Police are asking for help for the investigation into the death of Sayreville councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour. Brian Thompson reports.
The family of a New Jersey councilwoman found shot to death outside her home offered their heartfelt pleas for justice, as it has been seven weeks since their loved one was killed.
Eunice Dwumfour was shot while sitting in her car in Sayreville the night of Feb. 1, and the mystery of who pulled the trigger remains unsolved in the puzzling case that has yielded no arrests.
"I need justice for my daughter, please God help me. Thank you," said Mary Dwumfour, the victim's mother who is still seeking justice for her slain daughter.
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Dwumfour, a rising star for Republicans who won an upset victory for her council seat in Sayreville in 2021, was found with multiple bullet wounds by officers responding to a 911 call around 7:30 p.m. about shots fired. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
In the council chamber where her daughter served, Mary Dwumfour broke down in tears as the family spoke for the first time to the media about their loss and their ordeal. With her was Peter Ezechukwu, Dwumfour's widower.
"Even after her death I wanted to pick up my phone, and I was like 'Oh let me call my wife and talk to her.' But she’s not there to listen to me," said Ezechukwu.
There has been no clear motive or suspect identified in the investigation thus far, despite Dwumfour's killing catching national attention and the FBI. Local authorities have pleaded with the community to come forward with any potential evidence.
The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office has been tight-lipped about its investigation. NBC New York learned Wednesday that there is one question the prosecutor's office has never asked any of Dwumfour's family: If they had any idea why someone would want to kill her.
"It would be a little surprising they would not make those inquiries straight away," said family attorney Lauren Bayer.
The prosecutor's office offered a statement in response, stating that the investigation is ongoing and that they will continue to seek justice for Dwumfour in a responsible manner that balances the needs of the grieving family while protecting the integrity of the investigation.
But there were still no clues and no hints as to who would kill Dwumfour.
"What would Eunice possibly have done to cause someone to take her life. That’s the question all of us were asking," said the family's pastor, Karl Badu.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Dwumfour was the director of churches for an international ministry, Champions Royal Assembly. Dwumfour, whose parents were from Ghana, was a pastor at an African Christian church in Newark.
Dwumfour got married last summer and was the mother of an 11-year-old girl.
Surveillance video exclusively obtained by NBC New York shows what may have been the shooter running in the back of a housing development, past a dumpster. Police were said to be looking into whether the man seen on the video was the shooter.
Law enforcement sources say 14 shots were fired, and some neighbors say they saw security camera footage showing Dwumfour talking to a man standing outside her vehicle just prior to the shooting.
The gunman escaped between two buildings and into the woods, according to police. There was no immediate speculation on his identity or whether multiple people may have been involved in Dwumfour's killing. (Obtenga los detalles en español aquí.)
Detectives have previously gone through a dumpster steps from the shooting and canvassed the area downhill, where the SUV rolled afterward and crashed into parked cars. They've used bloodhounds as they have combed over the area multiple times during their investigation.
