Nancy Metayer Bowen, vice mayor of Coral Springs and vice chair of the Florida Democratic Party, was found dead at her home Wednesday morning in what police are investigating as a domestic violence incident. Coral Springs Police Chief Brad Mock said officers discovered Bowen’s body around 10 a.m. after conducting a welfare check at her residence in the 800 block of Northwest 127th Avenue. Her husband, Stephen Bowen, was taken into custody in connection with her death.
“She led on an environmental sustainability here in the city,” said Commissioner Joshua Simmons during a Wednesday news conference. “She led the push to get a sustainable officer, sustainable department here. Joined international organizations dedicated to environmental sustainability. She was leading the charge on the solid waste authority or trying to get the solid waste authority started here in Broward County.” Simmons described Metayer Bowen as his and other commissioners’ “battle buddy,” saying the city government is now “incomplete.”
“My soul is broken,” Simmons said of losing his colleague. Mock confirmed there were no other suspects in the case and no threats to the public, though he did not specify how Metayer Bowen died. Video from the scene showed several police vehicles, including a mobile command center, and crime scene tape surrounding her home.
Cell phone video captured law enforcement swarming an apartment complex in Plantation, where sources indicated they apprehended Stephen Bowen. “We just heard a big bang and I said ‘oh my god is that gunshots?’,” a witness told Local 10 News. “We looked out the window and we see swat cars, cops cars, just everything everywhere – guns drawn.”
Metayer Bowen was elected to the Coral Springs city commission in 2020 and was described in her official city biography as the first Black and Haitian American woman to serve as a Coral Springs commissioner. She held degrees from Florida A&M and Johns Hopkins universities and worked as an environmental scientist by trade. Her groundbreaking role in local government made her a prominent figure in both environmental advocacy and diversity representation in South Florida politics.
“Every time you talked with Nancy, it’s all about how can I help the next person,” said Tamarac Vice Mayor Marlon Bolton, who knew Metayer Bowen from her previous work as a city employee in Tamarac. “Nobody will be able to walk in her shoes.” Bolton emphasized that Metayer Bowen was not just a political leader but also served as an advocate for the Haitian community throughout South Florida.
“The state has lost a voice, an advocate, a person who knows that work does not stop at a title,” Bolton said. Metayer Bowen’s family posted a statement on her Instagram account following news of her death. “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,” the family statement read. “Her legacy will live on not only in the policies she helped shape, but in the countless lives she touched.”
Condolences poured in from elected and appointed officials across Florida as news of her death spread Wednesday evening. Her dual role as both a local government leader and state Democratic Party official made her death particularly significant for political circles throughout the state. The environmental initiatives she championed in Coral Springs had gained attention as models for other South Florida municipalities.
The city of Tamarac plans to honor Metayer Bowen at its next commission meeting, according to Bolton. Coral Springs police said their investigation into the domestic violence incident continues, though Mock provided no timeline for when additional details might be released to the public.