There were tense and emotional scenes Monday as Rashid Bynum, who is accused in the murder of Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour, appeared in court. The victim’s weeping family sat in a row right behind her alleged killer while Bynum’s attorney argued that he deserved to be released pending trial.
The Sayreville councilwoman died in her car outside her home in February. Prosecutors said she was shot in a hail of 14 bullets.
After Judge Joseph Paone ordered Bynum detained, the victim’s grief-stricken mother hurled a water bottle at Bynum. Mary Dwumfour was charged with a disorderly person’s offense. John Wisniewski, the family’s attorney, said sheriff’s officers should have used better judgement.
“The entire family is very emotional. This is the first time they were in close proximity to the individual accused of taking their daughter’s life. It was very traumatic and very upsetting for them,” Wisniewski said “She was handcuffed in the courtroom, she was taken back in the processing area of the courthouse.”
This marked Bynum’s first court appearance in New Jersey after he fought extradition from Virginia for eight weeks. His attorney Thomas Ashley called the prosecution’s case circumstantial — based on phone records and E-ZPass pings that allegedly tracked Bynum from Virginia to the area around the murder scene in Sayreville and back again. His client pleaded not guilty.
Assistant Prosecutor Amber Gibbs laid out the evidence against Bynum, who was indicted by a grand jury on murder and weapons charges. Gibbs told the court that ballistics evidence from a handgun in Bynum’s possession match shell casings from the murder and said he posed an extreme flight risk.
The judge called the state’s case strong and compelling. The defense can challenge the court’s decision to detain Bynum.
