Four months after New Jersey Republican councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour, 30, was found dead in her vehicle from several gunshot wounds—a “despicable criminal act” that shocked the community and politicians in the state—a suspect has been arrested.
State and federal authorities nabbed Rashid Ali Bynum, 28, outside his home in Chesapeake City, Virginia, on Tuesday. He has been charged with first-degree murder and additional gun charges, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone.
NEW: 28-year old Rashid Ali Bynum has been arrested in connection with February's fatal shooting of New Jersey Republican Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour.
— Rachel Acenas (@RachelAcenas) May 30, 2023
Bynum has been charged with first-degree murder, second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun and second-degree possession… pic.twitter.com/V7iW0YX3xr
“The murder has shaken the community, and no arrest will bring back the late councilwoman,” Ciccone said during a press conference. “However, I do trust that justice will be found through the criminal justice process.”
Bynum will be extradited to New Jersey and will be held at the Middlesex County Adult Correctional facility until a pre-trial detention hearing.
Ciccone said law enforcement officers placed the suspect's vehicle and cellphone near the scene of the February crime and his appearance matched eyewitness accounts and what was captured on surveillance videos.
The two seemed to know each other, as authorities found the suspect's phone number in Dwumfour's phone.
“A search of the victim’s phone revealed Bynum as a contact in Eunice Dwumfour’s phone with the acronym FCF,” the prosecutor said. “FCF is believed to be an acronym for the Fire Congress Fellowship, a church the victim was previously affiliated with, which is also associated with the Champion Royal Assembly, the victim’s church at the time of her death.”
Bynum reportedly searched online for information about Dwumfour's church, where she lived and what kind of ammunition to use with a certain gun.
No specific motive was revealed, however.
John Wisniewski, a lawyer Dwumfour’s family, said that while they were “relieved to know that somebody was being charged and going to be held accountable," they still struggled "with the why."
"The murder has shaken the community and no arrest will bring back the late councilwoman," Ciccone said.
Attorney General Matthew Platkin, meanwhile, addressed Dwumfour's relatives, acknowledging that "there are no words that can be said to you to make you whole."
"I did not know Eunice. I wish I had," he added. "But I know that she was a public servant."
Dwumfour was also mother to a 12-year-old daughter and had recently married.