Smithfield Police Department.

Bynum is presently in Virginia awaiting extradition to New Jersey and will be held at the Middlesex County Adult Correctional facility.

Dwumfour, a Republican, was elected to the Sayreville Borough Council in 2021.

The three legislator representing Sayreville epressed their appreciaton to the law enforcement community, “especially the Sayreville Police and Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, for their diligent and dedicated efforts in investigating the murder of Councilwoman Dwumfour.”

“This is welcome news to the Sayreville community, and we are confident justice will be served,” said State Sen. Joseph Vitale, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, and Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez (D-Middlesex). “We hope this will bring some measure of comfort to Councilwoman Drumfour’s family. Our community’s prayers continue to be with them.”

This story was updated at 4:08 PM with a photo of Bynum and a list of charges, and at 5:50 PM with comment from the 19th district legislative delegation.