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The spouse of Coral Springs Vice Mayor has been arrested following the discovery of her fatal shooting within their Florida residence.
Stephen Bowen, aged 40, is charged with premeditated murder and altering or destroying evidence related to the death of his wife, Nancy Metayer Bowen, as detailed in a probable cause affidavit obtained by Oxygen.
Nancy Metayer Bowen’s lifeless body was found in the master bedroom on the second floor, “enshrouded in blankets and black garbage bags,” according to the document. Her colleagues had grown worried when she failed to attend several meetings scheduled for the morning of April 1.
Coral Springs Police Chief B. Mock expected to see the vice mayor at a 9 a.m. commission meeting, which she missed, in addition to an earlier engagement that day.
Noticing the unusual absence and lack of communication about her missed commitments, Commission Relationship Manager Luwam Ghermay reached out to Bowen via text to inquire about his wife’s whereabouts, as stated in the affidavit.
Finding it unusual that she had not contacted anyone about the missed events, Commission Relationship Manager Luwam Ghermay texted Bowen to ask if he knew where his wife might be, according to the probable cause statement.
“Hey Luwam,” Bowen allegedly replied, “texted her. She is not picking up.”
He went on to tell Ghermay that her car was not at home.
As a result, Coral Springs Police sent officers to the home to conduct a welfare check. A neighbor reported seeing Metayer Bowen around midnight the night before out walking her dog.
Bowen’s parents arrived at the home a short time later and told investigators that they hadn’t spoken to their son since the afternoon before, when he allegedly told them that he’d had “a panic attack at work” and was planning to speak to Metayer Bowen that night, per the court records.
Although the couple did not have a key to the home, an officer observed “explosive-like damage” to the exterior of the home, according to the report, that “was consistent with damage caused by projectiles.”
Stephen Bowen Arrested After Nancy Metayer Bowen’s Body is Found
Using license plate readers, police found Bowen’s F-150 in a parking lot and began to surveil him. Officers allegedly saw him giving another man—later identified in the report as Leslie Washington Jr.—a bag that was “consistent with a firearm-carrying case,” per the court records.
Then, at 1:51 p.m., 911 dispatchers received a call from Bowen’s uncle Owen Small, per the records, who reported that his nephew had come to his home earlier that day and told him he had done “something” to his wife and that she “was not alive.”
Using this information, police felt they had enough evidence to enter the couple’s house, authorities wrote. Inside, they found Metayer Bowen’s body in an upstairs bedroom.
Bowen was taken into custody at 2:35 PM on April 1 and invoked his right to counsel. Washington—who had also allegedly collected ammo from Bowen along with the gun bag—told investigators that as Bowen was being arrested, he allegedly heard him say “Oh s–t, they’re here for me.”
After the arrest, detectives also spoke with Small, per the document, who provided more detail about his encounter with his nephew around 10 a.m. that morning. He told police that Bowen had knocked on his door and asked him to hold his shotgun for a couple of weeks.
Small told investigators that Bowen allegedly confessed to shooting his wife, noting in the probable cause statement that, “Stephen Bowen explained that he shot her three times with a shotgun the previous night and then slept downstairs.”
When Small asked why he killed his wife, he allegedly replied that he “couldn’t take it anymore.”
He is currently being held without bond on the murder charge, according to jail records. It’s unclear whether he has retained an attorney.
Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen Remembered By Colleagues, Family
As news of Metayer Bowen’s death spread, many have expressed their condolences to the family of the vice mayor, who made history in 2020 by becoming the city’s first Black woman and first Haitian American elected to represent Coral Springs.
“We are heartbroken to share that Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer has died. She was more than a public servant, she was a light in our community,” Coral Springs Police wrote on Facebook. “Her leadership was grounded in compassion, strength, and an unwavering commitment to others. Her impact on Coral Springs is immeasurable, and her loss leaves a void in our hearts.”
Rep. Jared Moskowitz also posted on X, calling her “one of the nicest people” and an advocate for her community.
“I’m in shock. I was just with her on Saturday,” he wrote. “She just buried her brother. She was about to announce she was running for Congress.”
Broward County Mayor Mark Bogen also spoke out, according to CBS News, writing, “She served her community with dedication and heart, and the impact of her dedicated public service will be felt across Broward County.”
In response to the tragedy, Metayer Bowen’s family released a statement on Instagram, describing the politician as a “cherished member of our family,” who was committed to helping 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,” they wrote in part. “Her legacy will live on not only in the policies she helped shape, but in the countless lives she touched.”