By: Richard L. Smith
A Virginia man convicted of murdering Sayreville Councilwoman and pastor Eunice Dwumfour was sentenced Monday to life in prison, closing a case that shook New Jersey and sparked a months-long investigation.
Prosecutors said Rashid Ali Bynum, 31, was found guilty by a jury in June after a four-week trial. 
Dwumfour, 30, was fatally shot on February 1, 2023, while sitting in her vehicle near her home in the Parlin section of Sayreville. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators determined that Bynum and Dwumfour knew each other through church circles.
Phone and vehicle records later placed him traveling from Virginia to New Jersey and back around the time of the killing. Neighbors recalled hearing a burst of gunfire before the councilwoman was found.
Bynum was arrested in Virginia four months later and extradited to New Jersey that summer. 
Jurors accepted the state’s evidence tying him to the shooting, and he was convicted of murder and weapons offenses.
Dwumfour, the first Black woman to serve on Sayreville’s Borough Council, was remembered for her faith, public service, and dedication to the community.