Second New Jersey Republican council member found shot dead in car
A second New Jersey Republican council member has been shot dead over the span of a week.
Milford Borough Councilman Russell Heller, 51, was found shot to death in a car outside of a Public Service Enterprise Group facility where he worked as a distribution manager. His body was found Wednesday morning.
Somerset County Prosecutor's Office released a statement Wednesday explaining that the shooter was believed to be 58-year-old Gary T. Curtis, a former employee at the facility.
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Authorities located Curtis a few hours after discovering Heller's body, with Curtis having died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police say that a motive is still to be determined.
“The investigation remains on-going to determine motive. Preliminary investigation has revealed that the shooting was an isolated incident and Mr. Heller was the intended target,” stated the prosecutor’s office.
“The following information is based on a preliminary and ongoing investigation, which continues to evolve as investigators interview witnesses, review physical and electronic records, and analyze forensic evidence. The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office’s understanding of the facts and circumstances may change as additional evidence is collected and analyzed.”
Heller's murder comes days after Sayreville Republican Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour, a 30-year-old pastor, was found murdered in her vehicle.
A native of Newark, who was elected to the council last year after unseating a Democrat incumbent, Dwumfour was a formerly a single mother before recently getting married.
"She was happy with her new husband. It seems. Happy with her daughter, and she was living the life, the American dream. She was a beautiful motivated person," former campaign manager Karen Bailey Bebert told WABC.
"I believe her daughter lit up her life. Jesus Christ lit up her life. She was very faithful and driven. She was a shining star."
Democrat elected officials, among them New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, gave their condolences to Dwunfour's family and spoke well of her record as a council member.
“Her career of public service was just beginning, and by all accounts she had already built a reputation as a committed member of the Borough Council who took her responsibility with the utmost diligence and seriousness,” stated Murphy. “I send my condolences to Councilwoman Dwumfour’s family and friends, her governing body colleagues, and the entire Sayreville community. Sayreville is a proud, tight-knit, and safe community and I know that it will come together, as it always has, in common purpose.”
The investigation into the Dwumfour shooting is ongoing, with no suspect or motive having been identified by authorities at present. Police have not tied the two murders together.
Caroline Downey of the conservative publication National Review commented that the two deaths “come as prominent Democrats have increasingly taken to demonizing their political opponents as threats to democracy.”
“Attorney General Merrick Garland has identified white supremacists and other right-wing extremists as the primary national-security threat facing the country,” Downey added. “And in his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Biden connected the attack on [Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi’s husband] Paul Pelosi to the events of January 6.”
