A Florida vice mayor who made history as her city’s first Black and Haitian American woman commissioner was found dead in her bedroom, wrapped in blankets and black garbage bags, allegedly shot three times by her husband, who told relatives he “couldn’t take it anymore.”
Stephen Bowen, 40, faces charges of premeditated murder and tampering with physical evidence in the death of his wife, Nancy Metayer Bowen, 38, the vice mayor of Coral Springs, Florida. Authorities discovered her body on April 1 after concerned colleagues reported she had failed to show up to city meetings that morning.
The grim discovery came after police conducted a welfare check at the couple’s home in the 800 block of Northwest 127th Avenue. Earlier that morning, a city staffer had texted Bowen asking about his wife’s whereabouts after she missed a 9 a.m. commission meeting with Coral Springs Police Chief Brad Mock.
“Hey Luwam, texted her. She is not picking up,” Bowen allegedly replied, adding that her car was not at home.
But according to a probable cause statement, Bowen had already killed his wife the night before. A neighbor reported seeing Metayer Bowen walking her dog around midnight, likely just hours before her death.
When officers arrived at the home around 10:20 a.m., they observed exterior damage consistent with projectile impact. Bowen’s parents, who arrived shortly after, told investigators their son had mentioned having a panic attack at work the previous afternoon. His mother said she knew of no marital issues between the couple.
The breakthrough came when police received a 911 call at 1:51 p.m. from Bowen’s uncle, Owen Small. He reported that his nephew had appeared at his home around 10 a.m. that morning and confessed to doing “something” to his wife, saying she “was not alive.”
According to the probable cause statement, Small told investigators that Bowen shot her three times with a shotgun the previous night and then slept downstairs. When asked why he killed his wife, Bowen allegedly responded that he “couldn’t take it anymore.”
Police had been tracking Bowen’s F-150 pickup truck to a parking lot in Plantation, where they observed him giving another man a bag consistent with a firearm-carrying case. The man, later identified as Leslie Washington Jr., told investigators the two were Freemasons meeting to discuss an upcoming event. Washington said Bowen also gave him ammunition boxes and had removed the license plate from his truck.
Officers arrested Bowen at 2:35 p.m. on April 1. Washington reportedly heard him say, “Oh s–t, they’re here for me,” as police took him into custody. Bowen immediately invoked his right to counsel.
Inside the couple’s home, detectives found Metayer Bowen’s body on a bed in the second-floor master bedroom. Investigators also discovered three shotgun shells and a pillow with burn marks and a string fashioned as a makeshift silencer.
The 38-year-old vice mayor had made history in 2020 by becoming Coral Springs’ first Black woman and first Haitian American elected to represent the city. She won re-election unopposed in 2024. According to colleagues, she was preparing to announce a congressional run and had recently buried her brother, Donovan, who died by suicide in December after a years-long battle with schizophrenia. He was a survivor of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz expressed his devastation, writing that Metayer Bowen was “one of the nicest people” he had worked with and was “always fighting for her community.”
The city posted a tribute calling her “more than a public servant” and “a light in our community” whose “leadership was grounded in compassion, strength, and an unwavering commitment to others.”
Broward County Mayor Mark Bogen said she “served her community with dedication and heart” and that her impact “will be felt across Broward County.”
Metayer Bowen’s family released a statement calling her a “cherished member of our family” and “a sister, a daughter, and a friend whose warmth and laughter filled every room.”
Stephen Bowen, who stands 6 feet tall and weighs 165 pounds, is currently being held at Broward Main Jail without bond on the murder charge. He faces an additional $50,000 bond for the evidence tampering charge. As of Sunday, his case remained pending trial, and online court records do not list an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
