Alleged gunman told his uncle he shot Coral Springs Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen three times, a disclosure that led directly to his arrest and murder charge.
A 911 call from a family member set the investigation in motion. What police uncovered in the hours that followed painted a deeply troubling picture of what happened inside a Coral Springs, Florida home on Wednesday morning.
Stephen Bowen, 40, has been charged with first-degree premeditated murder and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence in the death of his wife, Coral Springs Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen, 38. He is being held without bond at Broward County’s Main Jail. The evidence-tampering charge would otherwise carry a $50,000 bond.
According to a complaint affidavit obtained by TMZ, a man identifying himself as Stephen’s uncle, Owen Small, called 911 and told police that his nephew had confessed to killing his wife. Detectives later met with Small, who told them Stephen had come to his home and asked him to hold onto a shotgun for a couple of weeks. When Small asked his nephew directly whether he had shot someone, Stephen told him he had shot his wife three times and then slept downstairs.
Police found Nancy’s body wrapped in a comforter and trash bags in the master bedroom on the second floor of the couple’s home.
How authorities located Stephen Bowen
Coral Springs Police Department officers had initially gone to the couple’s home at approximately 10:04 a.m. after city employees were unable to reach the vice mayor. She had not shown up for a scheduled meeting that morning, and a city employee who contacted Stephen by text received a response in which he claimed not to know where she was and noted that her car was not at home.
Upon arriving at the residence on the 800 block of Northwest 127th Avenue, officers found Nancy deceased inside and confirmed her identity. Police determined the incident was domestic in nature and immediately sought Stephen. Plantation Police Department license plate readers picked up a hit on his vehicle along SR 7 and U.S. 441, leading to his apprehension at the Landmark Towers apartment complex by the Broward Sheriff’s Office. Coral Springs Police Chief Brad Mock credited the Broward Sheriff’s Office, Fort Lauderdale Police Department, and Plantation Police Department with their assistance in the investigation.
A trailblazing public servant
Nancy Metayer Bowen had built a distinguished record in public life before her death. An environmental scientist by training, she worked in public sector roles before winning a seat on the Broward Soil and Water Conservation District. In 2020, she won a seat on the Coral Springs City Commission in a competitive race, becoming the first Black and Haitian American woman elected to that body. She was re-elected unopposed four years later.
Her political reach extended beyond local government. She had worked briefly in the offices of former U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and former President Barack Obama. During the 2024 election cycle, she served as Florida Caribbean Vote Director for both the Biden and Harris presidential campaigns. In March 2025, the Florida Democratic Party named her its Vice Chair of Haitian American Voter Engagement. At the time of her death, she was preparing to run for Congress.
A family already marked by grief
The Metayer family had endured significant loss in recent months. In December, Nancy’s 26-year-old brother Joshua died by suicide after a long struggle with schizophrenia. He had survived the Feb. 14, 2018, mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
Nancy and Stephen had married in 2022. Public records list Stephen as the chief operating officer of Men of St. Luke, a nonprofit organization focused on fellowship and discipleship. He is also a licensed radiology technician. His social media presence included posts celebrating his marriage alongside several photographs showing him with firearms. His profile description read, in part, God. Husband. Armed.
The Coral Springs Police Department confirmed in a statement that no additional suspects are being sought and that there is no ongoing threat to the surrounding community. The investigation remains active.
Story credit: TMZ