Slain Florida Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen was the sister of Parkland shooting survivor who died by suicide months before

Metayer Bowen’s brother was 26-year-old Donovan Joshua Leigh Metayer, who died by suicide after battling schizophrenia for years.

The Coral Springs Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen, who was found dead in her home on Wednesday (April 1), was the sister of a Parkland shooting survivor who took his own life three months ago.

As previously reported by theGrio, Donovan Joshua Leigh Metayer was 26 when he died by suicide in Dec. 2025, after years of battling schizophrenia. In 2018, he was a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and survived the historic school shooting that killed 17 students and staff members. Following the tragedy, he suffered from mental health episodes and received his diagnosis.

Metayer Bowen and other family members posted a GoFundMe on social media following her brother’s death to help raise money for the funeral service and to endow a fund at the Henderson Behavioral Health clinic to support people with mental health conditions.

Metayer Bowen’s husband, Stephen Bowen, 40, was charged with her murder after authorities caught him in Plantation, Florida, and is being held at Broward Main Jail, as the killing is being investigated as premeditated and linked to domestic violence.

According to a report from the Coral Springs Police Department obtained by Local 10 News, Bowen told his mother on Tuesday (March 31) that he was experiencing a panic attack and he was going to speak with his wife. The next day, he confessed to his uncle, showing up at his house at 10 a.m. saying “he did something to her,” referring to Metayer Bowen, and that “she was not alive.” He also told his uncle that he shot Metayer Bowen three times and then slept downstairs in their home.

Investigators say that that morning, other city staffers became concerned about Metayer Bowen’s whereabouts when she didn’t show up to a meeting. One staffer reached out over text to her husband, Bowen, who replied, “Texted her. “She is not picking up.” She was already dead at this point.

The family of Metayer Bowen, already grieving one loss, now has to bury another one of their own. They have asked for privacy and for everyone to keep them in their prayers.

“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,” Metayer Bowen’s family said in a statement posted to her social media. “Her legacy will live on not only in the policies she helped shape, but in the countless lives she touched.”

The statement continues, “We are grateful for the outpouring of support and kindness during this difficult time. As we mourn her loss, we also celebrate her remarkable life and the lasting impact she leaves behind.”