FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A clearer picture of how authorities broke open South Florida’s killer clown case last year should finally come into focus, through court records released to the news media Thursday.
Files concerning the prosecution of Sheila Keen Warren, previously handed over to her lawyers, were provided by the Palm Beach County state attorney’s office, in response to public records requests.
Sheila Keen Warren is facing charges in the death of Marlene Warren in 1990. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for the 54-year-old woman accused of wearing a clown disguise during the May 26, 1990, slaying of Marlene Warren, 40, in Wellington.
Keen Warren’s husband, Michael, was married to the victim when she was shot.
Keen Warren was known as “Debbie” in small, historic Abingdon, Va., where she lived with her spouse for 15 years until her Sept. 26 arrest. They had a reputation as a hardworking, friendly couple who until 2016 operated a popular fast-food joint in nearby Kingsport, Tenn.
Michael Warren has not been accused in connection with the crime.
Keen Warren has pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder charge, and is being held at Palm Beach County Jail without bond.
The next hearing in the case is set for May 9; she has waived her right to a speedy trial and most court appearances.
Detectives say Marlene Warren answered the door to her home in the Aero Club community to accept a bouquet and two balloons from a clown wearing an orange wig, a red bulb nose, gloves and a smile painted on its white face.
Immediately, the clown fired at Warren’s face. She died within two days.
The clown fled in a white Chrysler LeBaron, which was found four days later abandoned in a shopping center parking lot. Sheila Keen and Michael Warren were originally identified as persons of interest but neither was charged at the time.
Keen, then 27, had been working for Warren’s used car dealership, Bargain Motors Inc. of West Palm Beach, helping to repossess cars.
The case went cold until 2014, when Palm Beach County detectives took a fresh look at DNA evidence. They also learned the Warrens married in Las Vegas in 2002.
Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and State Attorney Dave Aronberg have told reporters that the arrest was possible based on a DNA link and recent witness interviews.
“Sometimes justice can be delayed but, justice eventually arrives,” Aronberg said.
But officials didn’t provide any specifics about the evidence, and there is no arrest report filed in the case that outlines what led to a grand jury indictment and the charge.
After the killing, detectives told reporters that a search of Sheila Keen’s home yielded fibers from a bright orange wig. And similar fibers were found in the getaway car.
Defense attorney Richard Lubin has said it’s a “complicated” case because it’s so old.
——
©2018 Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Visit the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) at www.sun-sentinel.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
———
PHOTO (for help with images, contact 312-222-4194): FLA-KILLERCLOWN
—————
Topics: t000002458,t000027866,t000149877,t000027879,t000002487,t000165619
