(updated on 04/07/2026 @ 12:06 p.m.)
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Questions remain unanswered after the vice mayor of Coral Springs, Fla., Nancy Metayer Bowen, was found dead earlier this month. Her husband has been charged with the murder, but according to reports, trouble inside the couple’s home began months before her untimely death.
The Bowens were entangled in a legal battle with their homeowners association (HOA) months before the vice mayor was killed. The HOA sued back in November 2025 claiming the couple owed $3,710.25 in unpaid fees and refused to pay, according to TMZ. The suit was voluntarily dismissed in January, just months before tragedy struck.
The city of Coral Springs celebrated Metayer Bowen’s historic election as the first Black and Haitian American female commissioner in 2020. Now, they’re forced to mourn her after the politician was found dead inside her own home. While the investigation surrounding the suspicious circumstances of her death is still underway, police have charged one suspect with premeditated murder.
Local police were called to Metayer Bowen’s residence on the morning of April 1 for a wellness check, according to ABC News. When they arrived, they found the appointed vice mayor dead. Authorities have since arrested 40-year-old Bowen and booked him on murder and evidence tampering charges.
According to Bowen’s arrest report obtained by NBC News, he allegedly confessed to his uncle that he shot his wife three times using a shotgun because he “couldn’t take it anymore.” After being declared indigent, Bowen was assigned a public defender in the case, TMZ reported. Now, the public defender’s office has asked to be excused from the murder case citing “personal and professional relationships with the alleged victim.”
The Bowens had been married since 2022, just two years after the politician was elected as the first ever Black and Haitian American female city commissioner, according to her city bio. In 2024, she was reelected to the position and later appointed to serve as vice mayor. Metayer Bowen also a graduate from Florida A&M University. She went on the get her master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in health science.
“We are heartbroken to share that Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer has died,” the city of Coral Springs wrote in a statement. “She was more than a public servant, she was a light in our community. 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.”
City Manager Catherine Givens spoke during a news conference to pay respects to the colleague she said many also considered a friend. “What’s worse is the tremendous grief that her family must endure. If you knew Nancy, her family was everything,” Gibbons said. “She wasn’t just a leader; she was the light in every room that she entered. She was a steady voice in difficult times, a compassionate soul who lifted others up and a friend to so many.”
Police are investigating her killing as a domestic violence situation, but this isn’t the first tragedy that has touched Metayer Bowen’s family. Back in December, her younger brother, Donovan Joshua Leigh Metayer, died by suicide at age 26. He was a high school senior when an gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. in 2018. According to a GoFundMe in his honor, Donovan struggled with his mental health following the shooting.
Rep. Anna V. Eskamani took to X to share her condolences with the Metayer family. “Nancy and I worked side by side in the reproductive rights movement for years, and I’ve been honored to call her not just a colleague, but a dear friend. She was brilliant, compassionate, and deeply committed to justice. I’m heartbroken by this loss,” she said. “Sending my love to her family who has already experienced deep loss with the passing of her brother.”
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