CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — An urgent 911 call brought police to the home of Coral Springs Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen, and in hindsight, investigators say her husband’s relatives appeared to already know what had happened.
Recordings of the call capture the urgency as a caller pleaded with dispatchers to force entry into the home.
“Tell them to break down the door by whatever means,” the caller said.
A dispatcher responded, “Ma’am, I understand. We’re worried about her. We’re trying to find her but we can’t just break down the door. We have to have a reason.”
Moments later, a man identified as the suspect’s uncle told the dispatcher, “I’m going to give you a reason. OK, my nephew — her husband — came to my house this morning and told me that he did something to her.”
“OK, her husband?” the dispatcher asked.
“I asked, is she alive? He said no,” the uncle replied.
Authorities say Metayer Bowen’s husband, Stephen Bowen, 40, faces charges of premeditated murder and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence in her killing.
Police found Metayer Bowen, 38, shot to death, her body wrapped in a comforter and a garbage bag, according to investigators.
The 911 call that prompted officers to the home was the sixth call for service at the residence since the couple moved there in August 2023, records show.
Previous calls included a disturbance, a theft, animal bites and another investigation, though details of those incidents have not been made public.
It remains unclear whether Metayer Bowen, who had been preparing to launch a congressional campaign, had confided in anyone about a potentially abusive relationship.
Advocates and lawmakers say the case underscores the dangers of escalating domestic violence and the importance of early intervention.
“What we see is that escalation happens between rounds of these different incidents of abuse. So the quicker we can get law enforcement to the scene to understand what the issue is, the more seriously we can deal with the perpetrator and the abuser,” said state Rep. Alexis Calatayud, a Miami Republican.
South Florida lawmakers have advanced bipartisan legislation aimed at strengthening protections for victims of domestic violence, including proposals to study a dedicated emergency number designed to discreetly summon help.
“You call that number — nobody picks up — if someone grabs the phone from you, there is no one on the other end for them to talk to,” said state Sen. Lori Berman, the Senate Democratic leader. “Then the police geolocate you like it’s an emergency panic button and then they come to your house.”
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