A 1990 killer clown cold case turned plea deal has come to a close as the Florida woman who pleaded guilty was released from prison on Saturday.
Sheila Keen-Warren, 61, was released from prison just 18 months following her guilty plea to the second-degree murder of Marlene Warren while dressed as a clown delivering carnations and balloons.
Keen-Warren was arrested in 2017 and later convicted of shooting Marlene to death more than 30 years ago in Wellington, Florida. She was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2023, with credit for the 2,000-plus days she had already spent behind bars.
Despite her plea deal, she has maintained her innocence.
“We are absolutely thrilled that Ms. Keen-Warren has been released from prison and is returning to her family,” Greg Rosenfeld, Kenn-Warren’s lawyer, told the Associated Press. “As we’ve stated from the beginning, she did not commit this crime.”
She had been a suspect from the beginning of the case but investigators’ lack of evidence made it hard for prosecutors to charge her. Retested DNA evidence in 2014 allowed them to connect her to the crime scene.
The victim’s son, Joseph Ahrens, and friends were home at the time of the shooting and claim a person dressed as a clown delivered the balloons and flowers before shooting Marlene in the face.
Keen-Warren went on to marry the husband of her victim, Michael Warren, whom she worked for.
Witnesses believed that the two were having an affair at the time of Marlene’s murder, though they both denied it.
Michael was initially a suspect, but was never convicted.
