Bynum pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and received a sentence of a minimum five years and four months. The maximum sentence is seven years and two months.
Judge David Lee gave Bynum credit for time served -- 867 days. He has been held in the Richmond County jail since his arrest Aug. 19, 2004, meaning that he will be eligible for release in about three years.
Tuesday, the same judge rejected a similar plea bargain at the urging of Marnita Bynum's mother, Jacquelyn Carter. The original plea included a sentencing agreement that Bynum would serve between four years, three months and five years, 11 months.
After hearing testimony from Carter, Lee said that he could not accept the plea.
Carter, who lives in Chicago, called the new deal a "slap in the face."
Bynum was back in court Wednesday, wearing the same dark blue suit, flanked by his lawyers, Eddie Meacham of Pinehurst, and Robert T. Reives II of Sanford.
Jonathan Hipps from the Richmond County district attorney's office agreed Wednesday to the plea deal, minus the sentencing agreement. Without the sentencing agreement, Lee had no legal way to reject the plea.
"He pled guilty and the sentence was left to the judge," Meacham said.
The judge gave him the maximum sentence for a person with no prior convictions.
The Bynums' sons, Marquail Lamont, 22, and Brock Lavar, 19, sat in the front row of the courtroom. Their father gave them a wink as the bailiff led him out for processing.
Meacham said that the defense had prepared to go to trial with the case and felt that Bynum had a decent chance of being found not guilty.
"We thought the state's case had a lot of weaknesses," he said.
'Slap in the Face'
Richmond County Sheriff Dale Furr said that he did not agree with the plea deal. He also seemed upset that it had taken two and a half years for something to happen with the case.
The defense agreed to the plea, Meacham said, because Bynum wanted to spend the majority of his years with his sons and grandson. During a bond hearing in 2004, it came out that Bynum actually has three sons.
When asked if he thought that the sentence was strict enough for a person accused of killing his wife, Meacham said, "Being accused and being convicted is two different things. A jury could have come back with a not-guilty verdict."
Carter, wearing a T-shirt with her daughter's face on it, said that she would never believe the punishment Bynum received was enough.
"Seven years is a slap in the face," she said. "My baby is worth more than that. Her life is worth more than that."
Carter said that North Carolina needs a stronger law to protect women from abusive relationships. She wants to call it the Marnita Bynum law. Carter lives in Chicago.
"In Illinois, you do your time for your crime," she said.
Carter said that she has talked to her grandsons and that they stand behind their father.
"I love them," she said. "All I can do is love them. I pray that the feeling I'm feeling, that (Bynum will) never have to feel it with Brock or Marquail."
Carter made a television plea Aug. 18, 2004, asking for anyone with information to come forward. The plea led to information that helped police arrest Bynum in Sanford the next evening.
Marital Problems
Richmond County Deputy Lee Taylor had found Marnita Bynum's body in the trunk of her car, parked on the side of E.V. Hogan Drive off N.C. 177 near Hamlet. Another deputy remembered seeing the car the night before. He had taken note of the vanity plate: "NJOY-GOD."
After noticing a strong smell emanating from the vehicle, Taylor obtained a search warrant and discovered her body, with the murder weapon, a leather belt, still wrapped around her neck and her shirt pulled over her head to hide her face.
The investigation spanned three counties: Richmond, because that is where the body was discovered; Moore, because the Bynums lived in Pinebluff; and Lee, because information from the church congregation played a key role in the case.
Investigators learned that Bynum had told the congregation Sunday, July 31, 2004, that his wife was home with a toothache. By that time, police said that she was already dead.
Moore County sheriff's deputies questioned Bynum for 16 hours the day her body was discovered. They described him as cooperative at first. That changed when deputies said Bynum had used fear and coercion to get congregation members to refuse to cooperate with the investigation.
The Bynums had been having marital difficulty. Melvin Bynum had filed for divorce June 21, 2004. Divorce proceedings had been scheduled in Moore County court for Aug. 23, 2004.
Investigators still are unsure where the murder happened.
"We had to assume it took place in Richmond County because that's where the body was found," Furr said.
The district attorney's office told Furr about the plea deal Monday.
"I told them then that I was opposed to taking a plea," he said. "I think we have enough evidence to let a jury decide."
Matthew Moriarty can be reached at 693-2479 or by e-mail at moriarty@thepilot.com.
