Florida Clown Killer Murdered Lover's Wife To Marry Him, Released Early From Jail ‘for Good Behavior’
A clown imposter who murdered a woman and then married her husband, walks out of prison 18 months after her sentencing. The turn of events has left Joseph Ahrens, the victim's son distraught, PEOPLE reported. It took years and the advent of new technology to bring justice to his mother Marlene Warren who was shot to death by Sheila Keen-Warren in 1990. Ahrens is sad that his mother's perpetrator now gets a chance to enjoy her freedom.
Marlene Warren on the morning of May 26, 1990, opened the door of her Wellington home to whom she believed to be a delivery person dressed as a clown with balloons and a basket of flowers, PEOPLE reported. Moments later that clown shot Marlene Warren and walked away to her car in the driveway.
Sheila Keen-Warren was always a suspect in the case because of her relations with the victim's husband. Authorities could not find any concrete evidence against Sheila Keen-Warren, and she reunited with her lover after he was released from prison for a separate crime.
Sheila Keem-Warren was allegedly involved in a love triangle with Marlene Warren and her husband and killed her rival to take her place, PEOPLE reported. She married Michael Warren, the victim's husband in 2002, and was enjoying her life in Abingdon, Virginia, till new evidence came to light.
Advancements in DNA technology allowed authorities to prove that the brown strand of hair found on the murder site, belonged to Sheila Keen-Warren.
In 2017, Sheila Keen-Warren was taken into custody by authorities for the murder of Marlene Warren, PEOPLE reported. Initially, she pleaded not guilty to the charges, but later on admitted to the second-degree murder charge. The woman was sentenced to 12 years in prison. If convicted at trial, the accused faced life in prison, by taking the plea deal, there was a possibility she could be released after two years behind bars. She entered prison in May 2023.
Sheila-Keen Warren was released early because she had been in custody since 2017, and because of good behavior, PEOPLE reported. Ahrens was disgruntled by the decision. "There is no justice there," he stated. "It's not fair. It wasn't full closure."
Sheila-Keen Warren has maintained since the beginning that she was innocent, CBS News reported. Her attorney claimed that she took the plea deal to avoid the possibility of life imprisonment. "We are absolutely thrilled that Ms. Keen-Warren has been released from prison and is returning to her family. As we've stated from the beginning, she did not commit this crime," Greg Rosenfeld, the accused's attorney said.