CHESAPEAKE, Va. — A Portsmouth man is in police custody after investigators said he shot a New Jersey councilwoman outside of her home four months ago.
Authorities will extradite 29-year-old Rashid Ali Bynum to New Jersey after detectives said he faced several charges for the death of 30-year-old Eunice Dwumfour. Detectives found Dwumfour dead on February 1, 2023.
Dwumfour, a Republican, was elected to her first three-year term in 2021 when she ousted a Democratic incumbent. Colleagues recalled her as a soft-spoken devout Christian who could maintain her composure in contentious situations.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone said investigators believe Bynum shot Dwumfour in her car as she returned from the grocery store.
Four months later, neighbors hundreds of miles away saw law enforcement descend on their neighborhood to arrest Bynum on Hornsea Road in Chesapeake.
"I look outside my window and there was about 14 cars of law enforcement from all different types outside on the street," said Fred Sisko, a neighbor who saw the arrest. "All I can say is that they came in real heavy."
A spokesman with Chesapeake police said Bynum was found through a collaborative investigation with the Chesapeake Sheriff's Office Fugitive Apprehension Unit, the Middlesex Borough Police Department, and the local FBI office.
Neighbors told 13News Now they were reeling from the fact that a murder suspect lived in their neighborhood.
"I've lived here for 20 years and I have never seen this," said one woman who wished to remain anonymous. "He lived just a couple of houses from me and my children. It's scary."
John Wisniewski, an attorney who represents Dwumfour's family, said the family is relieved to hear that someone has been arrested for Eunice's death. However, there is still a lingering question of why.
"There was a presumption that figuring out 'who' would help explain the 'why," said Wisniewski. "Her family is not familiar with this man's image, they are not familiar with his name, they are unaware that their daughter even knew him."
Ciccone said the investigation is still underway and didn't directly address a motive in Dwumfour's death. She said Bynum was linked to a church that Dwumfour belonged to and appeared as a contact in her phone under an acronym that investigators linked to the church.
Authorities tracked Bynum's cellphone to the area of Sayreville, New Jersey, where Dwumfour was killed, and said a witness reported seeing someone who fits Bynum's description in a vehicle that is connected to him, Ciccone said.
Bynum will appear in Chesapeake District Court for a bond hearing on June 2.