South Florida vice mayor found dead at home; husband in custody

Coral Springs Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen was found dead at her home in South Florida, and her husband is in custody, according to officials. Police are treating the case as a domestic violence incident.

Police in Coral Springs, a city northwest of Fort Lauderdale, said officers began a well-being investigation at about 10:04 a.m. Wednesday at the home of Metayer Bowen in the 800 block of Northwest 127th Avenue. Police Chief Brad Mock said officers found her dead inside the residence.

Mock said Metayer Bowen’s husband, 40-year-old Stephen Bowen, is in custody. He said there are no additional suspects and no immediate threat to the public. A cause of death was not released.

Coral Springs News reported that she was the first Black and Haitian American woman elected commissioner in the city, winning her first term in 2020 and reelection in 2024.

The outlet reported that Metayer Bowen graduated from Florida A&M University and served as vice chair of Haitian outreach for the Florida Democratic Party. It also said she had been preparing to launch a congressional campaign on Thursday for the seat held by U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick.

Metayer Bowen’s 26-year-old brother died in December after a years-long struggle with schizophrenia, according to the outlet. He was also a survivor of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in nearby Parkland.

“Nancy was our colleague. She had such a good heart. She truly cared about people,” Commissioner Joshua Simmons said at a briefing. “Our commission is incomplete. That is a loss that is going to take a lot of time to deal with. We are truly grieving right now.”

City Manager Catherine Givens called it “a very dark day” for Coral Springs and said Metayer Bowen “wasn’t just a leader.” Givens said she “was the light in every room that she entered” and “a steady voice in difficult times.”

In a statement, Metayer Bowen’s family called her “a dedicated public servant who committed her life to improving the lives of others.”

“While many knew her as a leader and advocate, we knew her as a sister, a daughter, and a friend whose warmth and laughter filled every room,” her family said. “Her legacy will live on not only in the policies she helped shape but in the countless lives she touched.”