Florida vice mayor, rising Democratic star, found dead, husband arrested: police

Coral Springs Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen, a rising Democratic star, was found dead, and her husband has been arrested, according to police.

Bowen, 38, was found dead at her home around 10 a.m. after an investigation into her wellbeing, Coral Springs Police Chief Brad Mock said at a news conference Wednesday evening, NBC6 reported.

While Mock didn't say how Bowen died, he said her death was being investigated as a domestic violence incident.

Her husband, 40-year-old Stephen Bowen, was taken into custody, and there were no other suspects and no threats to the public, authorities said. An investigation into her death is ongoing.

Bowen was elected in 2020 and again in 2024, and was the first Black and Haitian American woman commissioner of Coral Springs. In November, she was appointed to serve a second term as vice mayor.

According to an unnamed source, Bowen was preparing to run for Congress this year, Florida Politics reported.

Coral Springs Commissioner Joshua Simmons said his “soul is heavy” and his “heart is broken” over Bowen's death.

“She had such a good heart,” Simmons said. “She truly cared about people.”

Bowen’s 26-year-old brother, Joshua, died by suicide in December after a years-long battle with schizophrenia. He had survived the Feb. 14, 2018, mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.