![]() ![]() They believed that long-simmering tensions between the couple exploded in the early morning hours of July 30 and Melvin saw murder as the way he could keep the independent-minded Marnita from divorcing him.Įighteen days after Marnita was killed, Melvin Bynum was arrested for first-degree murder. This evidence was “a game-changer,” according to investigators. Reports showed that some of those calls pinged off a tower located near where Marnita’s car had been left. But that was just a theory - and there’s a wide gap between what a prosecutor suspects, knows, and can prove, authorities told “Killer Motive.”Īs it was beginning to look like the crime could go unsolved, investigators learned that Melvin, who said he didn’t own a cell phone, actually had one in one of his son’s names.Ĭell phone records showed that Melvin had been on the phone with one of his girlfriends in a flurry of calls on the night of the murder. Through interviews they learned that Melvin monitored Marnita’s every move.ĭetectives theorized that Marnita’s emerging independence was an affront to a control freak. Once again, officials worked their way through the women and men Melvin and Marnita were respectively involved with until the well of suspects was dry.īy this time, police still had no forensic or physical evidence, but their suspicions about Melvin had deepened. This revelation stirred up a potential motive for murder. He was having affairs with different women in the church. What investigators did discover was that the Bynums’ carefully-cultivated personas were shams. ![]() ![]() In the end, though, they found nothing to link the Armor Bearers to Marnita’s grisly murder. A group within the ministry called “Armor Bearers” rose up to protect Melvin with a wall of silence.Īuthorities regarded the more than two dozen members of the group as potential suspects and eliminated each one of them through a painstaking process. It was as though a gag order had been imposed. However, the investigation hit a stonewall when they tried to talk to church congregants. Working with the information that they had, officials eliminated Melvin's sons and another young man who lived with the Bynums. One witness came forward to say that he saw someone near the car but he couldn’t identify that person. Marnita’s DNA was found on the belt, but no one else’s was, according to Michael Parker, Richmond County District Attorney.Īt the same time there were no surveillance cameras near the location where Marnita’s body was found. Police, meanwhile, grappled with the fact that strangulations make difficult cases because of the lack of physical evidence. “She was beloved,” Gordon Anderson, former reporter for the Sanford Herald, told "Killer Motive." At her funeral on August 7, throngs of people, as many as 1,500, paid their respects to the Cry Out Loud first lady. Indeed, she was a woman with many friends. Along with the couple’s sons, Melvin claimed that he had no idea who would want to kill Marnita. He allowed investigators to search their home, where they found no signs of a struggle or evidence that a crime occurred there. They had kept their marital tumult to themselves to protect their public image. Melvin, however, said that following a vacation, the couple was deciding whether to go ahead with the divorce or reconcile. They discovered the pastor hadn’t seen his wife in two days, and in their opinion, he didn’t seem particularly concerned about that. When authorities broke the news of his wife’s death to Melvin, 45, they said he “shed a few tears” and then was quickly back to being all business. However, they did find divorce papers for Marnita and Melvin Bynum. Investigators found no indication that Marnita had been sexually assaulted or signs of blunt force trauma. The crime scene was dusted for fingerprints and DNA evidence. ![]() He was hit by the smell of a decomposing body, he told “Killer Motive,” airing Saturdays at 6/5c on Oxygen. Jay Childers, of the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, knew something was horribly amiss even as he approached the vehicle. Powefull preaching Comment by rsmith_oregonįeel free to check out my soundcloud sometime, even my Youtube! Feel free to share and spread the word too! Thank you and bless you so much! and Comment by rsmith_oregon The sound of revival Comment by Sally Njoki Ohh jesus we thank you for this lord Comment by okyere2337 Very powerful words praise God Comment by Nkosinathi Romeo Please check out my gospel song I did on my page, I'm a gospel rapper Comment by Aretha Thomas Comment by benny banksĪmen from elder Benny banks □□□□□□□□ Comment by king david God bless you Dr Juanita for such an inspiring message. Genre preaching Comment by Stephanie Djabatey ![]()
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