Girlfriend of man accused in Sayreville councilwoman slaying links him to murder weapon
Kelsy Henley testified for the state on Wednesday, as the prosecution attempted to link Rashid Bynum to the handgun used in the shooting death of Sayreville Council Member Eunice Dwumfour.
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The girlfriend of Rashid Bynum – the man accused of killing a Sayreville councilwoman - was called to the stand at his murder trial in New Brunswick.
Kelsy Henley testified for the state on Wednesday, as the prosecution attempted to link Bynum to the handgun used in the shooting death of Sayreville Council Member Eunice Dwumfour.
Dwumfour was shot multiple times outside of her home in February 2023.
Before jurors stepped inside the courtroom, there was controversy concerning Henley’s appearance to testify.
Assistant Middlesex County Prosecutor Tzvi Dollinger told Judge Joseph Paone that Bynum had been calling Henley from jail as recently as Friday, trying to convince her not to testify.
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“This defendant called her up in the morning and tells her, ‘You don’t have to come. Don’t have to come. Don’t do this, plead the Fifth.’ Over and over and over again,” said Dollinger.
The prosecution also said Bynum’s parents have been calling the witness.
Paone then called on Bynum’s parents and barred either of them from talking to Henley or being in the courtroom when she was on the stand.
The judge warned both parents what would happen if they violated his order.
“Understand that not only does that constitute an obstruction, but also a contempt of this court’s order,” said Paone.
Henley would eventually take the stand and testify that when Bynum gave her a gun, she placed it under her bed until police came to her house with a warrant looking for it.
Henley recalled the time Bynum gave her that Glock handgun saying, “We were sitting in my car. I think we were in Portsmouth, Virginia.”
Jurors then heard from Sgt. Michelle Coppola, the lead investigator, who explained how she used Google location data and E-ZPass tolls to track Bynum from outside of Dwumfour’s home on the night of the murder to Virginia.
On cross-examination, the defense suggested Bynum wasn’t guilty of murder simply because he was in Sayreville. To which Coppola said, “When an individual travels from Virginia to New Jersey and directly back to Virginia that does raise a red flag.”
The defense has argued since the start of this trial that Bynum did not shoot Dwumfour and suggested that he had no motive.
The trial continues on Thursday.
