Councilwoman shot to death outside home

SAYREVILLE (New Jersey): A New Jersey borough councilwoman was found shot to death in an SUV outside of her home, authorities said.

Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour, 30, was found at around 7.20pm on Wednesday, according to the Middlesex County prosecutor’s office.

She had been shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene.

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.

“She was a 30-year-old woman. To have this happen in such a tragic way, I mean, our hearts are just broken and everybody wants an answer,” said Karen Bailey Bebert, the local GOP chairwoman who served as her campaign manager.

“So we’re waiting with bated breath.”

Authorities have not made any arrests or said whether they believe the motive for the killing might be personal, political or a random act.

In a 2021 campaign interview, Dwumfour described herself as a proud graduate of Newark public schools who earned a degree in women’s studies at William Patterson University while working part-time as an EMT.

She said she moved to Parlin, a section of Sayreville, after graduating “because of the tremendous public safety work the community does.”

That interest fuelled her run for council, where she served as a liaison to the police department now helping to investigate her death.

“She just wanted to make a better community for all our children,” said Bebert.

Dwumfour, who had a school-age child, announced at a fall council meeting that she had recently gotten married, Bebert said. She was active in her church in Newark, she said.

Dwumfour worked in information technology, according to her Linkedin page, where she posted last month that she was looking for a new opportunity.

Her resume also said that she worked for six years with a religious nonprofit group.

Her next-door neighbour, Chyann Brown, said she was arriving home Wednesday evening just as police were “flying in the complex”.

She had no idea that Dwumfour, whom she described as kind and respectful, had been shot.

“When I came to park my car, there were shell cases everywhere. ... I (saw) the car was still rolling down the street,” she said of Dwumfour’s vehicle.

Brown said they had spoken over the past year, but she did not realise Dwumfour was involved in local politics.

“She’s a very nice woman. She’s always well-dressed,” she said.

“I can’t believe she would be involved in such a tragic incident,” Brown said.

At the scene Thursday, another car in the parking lot had damage apparently sustained when Dwumfour’s car struck it.