Miami Herald Slammed Over ‘Misleading’ Headline About Slain Coral Springs Vice Mayor

The Miami Herald is under fire over what critics are calling a misleading headline about recently slain Coral Springs vice mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen.

Metayer Bowen, a 38-year-old rising political figure, was found dead in her home on April 1. Her husband, 40-year-old Stephen Bowen, has been accused of fatally shooting her and was arrested on premeditated murder charges. Police say the case is being investigated as a domestic violence incident.

As questions linger about what led up to her death, the Herald published a story on April 9 shedding light on prior police calls to the couple’s Coral Springs home. The headline of the story, which the newspaper shared on its Instagram, read: “Coral Springs police called to vice mayor’s home five times before her murder.”

“I hate this; smiling everyday in public and at work, but living in turmoil at home,” one person commented on the newspaper’s post.

“They NEVER do enough BEFORE the victim loses their life,” another wrote.

“So much signs to leave, Rip queen,” a third commented.

The only problem? Nowhere does the article mention anything about the calls being domestic-related issues. Instead, it says police were called to the home six times between August 2023 and April 2026 for matters including “an investigation code,” “two animal bite codes,” “a grand theft code,” and a “disturbance code.” The final time was when her body was found.

Commenters quickly piled onto the Herald‘s post, calling the headline “extremely misleading,” “clickbait,” and “salacious.”

“Take this down,” one person commented. “This is clickbait and you should be ashamed to use such a woman’s senseless murder for this purpose.”

“This headline is extremely misleading, please read the article,” Joshua Simmons, a Coral Springs city commissioner, wrote.

“Shameful for @miamiherald to use her death as clickbait,” a third replied.

Even former Herald reporter Nadege Green expressed her disappointment over the headline. In a comment, she called it “purposely ambiguous in a way that invites misinterpretation.”

“The person who wrote this headline KNOWS this. This was a choice. A horrible one,” Green wrote. “But I guess you got your engagement off the horrid death of Nancy. She deserves better in death, just as she did in living. @miamiherald, fix it.”

Neither the paper’s executive editor, Alex Mena, nor McClatchy, the Herald‘s parent company, responded to New Times‘ request for comment via email. At around 11 a.m. on Thursday, the paper updated the headline to read: “Five police calls made to vice mayor’s home before death; details remain unclear.” However, the old headline remained on Instagram, where the paper had yet to acknowledge or respond to disgruntled readers.

Sergeant James Kaban, a spokesperson for the Coral Springs Police Department, clarifies to New Times that none of the police calls to their home involved domestic violence issues “or anything of that sort.” He says the “disturbance code” involved an issue with a contractor or subcontractor, and the “investigation code” was simply the city following up on the previous animal bite calls.

Before she became vice mayor, Metayer Bowen made history as the first Black and Haitian American female member of the Coral Springs City Commission. She was first elected in 2020 and then re-elected in 2024. In December 2024, her fellow commissioners appointed her to serve as vice mayor. She was reportedly preparing to announce the week of her death that she was running for Congress in the seat currently held by embattled Democratic U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick.

Police say they discovered Metayer Bowen’s body during a welfare check after she missed a Wednesday morning meeting and failed to respond to calls.

When officers entered the home around 10 a.m. Wednesday, they found Metayer Bowen dead in a second-floor bedroom, her body wrapped in blankets and garbage bags, according to a police affidavit. A pillow was found on the bed with burn marks and string as if it was used as a makeshift silencer, the affidavit said.

In a police interview, Stephen Bowen’s uncle said Stephen came to his home on Wednesday and told him he had shot his wife three times the night before. “When asked why, Stephen Bowen said that he ’couldn’t take it anymore,'” the affidavit states.

The affidavit states that Stephen Bowen’s mother said he told her the day prior that he had a panic attack and was going to speak with his wife about it.

Bowen was booked in Broward County’s main jail on charges of premeditated murder and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, where he remains.