Eunice Dwumfour (1993 – 2023) was a Republican member of the borough council of Sayreville, New Jersey, from 2021 until her assassination. Dwumfour was the first African American to serve in that position. She also worked as a business analyst and emergency medical technician. Dwumfour, a leader in Christian entities, was married and had a daughter.
Eunice Dwumfour | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1993 East Orange, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | (aged 30) Parlin, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Manner of death | Assassination |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Peter Ezechukwu |
| Children | 1 |
| Parent(s) | Prince Dwumfour Mary Dwumfour |
| Alma mater | William Paterson University |
Early life and education
editDwumfour was born in 1993, in East Orange, New Jersey, the daughter of Mary and Prince Dwumfour, who are from Ghana.[1][2][3] She graduated from Weequahic High School in 2010[4] and received a bachelor's degree from William Paterson University in 2017.[5]
Career
editDwumfour worked as a part-time emergency technician and business analyst.[6] She was elected as council member in the Borough of Sayreville in an unexpected result in 2021, after running as Republican.[7] She had also been a pastor at an African Christian church in Newark and a director in Champions Royal Assembly, an international religious organization.[3]
Personal life
editThe councilwoman was a single mother of a 12-year-old daughter and had recently married Peter Ezechukwu, a pastor from Nigeria.[2]
Assassination
editDwumfour was in her SUV outside of her Sayreville townhouse when she was shot 14 times on Wednesday 1 February 2023 at around 7:30 pm.[7] Her vehicle proceeded to roll downhill and crashed into several cars.[3]
Aftermath
editNew Jersey governor Phil Murphy expressed shock and indicated that Dwumfour was the first elected official in recent memory who had been shot and killed in the state. The GOP Chairwoman and the mayor of Sayreville, Victoria Kilpatrick, both praised her. The family of the councilwoman wanted closure and hired attorney John Wisniewski, a former member of the state Assembly. For months the investigation was perceived as stalled, without suspects or motives.[6][7]
Rashid Ali Bynum, a resident of Portsmouth, Virginia, was arrested in that city on May 30, 2023, and charged with the murder of Dwumfour. Bynum is a former resident of Sayreville and had been a member of the Fire Congress Fellowship, a religious organization with offices near Sayreville that Dwumfour helped to lead. A press report says that the fellowship is affiliated with the Champions Royal Assembly, Dwumfour's church in Newark, which itself is an offshoot of a megachurch with a similar name that is based in Nigeria. The prosecutor for Middlesex County, New Jersey, said after the arrest that evidence implicating Bynum includes security camera video from the murder scene, and cellphone and toll records that indicate that Bynum was in Sayreville at the time of the murder. She did not comment on any suspected motive for the killing. [5]
Bynum was subsequently extradited to New Jersey and indicted there on murder and weapons charges on August 16, 2023. An arraignment on the charges was scheduled for later in the same month. At the time of the indictment, prosecutors had not released any evidence related to the case to the public. [8]
Legacy
editDwumfour was the first African American to serve as a member of the council of the Borough of Sayreville.[9]
See also
edit- James E. Davis – assassinated New York councilman
- John Huyler – assassinated New Jersey representative
- Joshua Iginla – Founder of Champions Royal Assembly
References
edit- ^ Johnson, Brent; Sargeant, Keith; and Sherman, Ted. "A cell phone overlooked, silence from prosecutors, in unsolved murder of Sayreville councilwoman", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, May 1, 2023. Accessed November 10, 2023. "Born in East Orange to Ghanaian immigrants, Dwumfour had been active in Christian ministry since she was a teen."
- ^ a b "Family of murdered NJ Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour speaks out for 1st time". ABC7 NY. 22 March 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- ^ a b c Thompson, Brian (23 March 2023). "'I Need Justice': Family of NJ Councilwoman Killed Outside Her Home Speaks Out". NBC New York. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- ^ "Eunice Dwumfour, Sayreville councilwoman killed outside her home, had just won 1st elected office", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, February 3, 2023. Accessed November 10, 2023. "Dwumfour is a 2010 graduate of Weequahic High School in Newark."
- ^ a b Shanahan, Ed (30 May 2023). "Virginia Man Is Charged in Fatal Shooting of New Jersey Councilwoman". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
- ^ a b Katersky, Aaron; Haworth, Jon (2 February 2023). "New Jersey councilwoman shot and killed in possible targeted attack outside her home". ABC News. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ a b c Thompson, Brian; Dienst, Jonathan; Tracie, Strahan (4 February 2023). "Who Killed NJ Councilwoman? FBI Releases Statement; Hunt for Shooter, Motive Ongoing". NBC New York. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ "Suspect in New Jersey councilwoman's slaying indicted on murder, weapons charges". New York Post. 18 August 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
- ^ Johnson, Brent; Sargeant, Keith (22 March 2023). "Family of slain Sayreville councilwoman to speak publicly in unsolved killing". NJ.com. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
External links
edit- Sayreville GOP Campaign 21 - Dwumfour campaign post with her picture
- Borough of Sayreville – official Council website