Portsmouth Chief Renado Prince made the statement during a news conference addressing a bloody week in which 12 shootings occurred throughout the city.
Marnita Bynum loved to dance as a girl growing up in Galesburg, Illinois. She was a constant source of fun and laughter, according to relatives, and possessed such a bubbly personality that she was nicknamed “Champagne.”
That was years before she married Melvin Bynum, whom she met at St. Augustine College in North Carolina. Together they formed the Cry Out Loud Ministries in Sanford, NC, about 35 miles from Raleigh.
Melvin was the pastor of the church, a position with authority and power. She was the first lady, and in that role she spearheaded youth development and acted as a mentor. The couple worked side by side and tried to present an image of perfection but after 20 years of marriage, cracks in their ideal lives became harder to conceal.