The Insane Killer Clown Story of Marlene Warren

On a sunny morning in May of 1990, Marlene Warren was in the kitchen when someone dressed as a clown rang the doorbell. Moments later, the 40-year-old wife and mother was shot in the face.

**Photo of Marlene Warren and her son.**

This event was witnessed by her son and his friend, who were at the house as well.

The initial investigation uncovered a tale of infidelity and a dangerous love triangle. Still, law enforcement couldn’t convince the prosecutors they had a strong case to go in front of a judge.

Detectives were confident they had identified the killer clown, but the case remained cold, nonetheless. Almost three decades later, the prime suspect was finally apprehended.

Background

Marlene Mae Warren was born on April 15th, 1950, in Mount Clemens, Michigan. She was a very creative child who loved to paint and assist her mother in the kitchen whenever possible.

When Marlene was 15 years old, she became pregnant and decided to keep the baby. She gave birth to her first son, John, and later married his father. Soon after, they welcomed another baby boy named Joe.

Marlene became a single mother when she was just 20. Despite all the difficulties, she was doing great in raising her two sons on her own. Eventually, Marlene met Mike Warren, and the two tied the knot in 1972.

Most of Mike’s family lived in Florida, so the Warrens packed up and moved south. Mike opened Bargain Motors, a car business that provided the family with a good income.

Marlene also invested in several properties in Palm Beach County and then rented them out. The family was doing well financially, so they moved to the Aero Club community in Wellington.

Mike and Marlene owned a single-engine airplane, and each house in the Aero Club had its private hangar.

Life seemed to be going well for Warrens until the mid-1980s, when Mike was accused of tampering with the mileage on used cars to increase their prices. He was sentenced to 18 months of probation.

In 1988, Marlene’s oldest son, John, died in a car accident. He was only 22. Marlene did her best to stay strong during this difficult time, but she needed the support of her family. Instead of being there for her, Mike focused on his work. The two grew apart, and their relationship started to crumble.

In the following months, Marlene began to hear rumors about Mike having an affair with a much younger co-worker. But wanting to keep her family together, she initially ignored the gossip.

However, in January of 1990, Marlene filed a restraining order against Mike, citing domestic issues. She wanted to divorce him, but was worried about dividing the family assets.

The clown

On Saturday, May 26th, 1990, Marlene was making breakfast while her 21-year-old son, Joe, and his friend were hanging out in the living room.

Joe had recently broken his leg, so when they heard a car park in the driveway, and then a figure dressed as a clown passing by the windows, they assumed it was one of Joe’s friends.

Marlene got up to open the front door, and standing in front of her was indeed a clown with a basket of flowers and balloons.

One of the balloons was heart-shaped with the text that said: “You’re the Greatest.” Joe heard his mother say, “How pretty!” but then a loud bang echoed through the house.

**The balloons that were left at the crime scene.**

Joe rushed to the door, where he saw his mom lying on the ground. The person dressed as a clown walked to their white Chevy LeBaron car as if nothing had happened and drove away.

Joe screamed for his neighbor to call 911 before he jumped into a car to chase the shooter. Unfortunately, the white LeBaron managed to get away.

When emergency services arrived, Marlene was still alive, but struggling to breathe. She had been shot once in the head and needed surgery right away. Marlene was rushed to West Palm Beach Hospital.

However, despite the best efforts of the doctors and surgeons, she remained unconscious. Realizing she would never wake up again, the family agreed to take her off life support two days later.

Investigation

The forensic examination of the scene didn’t reveal any clues about the perpetrator of this incident.

Meanwhile, law enforcement conducted interviews with Joe and his friend, who were present when the shooting happened. Joe saw a person dressed as a clown walking towards the car, and described them as likely male based on the size and the way they walked.

The suspect was dressed in a clown outfit, had a bright orange wig, and a red nose. Their face was fully painted, but Joe remembered they had brown eyes.

Additionally, the clown was wearing combat boots, which is another detail that made Joe believe he was looking at a man.

When investigators spoke to Mike, he mentioned that Marlene was a landlord and was in charge of collecting the rent money. According to him, some of the tenants might have disliked her.

On the other hand, Joe said his mother was loving and friendly towards everyone, including her tenants, so the chances of her having enemies were low.

After interviewing several employees at Mike’s business, they all confirmed he was having an affair with a much younger co-worker for several years. Her name was Sheila Keen, and the two didn’t even try to hide their relationship.

When Sheila met Mike, she was married to a man named Richard, also known as Spud. He was a repo man who helped Mike with repossessing vehicles.

Sheila was called in for an interview with the police, and she denied ever having an affair with Mike. She willingly provided the police with a sample of her hair.

Investigators also checked Mike’s alibi and confirmed that he couldn’t be the shooter because he was with his friends at the racetrack at the time of the tragedy.

However, Sheila didn’t have a strong alibi. When asked about her whereabouts, she claimed she was searching for vehicles to repossess. Sheila was allegedly alone and failed to provide her exact location, stating that she couldn’t remember.

Days later, a white Chevy LeBaron was found in a parking lot, five miles away from Marlene’s house. Forensic processing of the vehicle revealed orange wig fibers, as well as human hair. Unfortunately, investigators didn’t have the DNA testing technology available just yet.

Police needed concrete proof to identify the clown, so they focused on the evidence collected at the scene, which included the flower basket and balloons.

They hit the streets and found a store in West Palm Beach where a woman had bought a clown costume just days before Marlene’s murder. Officers also discovered the store where that same person purchased the flower basket.

The description of the woman matched Sheila, but the employees struggled to identify her from a photo lineup. Sheila became the prime suspect soon after.

Investigators obtained a search warrant for her apartment, where they found more orange fibers that visually matched the fibers discovered in the white Chevy LeBaron.

Shockingly, the prosecutors believed this evidence wasn’t enough to charge her with Marlene’s murder. And so, the case went cold.

In September 1990, Mike’s business was raided, and he was found guilty of racketeering, grand theft, and fraud. After his release from jail in 1997, he spent some time in Florida before moving to Virginia.

According to Marlene’s son Joe, Mike called him once after his release. His stepdad then cut all contact with him, even though the two were very close, and Joe considered him to be his father.

While in Virginia, Mike started a relationship with a woman named Debbie, who bore a striking resemblance to Sheila but had blonde hair. The couple got married in 2002 and opened a restaurant called the Purple Cow in Kingsport, Tennessee.

The reopening of the case

In 2013, a cold case unit decided to reinvestigate the murder of Marlene Warren. Advances in forensic technology gave detectives hope that they would finally be able to identify the clown.

Samples of human hair found in the car used by the shooter were sent to the FBI lab for testing.

The results were compared to the hair samples provided by Sheila during the murder investigation. No one was surprised when it was revealed they were a perfect match.

On September 26th, 2017, more than 27 years after Marlene Warren’s murder, Sheila Keen-Warren was finally arrested in Abingdon, Virginia.

At that time, she was still using the name Debbie. Sheila was charged with first-degree murder and was facing the death penalty in Florida.

The trial was postponed multiple times over the years and was further delayed by COVID-19 restrictions.

In 2023, Sheila was offered a plea deal by the prosecution. On April 25th of that year, she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Having been in custody since 2017, Sheila was released on November 2nd, 2024, for good behavior.