Slain Sayreville Councilwoman's Family Wants More Info From Prosecutor

SAYREVILLE, NJ — The family of slain Sayreville councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour will have a sit-down meeting with Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone this week, as their lawyer says there has been an "information desert" from the prosecutor into circumstances surrounding her death.

The lawyer is former Middlesex County assemblyman and one-time Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Wisniewski, who has an office in Sayreville. Wisniewski led the Bridgegate investigation into Gov. Chris Christie's administration.

Dwumfour is the 30-year-old Sayreville councilwoman who was fatally shot multiple times Feb. 1 as she drove home to the Camelot at La Mer complex. Her funeral was held this past Saturday in Newark.

According to Wisniewski, no detective from the Middlesex County Prosecutor's office has interviewed any member of the Dwumfour family about Eunice's murder.

"To my knowledge, they have not been interviewed," said Wisniewski Tuesday. "Which is a little bit of a head scratcher. The family's pastor reached out to me on their behalf and we will have the meeting with Prosecutor Ciccone and her team this week."

He declined to say which exact day.

"The family came to me because they have had not had any outreach from law enforcement since the day or day after Eunice was killed," said Wisniewski. "In every prosecutor's office, there are people who are victims' advocates. Usually there is some assurance provided to the family that no stone is being left unturned, that everything possible is being done."

"No composite sketch has been released, no hypothesis as to what or how this happened. That lack of information concerned the family. There's been an information desert about her murder."

Patch asked Middlesex County Prosecutor Ciccone if she could respond to Wisniewski's assertions, but she declined to comment, due to the fact that this is an active investigation.

What we know — and don't know — about the Feb. 1 fatal shooting of Eunice Dwumfour:

• She was shot just before 7:22 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1 inside her white Nissan SUV on Samuel Circle inside Camelot at La Mer apartments. She was driving home when she was shot.
• Neighbors in the complex told NJ.com they heard at least six gunshots — but likely more — and then saw her SUV roll down a hill and collide with multiple parked cars before coming to a stop. When police got there, they found Dwumfour slain, sitting in the driver's seat. She had been shot multiple times.

"We know the shooter unloaded a lot of shells at that site," said Wisniewski.

• At the time of the shooting, her pre-teen daughter was inside the apartment waiting for her mom to come home, said Wisniewski. Dwumfour had recently gotten married to a man in Nigeria (he still lives in Nigeria), but up until her death she had been raising her daughter alone as a single mom.
• Authorities believe she was the intended target of the shooting. One 911 caller said they saw a man on foot, all in black, firing a gun into the driver's side of the SUV, according to MyCentralJersey. He then ran off. This leaked video on News 12 shows a gunman running along the wooded path that borders the complex towards the Parkway.

"We know a shooter was on foot; a witness saw the shooter run towards the Garden State Parkway," said Wisniewski. "Was a car waiting for them on the Parkway?"

• "Also, I'm told by one account that her vehicle was not immediately in front of her apartment unit. She apparently took a different way home. Was the shooter waiting for her? How did the shooter happen to know which direction she was traveling in? How did he know when she would get home? Someone seemed to be able to anticipate when she would get home."

Wisniewski also said he finds it "curious" that more surveillance video has not been leaked or released from the shooting.

"It's curious because almost every modern apartment complex like Camelot has robust video surveillance. And right across the street is the Parkway and Eisenhower Elementary School, and everyone has a Ring camera. It's kind of perplexing there's not more information or video about this."

• Dwumfour was elected as a Republican Sayreville Councilwoman in 2021. After her death, Gov. Murphy said he spoke to Sayreville Republican Party leaders and was told her shooting "does not appear politically motivated."

"After that statement, that was pretty much just repeated by everyone as fact," said the lawyer. "And the family is like, well how does anyone know that? How does anyone know her murder was not politically motivated?"

• Wisniewski said he spoke to her parents, who are immigrants from Ghana, and they are not leaning in any direction as to who may have killed their daughter, or why, or whether it was political or personal.

"They don't have any theory," he said. "They are pretty much mystified. They want to know who killed their daughter."