Murder by Clown | Full Episode + Post Mortem | Forensic Files

[Music] the evil clowns you've seen in the movies well it came to life in this case when your mom was growing up was
she fascinated with clowns she was she even painted pictures of them my mother Mar Warren was a
beautiful person she was loving caring [Music] kind on May 26th 1990 a woman answered
her door in front of her 21-year-old son and saw a clown at the door handing her
balloons and flowers that was the worst day of my life we were eating breakfast we saw the
colors of the reflections through the glass looked like a clown costume my mother opened the door and I heard how
pretty and I heard bang I saw her fall and I ran toward her as the clown was walking away and I
saw that she'd been shot in the face at that moment I felt my heart my soul just rip out of my body
what did you see on the Clown's face well it was a white face nose orangish red hair and it was just a clown
suit what does the clown do calmly walks right back to the car like nothing happened a person disguised as a clown
walked up to Marlene Warren's AOC Club home in Wellington and shot her in the mouth I was working as a prosecutor here
in this office when it happened and it was big news meanwhile at our home investigators gather evidence searching
for Clues killing with a great costume to conceal one's identity and anybody passing by would probably say oh isn't
that nice somebody's getting flowers it wouldn't be suspicious and it would certainly make for the Perfect
Crime Marlene Warren was someone without any known enemies someone who cared deeply about her family
and they lived in a home in a pretty secluded part of Palm Beach County Michael Warren was married to
Marlene Warren Michael was a local businessman in the car business the Warren's marriage seemed to be an ideal marriage
but for the people on the inside that knew better Marlene was expressing issues with Michael
Warren the people closest to Michael Warren that worked with them knew there was something wrong because they were
observing Michael Warren's interactions with a woman by the name of Sheila ke and the rumors was what about Sheila
and Mike well it was more than a rumor that Sheila Kean and Michael Warren were having an affair it was not hidden from
any of the employees in the hours after the murder of marleene Warren the suspects became clear it was Sheila Kean
and was Michael Warren but Michael Warren had an alibi Michael and Sheila thought that
they could get away with anything it took over 30 years to make sense of it all [Music]
[Music] this house was the scene of a bizarre murder that shooter a clown carrying
flowers and balloons it's easy to see why this case has so much interest who isn't afraid of
a killer clown the 1990 murder of marleene Warren shot by someone dressed as a clown haunted not just the public
but the Palm Beach County state attorney's office despite identifying two suspects the case for decades went
unsolved Dave aronberg is the current state attorney this was an assassin ation this was not a random act of
violence this was not a robbery the unknowingness of this heinous crime the fear it was
hell Joe arens was 21 living at home with his stepfather Mike and his mother marleene when she was
murdered she was a good mother everything she did she took pride in the morning of May 26th 1990 had
started as a cheerful one Joe recuperating from a broken leg was having breakfast at home with his mom
and three friends when they saw a clown approaching carrying balloons and flowers and we kind of figured I had
cast on somebody was sending to heal and for gesture this is like oh what a delightful gift to cheer you up with
your broken leg right my mother opened the door and then we heard bang and she fell at that point
we knew something was wrong my mother was struggling to breathe and then I jumped to the phone you know called i11
right away as the clown slowly and silently walked to a car Joe and some of his friends tried to get a closer look
at anything that might help describe the disguised attacker the only thing that didn't have any color on it was the
shoes that were solid black and the white gloves and did you notice anything about the
Clown's eyes I did that that's the most thing I I saw was the big brown eyes and
the clown gets in the car what kind of car was it it was a white learon and does the car peel off no just goes into
gear and drives off like nothing happened while some of Joe's friends remained at his house waiting for EMS
Joe got into Marlene's car and tried to chase down the clown but he couldn't catch up he is seen here back home
afterwards where TV news crews were on the scene meanwhile with the clowns balloons and flowers Left Behind
marleene was rushed to the hospital barely alive where she was put on life support I kept telling her I love her
and I don't want her to go and Please Don't Leave Me 2 days later with no hope of a recovery life support was removed
and Marlene died I knew my life was going to change and I knew it was going to become
hell cuz she wasn't here to help me a top clue the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office had was Joe's description of the
clown about 61 tall skinny with orange hair a red nose and a big orange smile and male and those balloons Left Behind
they now seemed cruy mocking you're the greatest once said the had a picture of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
authorities had also spoken with Joe's stepfather Mike Warren who they learned had an alibi he was in a car with
friends heading to a racetrack when the shooting took place growing up with Mike
Warren what was that like was he a good dad I thought so that's the only father I knew I mean I was really young when my
real father and mother separated marleene and Mike were married when joob was just three they had built
a comfortable life in Wellington Florida an affluence suburb marleene owned several businesses including apartment
complexes and the couple ran bargain Motors specializing in used cars and rentals while business was good the
marriage says Joe was troubled he says his mother became convinced Mike was having an affair making her fearful she
said if anything does happen to me your father did it she said that to you I told her no way he would never do
anything like that she said don't put it past him Marlene shared that same fear with her mother Shirley twing she says
if anything happens to me Mike did it we interviewed Shirley in 2017 when 48 Hours started investigating
Marlene's murder that's an ominous thing to say did you sense fear in her voice sure yes I did
so when Shirley learned her daughter had been murdered her mind went to Mike right away I figured Mike had something
to do with it that's for damn sure but Mike had that alibi so authorities were looking for someone else and when they
visited bargain Motors Mike's place of business one name kept popping up that woman with whom Mike was supposedly
having an affair everybody at the bargain Motors were reporting that you should look first at Sheila
Keen Altha McRoberts an assistant State Attorney in Palm Beach county has worked
on the case from the beginning and within the next day or so tips were being called in that you really should
investigate Sheila Kean and Michael Warren they were definitely seeing one another Dela Ward worked at bargain
motors with Mike Warren he had a lot of compassion a lot of empathy and people just were drawn to him especially women
one of those women Dela believed was Sheila Kean I found her very nice very bubbly you knew the way she looked at
Michael you just you loved them you could see it Sheila who also had a reputation for toughness was a repo
woman repossessing cars at bargain Motors to do repos you have to you have to have some kind of guns she told me I
keep a gun for my protection cuz people are crazy what they do Sheila told investigators she was out working at the
time of Marlene's murder she claimed that she was looking for repossession vehicles but she was unable to provide
any address that she went to so that they could follow up and confirm it as for the affair both Sheila and Mike told
investigators they were just friends but that's not what authorities learned when
they talked to Sheila's Neighbors The Neighbors at that apartment complex believed that Michael Warren and Sheila
Keane were husband and wife is there any doubt in your mind that there was a romantic relationship there's no doubt
and they didn't hide it an affair though isn't necessarily a motive for murder did anyone profit financially from
Marlene's death yes so Michael Warren profited Lar largely the properties and assets that they own together were in
her name so by her predeceasing him he was able to obtain 100% of the assets investigators were also trying to
locate local stores that had recently sold clown outfits Deborah offord had been working at a costume shop when two
nights before Marlene's murder a customer knocked at the door at closing time she wanted to see the clown
costumes I said can you come back tomorrow and she said no I need something right now Deborah told
investigators the customer paid cash buying a clown suit an orange wig makeup and a red clown nose she was I would say
about 510 um long thick straight like chocolate color hair big brown eyes detectives later presented Deborah with
a photo lineup that included a picture of Sheila Kean Deborah identified Kean and one other woman as possibly being
the person who bought the clown costume the Sheriff's Office also belied they located where the shooter bought those
flowers and balloons this Supermarket the buyer described as a white female with dark brown hair the description of
the customer given by the worker at the supermarket Market brown hair and at the
costume store brown hair brown eyes was consistent with Sheila Kean and there was Sheila's reported affair with Mike
Warren it was intriguing circumstantial evidence but would it be enough to make an arrest
[Music] [Music] before they turn the machine off on my [Music] mother God I wish you could be here with
me I told her that I loved her very much and that we were going to get Justice [Music]
as Joe arens mourned the loss of his mother Marlene investigators continued looking
for additional evidence tying Sheila Keen to Marlene Warren's murder you talk about this case to anyone and the first
place people go is yeah it's the mistress so investigators focused on Sheila keen and soon a big break when
detectives located this abandoned white Chrysler learon matching the description
Witnesses gave of the getaway car what was found inside that Chrysler learon there was synthetic fibers similar type
fibers to a clown wig they were orange the same color as the wig Joe Aaron says the as salent was wearing also inside
the car they found a human hair it was brown like Sheila ke's Sheriff's detectives executed a search
warrant at the home of Sheila Keen inside Sheila keen's closet detectives say they recovered orange fibers that a
forensic examination later concluded were similar to the ones found in the Chrysler learon and another breakthrough
was made when Sheila's hair from her apartment was compared to the one recovered from the getaway car that was
scientifically microscopically examined and found to be consistent consistent with Sheila's hair but DNA technology
was still in its infancy in 1990 and scientists were unable to make a definitive connection there were other
challenges for investigators the gun used to kill Marlene and the actual costume the Killer Clown wore were never
found and remember Joe thought the attacker was a 6 tall man Sheila didn't fit either of those descriptions
we're talking about an event that took seconds glances of this clown was a second or two also mcrobert says any
eyewitness would have a hard time describing someone in a baggy clown costume makeup and a
wig it's basically a clown is a clown and there was Sheila's alleged affair with Mike waren those fiber and hair
results and those sales clerks at the costume and grocery stores whose description of the customer purchasing
the clown outfit balloons and flowers was consistent with Sheila this sounds like the evidence is really building up
it's like you've got enough there to make an arrest what happens well there were certainly argument about that and
opinions that differed at the time and then there's a an indecision about do I do it now or should we keep trying and
get a little bit more as invest tigators looked for more evidence they discovered that Mike
Warren's business bargain Motors was connected to the suspected getaway car they learned an employee stole the
car from a competitor several weeks before the murder and that's how they got the chrysal to bearing Sheriff's
detectives spent about 5 hours Thursday night searching the offices of bargon Motors at and as they investigated Mike
Warren's business they discovered widespread fr fraud charging him with racketeering insurance fraud and
odometer tampering he ultimately was convicted on 43 counts of Fraud and sent to prison it was for fraud and so you
know you just can't extrapolate one to the next I mean there's no evidence that he's a murderer we do have our
suspicions though he was not charged with any crime in connection with Marlene's murder and Warren felt he was
a victim in this case sentiments he shared in a radio interview before he went to prison they wanted to put me out
of business Warren speculated that marleene might actually have been the victim of an angry tenant or car buyer I
really can't think of a reason why uh other than the fact of the type of businesses that we're in as far as them
landlords and crossing a few people by repossessing their car but law enforcement did not think
Marlene Warren's murder was the work of a disgruntled tenant or customer and as the years passed the case grew cold and
as for Sheila Keen she seemed to disappear nobody ever brought her name up again you know for many years I was
suffering in in in despair after Mike Warren went to prison Joe says he and his stepfather became estranged and as
he continued to grieve the loss of his mother he was consumed by her case going unsolved and give me a sense of what
problems you fell into after your mother's murder ah wow where do we start alcoholism drugs I mean you name it it
was especially painful says Joe on each passing anniversary of the shooting I would blow up that day and go get drunk
you know and just go to her grave site it was sad would you go out to her grave to talk to her I did a lot I try to find
answers you know but I was so confused I was getting nothing I was just lost I miss you I wish you could help me
through these Hard Times Joe eventually emerged from the fog of drugs and despair with that
behind him he became increasingly certain of who murdered his mother I concluded that Sheila was the one that
did it she probably never thought in a million years she'd be held accountable for her crimes she thought she got away
with it what do you make of the evidence against Sheila Keen chat now with the 48
Hours team on Facebook and X [Music] these are paintings that Marlin had painted when she was about 14 years old
I kind of grin CU I can almost see her doing this Shirley twing and her daughter marleene shared a fascination
with clowns and over here in Shirley's home she even kept a room full of clown art and
figurines this one says to me things will get better the sad sometimes unsettling
images brought Comfort to Shirley despite the fact that a clown had so brutally ended her daughter's life I
don't hate clowns I just hate one although the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office hadn't given up on
solving Marlene's murder 27 long years had passed without an arrest then by 2017 a Cold Case unit
made a breakthrough State Attorney Dave aronberg finally had new important evidence the hairs that were
found in the learon were able to be Trace to Sheila Keen through DNA technology with that new DNA match
detectives believed they could now definitively connect Sheila to the alleged getaway car and to marleene
Warren's murder and when Sheriff's found suspect Sheila ke they were blown away to learn
whom she had married after Michael Warren got out of prison he reconnected with Sheila Keen here's
someone whose wife had been murdered and he just married the chief suspect what did that tell you when you combine the
fact that the two of them were in a fair at the time of the murder and then later
they got married it did seem like mission accomplished that marriage was in 2002
the Warren now middle-aged settled into a new life in Tennessee running this joint called Purple Cow she took Mike's
last name but in an interesting twist assistant State Attorney Altha McRoberts says she changed her first name Sheila
Keen Warren introduced herself to their friends in that life that her name was Debbie she had dyed her hair blonde
changed her name and was living a full life we would have dinners they were wonderful Cooks the Warren befriended
Brook Levens this is Mike Warren's house a neighbor at a weekend property the couple purchased in the Virginia
mountains when we spoke to Brooke in 2018 she said she knew Mike's wife as Debbie and was told it was a childhood
nickname her dad nicknamed her that when she was small I never called her Sheila
I always called her Debbie former Purple Cow employees Ashley sexon and Cynthia Swafford say they knew Debbie as a tough
boss B I mean she was awful aggressive mean and even heard an alarming rumor about her
past the rumor around Purple Cow when we worked there was Debbie killed Mike's ex-wife I thought they was blowing off
steam I was like okay whatever but the rumors said it more than once even to where we knew she
dressed up like a clown according to an employee Sheila had appeared in clown makeup at the
restaurant one year during Halloween by the fall of 2017 the warrant had sold the business and retired full-time to
the house in Virginia meanwhile State Attorney aronburg felt the case against Sheila
had only gotten stronger when you combine the fact that they got married and seemingly lived happily ever after
with the new DNA breakthrough we're able to get enough evidence to make an arrest on September 26th
2017 27 years after Marlene's murder authorities arrested Sheila kin Warren driving on a Road near their
home she was charged with first-degree murder Sheila did not murder Marlene Warren Greg Rosenfeld Sheila keing
Warren's defense attorney says Sheila was not not the shooter everything was so methodical this person walking up to
the house committing the shooting and then slowly walking away we're dealing with someone who had
experience and committing a hit or a murder that's not Sheila that is not Sheila shortly after Sheila's arrest
Dave aronberg addressed reporters today we filed notice intent to seek the death
p in this case can you say whether Michael Warren is a suspect I can't say that Altha McRoberts says there was something
Sheila asked as she was being taken into custody that caught prosecutor attention
one of the first thing she said is well are you going to arrest him too pointing
to her husband which suggests what to you that she knew exactly what she was being arrested for and they had done it
together Joe had come to the same conclusion that his step father and Sheila were both involved in his
mother's murder would you like to see Mike Warren charged in the murder of your mother yes I would with Sheila in
custody we wanted to speak with Mike Warren we're going to go to his front door give it a knock see if he'll answer
a couple of questions [Music] [Music] after the arrest of Sheila Warren in 2017 48 Hours wanted to talk to Mike
Warren about what he knew about his wife's murder here he comes hey Mike I'm Peter vanent with CBS News
he wouldn't open the door but we spoke through it for several minutes competing with a barking dog did you have anything
to do with planning the murder of your wife Marlene you did not he was adamant that neither he nor
Sheila Keen Warren had anything to do with Marlene's murder did you suggest to Sheila that she dress in a clown out F
you're saying I don't think something do you believe based on the evidence over the years that Mike Warren
knew what was going to happen that day I don't believe there's any direct evidence of that there just wasn't
enough evidence to prosecute Michael Warren but if evidence emerges we'll pursue
it as they prepare prepared for trial despite never recovering the clown disguise or the gun prosecutors were
confident they could prove that Sheila Keen Warren committed the murder so that she could marry Mike Warren Sheila Keen
Warren had the means the motive and the opportunity to do this we will never know who killed
Marlene Warren because the pal Beach County Sheriff's Office and the state attorney's office did such a poor job
investigating this case I can tell you without question that it was not Sheila Keen Sheila Keen
Warren's defense attorney Greg Rosenfeld says she's innocent a victim of the state attorney's Reckless desire to
close a notorious Cold Case and they said you know what this is our suspect we're going to stick with it even though
the pieces of the puzzle didn't fit the puzzle Rosenfeld says there were other potential suspects authorities ignored
including an inmate who supposedly bragged in prison about murdering marleene but prosecutors say he was
investigated and cleared it's not surprising that they would try to point the finger at law enforcement for not
looking at every potential suspect but if you look at the evidence it pointed to one person all along Sheila Keen
Warren the state was confident Sheila Keen Warren was was responsible for Marlene's murder but Rosenfeld plans to
poke holes in its case at trial how do you overcome DNA evidence the state attorney's office should be embarrassed
about the DNA evidence in this case Rosenfeld agrees the hair prosecutors say was found in the learon getaway car
could be from Sheila Ken Warren but he says it could also be from about 4% of the US Caucasian population they
couldn't exclude marleene warrren from that hair sample so that was their groundbreaking DNA evidence and if you
can see that the hair is from Sheila Keen Warren says Rosenfeld there's an innocent explanation as to how it got
there the labarin was on the lot at bargain Motors where she worked Sheila may have been in the car used in this
murder that's it the defense attorney says well of course her hair might be in there it doesn't suggest that she was
driving at the time of the murder what do you say to that it's just one more link once you put that one thing with
the totality of all the circumstances then it starts to become overwhelming Rosenfeld says the orange
fibers found in the car which prosecutors say could be from the clown costume should also be excluded so the
fibers found in the car were synthetic fibers that same type of fiber can be used in thousands of different products
so the state likes to present it as clown wig fibers but that's factually incorrect even more troubling than the
evidence gathered says Rosenfeld is how it was handled over the decades what are
we looking at here these are evidence bags at the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office evidence unit torn open
just gaping holes in these evidence bags if there's gaping holes what can that do
to the evidence inside that's precisely how how you have cross contamination now look at if I can
zoom in here this bag contains a clown wig investigators purchased similar to the one they believed was worn by the as
salent they used it to compare to the fibers found in the learon and in Sheila's home this is an open evidence
bag with the wig sticking out this is horrifying and so your bottom line is is that this evidence is unreliable now
with without question can it not be argued that some of the evidence in this case was indeed bungled you know it's
you're asking a lot of law enforcement to be perfect from 1990 to today some of the evidence was kept in an Evidence
storage area that wasn't ideal any mistake any small opening will be exploited by defense
lawyers prosecutors were still certain they had the right person for Marlene's murder but in February 2020 after a
re-evaluation of Sheila Keen Warren's case they announced they would no longer seek the death penalty were you told by
the prosecutor's office that there was always a chance in a jury trial that she might even be
acquitted yes see more evidence from the case at 48 [Music] hours.com when you think of your mom
today what do you think about what images come to mind well she was robbed and so was I it
is said the wheels of Justice turned slowly and when it came to the murder of marleene Warren that grind often seemed
to come to a halt after the 27-year wait for an arrest Sheila King Warren's trial
kept getting delayed by 2022 she had spent 5 years in jail her trial postponed six times and then we had
covid so it just was one thing after another decade of accumulation of files and photographs and mountains of
evidence and documents defense attorney Greg Rosenfeld was also trying to work his way through all that evidence and he
says adding to the delays was a lack of cooperation from the state evidence kept
I'd say disappearing Rosenfeld says one crucial piece of evidence for the defense that
disappeared for years was what investigators called called the clown sighting file these were all the tips
about people who alleged to have seen clowns in the area that opens up for you new avenues as to possible suspects
right absolutely absolutely I think the Sheriff's Office and the state attorney's office just decided they
didn't want to look for this evidence but then suddenly in October of 2022 as another trial date neared the
file was found it was located not with the Sheila Keen clown murder boxes it was actually a
file out of place they find this clown setting file and there's 35 tips we begin to investigate them now we're 32
years after the murder you know we couldn't track down these Witnesses I've seen it and it's silly things clearly
clown sightings that had nothing to do with Marlin Warren and it wasn't being intentionally hidden from the defense
absolutely not we were meticulous about making sure they had everything though as the trial neared the Decades of
delays were causing problems for the prosecution as well every day that went by it was a tougher case Witnesses die
memories fade evidence spoils one of our key Witnesses passed away he was the one
who compiled the evidence and without him we lost a chain of custody for some crucial evidence relating to the fibers
if I can zoom in here this is an open evidence bag evidence the defense already claimed had been poorly stored
and mishandled contaminated inadmissible unreliable it just goes to show you how
poor of an investigation that was done they were going to be able to argue that because of the opening of the bags that
the evidence was spoiled and because of the break in the chain of custody because of the death of our Witnesses it
shouldn't even be admitted so you had some real potential for Reasonable Doubt there is beyond Reasonable Doubt on
April 25th 2023 2 weeks before Sheila Keen Warren's trial for the murder of Marlene Warren
was to begin there was yet another surprise in a case that had been filled with the
unexpected a plea deal was reached Miss Keen Warren the defendant herein will agree to a draw her previously in her
plea of not guilty and her plea of guilty Sheila Keen Warren whose case at one time included the death penalty then
life in prison would now plead guilty to second degree murder and be sentenced to
12 years in prison under sentencing guidelines for time served she is expected to be released in
2025 perhaps sooner we had to make a judgment based on what we had because the fear is what if you take this to
trial the worst thing that could happen would be that Sheila Keen Warren would be found not guilty not because she was
innocent but because after 33 years we could not prove Beyond a reasonable doubt that she was the one who did it
but Sheila Keen Warren did have to publicly pay a price for this plea deal admitting in open court that she in fact
did murder marleene Warren if this case were to proceed to jury trial the state would present evidence that honor about
May the 26th of 1990 the defendant was responsible for the death of marlin K did you hear all that yes sir and do
you agree with that factual basis yes despite admitting her crime Sheila Keen Warren through her attorney still
maintains she is innocent Sheila did not commit this murder it was very difficult
for her to admit to committing a crime that she did not commit but as a matter of law she has admitted to committing
The Murder by saying yes correct for the purpose of so she is a convicted murderer and so far
as the log goes sure but when you're told you could be home or you know you can play Russian Roulette and risk
spending the rest of your life in prison it's kind of a no-brainer the defense cannot have it both ways so she will be
a murderer for every day for the rest of her life even when she gets out of prison one day she'll still be a
convicted murderer when she does get out of prison she will reunite with her husband
Michael Warren Sheila is going home to Tennessee she's going back to her life Michael Warren in a statement
provided 2 48 Hours regarding the polia said my wife did not commit this crime it was difficult to see her plea to a
crime she did not commit but it wasn't worth the gamble when she was offered a deal that'll have her home in 16 to 18
months with this deal there is a chance that Sheila might get out of prison within the next year or two are you all
right with that well I'm not all right with it but I have to be still Joe arens approved
the plea deal feeling it wasn't worth the gamble of going to trial that was very emotional because that was the end
of something so huge that grew for 33 years of my life finally it's over finally you know it
was the demons that once occupied Joe's mind are gone replaced with loving memories of how his mother Marlene lived
rather than how that life was so violently taken what would you say to your mother
if you could speak to her today wow what can I say to my mother thank you for showing me how to love and and be
peaceful and thank you for being in my life [Music] hurts need more time with 48 Hours go
deep behind every True Crime episode with firsthand accounts from 48 hours inv were you at all prepared for what
happened in this case shock is the word that comes to mind get inside the twists
and turns and get in on the case listen to postmortem from 48 hours now available wherever you get your podcasts
[Music] welcome to 48 Hours postmortem I'm CBS News correspondent and Marie green and
it's time to answer your biggest questions about our latest episode Murder By clown and it's pretty
appropriate it is Halloween there will be plenty of people knocking on your door dressed in costumes some of them
may be clowns trick or treat I know so joining me today our 48 Hours correspondent Peter vanent who you just
heard and producer Ruth tenenet who reported on and produce this episode welcome will you be opening up your
doors and giving out candy This Halloween not to any clowns I I will not but uh we're on the slab ready for the
postmortem so before we get into postmortem I want to ask you guys are you afraid of clowns do you like
clowns I I think it really depends what era you are you know I grew up with like
Bozo and Ronald McDonald and I think younger people it's the Joker uh so there were clowns at birthday parties
when I was a little kid you know circuses I was personally not scared of clowns I noticed you looked at me when
you said both um I grew up in Seattle and the most popular show when I was a kid was
called JP patches it was a clown show so I Loved Clowns but then my my parents took me down to the annual seafare
parade which is a big summer celebration in Seattle and a clown came over to me and I have to admit it freaked me out
right particularly in this case because most of us think you see a clown it's going to be fun and juggling and
happiness and and in this case just the opposite yeah I I really didn't think about whether or not I was afraid of
clowns until I watched this episode so obviously there's a lot to talk about with this case uh it's it took nearly 30
years before we even saw an arrest and it involves a killer clown a clown or or somebody in a clown costume it's pretty
much Unforgettable I want to just take a listen to an overview of this episode the evil clowns you've seen in
the movies well it came to life in this case the 1990 murder of Marlene Warren shot by someone dressed as a clown
haunted the public as well as the Palm Beach County state attorney's office now headed by Dave aronberg as the case went
unsolved for decades the unknowingness of this heinous crime it was hell Joe arens was 21 when on May 26th 1990 he
was at home with his mother marleene Warren when they saw a clown approaching carrying balloons and flowers my mother
opened the door and I heard bang and I saw that she'd been shot in the face what does the clown do calmly
walks right back to the car investigators immediately learned Marlene's husband Michael born was
believed to be having an affair with a woman named Sheila Kean the suspects became clear it was Sheila keen and was
Michael Warren but Michael Warren had an alibi Sheila kean's Alibi could not be verified but despite quickly identifying
a suspect it would take decades to sort out the case and make an arrest and I don't know about you guys
but if if a clown just s showed up at my door I don't think I would open the door
well this one the the the victim son was recovering from a broken leg and they and the clown was carrying balloons and
flowers so they're thinking oh perhaps someone's sending a getw gift isn't this nice and they saw the reflection through
the door they got there and then then things went sour and you got to remember too the time period you know this murder
was back in 1990 and they had all these companies back then that people hired to
come over and sing Happy Birthday and stuff I'm telling you I would have opened that door and remember Marlene's
last words she opens the door and says oh how pretty oh oh my goodness and the description that her son gave was of a
pretty tall man is what he thought well think of someone in a clown outfit if you have a clown wig on and you have
clown makeup it it's in some ways quite a brilliant disguise if you want to commit
a crime really I was also struck by the fact that this victim Loved Clowns and I
I thought was this on purpose Marlene Warren Loved Clowns and that maybe a clown outfit would be a good disguise to
get her to open the door I mean all of these things swirl around and they were swirling around back in
1990 and yet no arrest was made M and it's still to this day just for me just based on my professional experience on
48 hours for several decades I've seen a lot of cases go to court with much less
circumstantial evidence than this one had but back in the day they said we don't got enough yet I want to play some
sound from the episode these are paintings that Marlin had painted when she was about 14 years old
I kind of grin CU I can almost see her doing this Shirley twing and her daughter marleene shared a fascination
with clowns and over here in Shirley's home she even kept a room full of clown art and figurines this one says to me
things will get better the sad sometimes un settling images brought Comfort to Shirley
despite the fact that a clown had so brutally ended her daughter's life yeah and she said she still likes clowns she
said I don't hate clowns I just hate one after that um you've been covering the story since
2017 I'm just curious about sort of how you got onto it and what kept you on it when I first heard that our research
Department was looking into a a a case involving a clown who came to the front door with flowers and balloons this is
an irresistible story because I thought what a brilliant scheme to get someone to open
the door and and then of course you also wanted to know what's the backstory on all of this why a clown why out in this
you know upscale neighborhood in Wellington Florida uh a family that seemed to have have at all right
successful her her husband had bargain Motors a car dealership they owned some real estate Investments so I found the
story irresistible and I I really did believe that if I find it irresistible I figured a lot of other people would too
I mean it's just you can't make this stuff up right that's so true Ruth well I mean we do plenty of spousal stories
but you're going to remember a clown that's people can be like oh have I seen this one about the husband and the wife
or the girlfriend but a clown I mean people just don't think about a clown coming up and doing this and this was a
woman who did not seem to have enemies as they dug deeper there were people saying oh their marriage did have
problems but that was the Inner Circle the vast you know the wider group of people weren't aware of the marriage
having problems but that you know this was a case filled with the unexp that starting with a clown murdering someone
I don't know that I've ever worked on a story where one of the pieces of evidence is a clown sighting file that
the police were collecting like people calling with tips wait because this was this was a huge story you can imagine
especially back then when murder you know murders weren't as common and it's in this wealthy community and it's a
clown and so citizens are calling saying hey I saw a clown by the car dealership I saw a
clown here so you know I can't think of any other story where there was clown sighting file that the police were
keeping right for years and the fact that it had been 30 years meant that you know memories were fading um but
marleene lives lives were ending lives were ending the lead detective died uh uh that makes it very difficult to be
able to put together a coherent case if you're lead investigator who can take you through the entire progression of
this case passes away I mean they had enormous obstacles in this in this case Marlene's son his memory I'm sure was
incredibly still Vivid absolutely Joe arens he breaks my heart I I felt like we had a a great connection all of us on
the team had a great connection with Joe he just has this enormous heart he went
through hell imagine he's he's he's sitting at a breakfast table right and his mom opens the door oh how pretty he
hears this sound I think he thought maybe it was a balloon had got one of the balloons had popped or something and
he goes over there and finds his mother she's been shot in the face with a 38 caliber bullet and she's on the ground
uh struggling to survive struggling to breathe and this poor boy he was 21 years old uh he was learning how to fly
he had dreams of becoming an airline pilot and so he had everything going for him and after his mother's murder uh he
fell into Despair and he fell into which he talks openly about drugs alcohol and
his his life just went completely off the rails and just as the investigation did this journey for three decades he
eventually his journey he got back on the rails and um he ends up being such a powerful voice in the story mhm and he
chased after the clown I was just going to ask you that question CU it was sort of unclear whether or not anyone went
after the clown because the image that I get is this clown walking away very slowly why would the clown having shot
marleene not turn and run to the car right well why because that clown perhaps knew that son Joe had a cast on
he had a broken leg and couldn't run after him to me that was always part of these circumstances like how would this
person have known that marleene was fascinated with clowns H who could have told her that why would the the shooter
turn and walk away if not because that that killer knew the son had a leg in a cast Marlene did not die immediately so
first he would call 911 and he had some friends over and then he got into his mom's car and took off after the clown
but did not get anywhere near couldn't catch up yeah I'm curious about what Marlene's son said about their marriage
maybe it was Rocky but was it violent he he did not think that although he was surprised that one time his uh mom said
if anything should happen to me your father did it and he said oh come on and she was like no I'm serious but he he
really didn't believe it this was a man who raised him from when he was a little
child and really was the only father he knew and so it wasn't that marleene was saying this constantly he wasn't really
noticing bickering he was noticing his father not spending as much time at the house but it wasn't one of these growing
up where my parents are screaming and fighting and throwing things which is why when his mother even said this to
him he was sort of dismissive of oh come on you can't be serious and keep in mind
that Marlene had said that to her mother surely the same thing if something ever
happens to me Mike did it one of the really sort of interesting components of this hour is seeing you
Peter uh stopped and talked to Mike by his home after she was arrest in 2017 for an interview I want to play some of
that sound hey Mike I'm Peter vanent with CBS News he wouldn't open the door but we spoke through it for several
minutes competing with a bar dog did you have anything to do with planning the murder of your wife
marleene you did not he was adamant that neither he nor Sheila Keen Warren had anything to do
with Marlene's murder did you suggest to Sheila that she dress in a clown outfit
you're saying Sheila Sheila who said she did that I don't think she had anything
to do if I thought she had something to do with it I Peter you're sort of known you know in
your episodes for walking right up to someone asking them those direct questions I'm curious about kind of your
approach I mean you must have been shocked that he even came to the door I was surprised that he came to the door
but I was more upset that we had a barking dog in the background and we were we were trapped I mean we had to
get this thing done at that moment and we approached and that dog just barked and barked I prefer to do approaches
when people are in public spaces like a parking lot of a grocery store we' done some staking out back in the day and
some hours hoping that he would come out because that's the best place to capture
someone when they're in their own home you never know if he owns a firearm I'm on his property I just don't like doing
them at people's homes but we ended up knocking on the door and it's it's unsatisfying because you don't get to
look him in the eyes and you don't get to really challenge him but we wanted to at least give him some opportunity and
at least he he denied it and said he had no no role in this but I do want to say
one thing about pet because this is the joke in the office is if Peter shows up at your front door you're in
trouble I'll keep that in mind don't tell Peter where I live were there any questions that you were able to ask him
but you it was sort of unusable for the episode well over the course of seven minutes yeah we you couldn't understand
much of what he had to say but but there there are things that I to this day I'd
love to sit down and and interview him and everyone has to keep in mind Mike Warren has never been charged with a
crime in this case he he never has prosecutors even today and they told us in the interview they believe he was
involved and we're not saying that he did do this we're just saying there are circumstances that we would like to get
clarified with him in the prosecution has said if we get new information you know because there's no statute of
limitation on murder they would move against Mike Warren but they have not been able to clear that hurdle Mike
Warren had an alibi for the time of the murder he was in a car with several friends heading to a racetrack it took
them so long to bring the circumstantial case against Sheila and the the thing we
should point out is by the time Peter went to the door they were married so in the beginning of the story they're
having an affair and that is one of the things that made the case stronger to them is G their Mar but you want to give
give someone a chance to respond because the viewer at home might be wondering G
did he have anything to do with this and at least other than saying prosecution never had a strong enough
case he had an alibi you can hear it from himself and you can tell I'm I'm driven nuts by this case to this day
because it was just 3 hours after the shooting there's an anonymous tip to police look at Mike Warren Sheila Kean
they're having an affair Mike told police that he wasn't having an affair with Sheila and then in 2002 the two of
them get married coincidence and then she changes her first name to Debbie at least socially changes it to Debbie
which she claims as a childhood nickname you look at motive you know if there was a love triangle that's one of
the classic motives for murder financial gain who gained from her death Mike Warren you may have seen the house I
approached him in was a beautiful palacial mansion and then the circumstances of where they went through
their lives you know she was known to carry a 38 caliber gun when she worked as a uh person who had to repossess cars
the victim was shot with a 38 caliber bullet that gun was never recovered and they're they're frustrated as can be the
prosecutors today so when we get back we're going to talk about evidence the clown costume uh hair fibers the getaway
car that made it seem like Sheila was the obvious suspect until it was discovered that some evidence had been
mishandled would that create enough Reasonable Doubt to exonerate her well we're going to get into all of that and
more when we come back so welcome back let us talk about Sheila and the evidence that pointed to
her and involvement in Marlene's murder uh there was evidence that suggested that a female with brown hair uh had
been to a costume store to purchase a clown costume let's play a little clip from the episode where we hear from the
costume store clerk she wanted to see the clown costumes I said can you come back tomorrow and she said no I need
something right now I mean come on I don't think it was end of circus sale days or something I mean why do you
need a clown now right so investigators went looking as opposed to canvasing gun
stores like one dozen of other murder stories they canvased costume stores and said did anyone in these past few days
fitting this description come in and this one store said Yes again it was tough for investigators because Joe aens
and some of his friends who saw the clown gave different descriptions of the costume but if you think about you see a
clown cost costume are you really noticing is it pink is it orange is it diamonds is it circles so instead of a
description of the clown costume it was a description of the customer brown hair
brown eyes and Sheila Keen had brown hair and brown eyes and as you said somebody coming in closing time it's in
a rush they paid by cash so it's not that somebody could go back um and check and that was one of the pieces of
evidence that they they held on to but they never found the original clown wig clown costume they never they never
found that and remember this is back in 1990 today if if this had happened that shop would undoubtedly have a security
camera inside you that's what I was going to ask about I mean it's 1990 but it's not like 1960 I mean you would
think that maybe there would have been something but I guess there wasn't no but there were other things though that
that implicated Sheila the Chrysler learon that the shooter drove off uh was finally discovered and authorities when
they checked the inside of that car they found this synthetic fiber that the clown was
wearing right and then inside Sheila keen's apartment they found another trace of that fiber but but you know
when we talked to the defense attorney they said well that kind of fiber is used in various other things and you
can't say definitively that that was from a clown wig but you know I'm sure anarie at your
apartment like in my house you know we have your house you you have U oh yes these fibers these orange fibers all
over the place all over the place see this is part of what drives me nuts about this case because again it's it's
circumstantial but it's another piece because it's not just about the single fiber it's about all of this stuff that
is so out of the ordinary exactly and there was a brown hair found in the Chrysler laar now
remember Sheila was a repo woman this car came from the car dealership they obviously took a sample of Sheila's hair
and back then they didn't have exacting DNA and it was similar but even if it had been Sheila's hair there was a
possible explanation she was driving you know the car for business and we should
point out Sheila said that she was outw working repossessing cars at the time of
the murder and prosecutors could not verify that and she well you know if you're repossessing cars you're hardly
out knocking on people's door doing it in a very public way but that was when you talk about all the things adding up
yeah and remember too the Chrysler learon was a vehicle that had been reported stolen
and yet her hair fiber is inside that car and if you're plotting a murder and you need a getaway
vehicle do you use a stolen car so that you don't have to use one of your vehicles right the icing on the cake was
when they got married the other part was there was a newly formed coal case unit
and we find that a lot a lot of these cases linger and linger because they're too busy and then a Cold Case case unit
comes in and opens up files and starts looking at things right and a lot of that has to do with the evolution of DNA
evidence that that now people can crack open these evidence files again because the testing is
available except with this evidence file as decades go on there's components of it that people can't find I mean they
they they treated the evidence badly it's it's terrible it it is it do do this create Reasonable Doubt as the to
the reliability of their DNA evidence you know it was 27 years later they felt they had this match and they thought oh
boy we we really now have got Sheila but then they discover uh how this evidence
had been kept and some of these bags had actually torn open or exposed it was terrible Peter let's play some of that
sound what are we looking at here these are evidence bags at the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office evidence unit
torn open just gaping holes in these evidence bags if there's gaping holes what can
that do to the evidence inside that's precisely how how you have cross-contamination so I have sort of a
two-fold question for you guys Ruth you know what is the risk of presenting evidence like this but I also want to
know I mean how often do you see cases like this where the evidence is treated in such a sort of cavalier
manner I think this one was particularly and they say Peter asked the the state attorney said Gee you know you're asking
a lot of police to be perfect and locations move and evidence rooms move yes yes is that too much to ask but it
all it takes is one juror and I'm sure you know the defense attorney would have H you know held up the bag and said look
if this is how they handled this how can you trust anything in this case yeah so
you just need one juror to say gee that's a good point and remember remember jurors look for what they call
a CSI moment in any case yeah and at one point uh they had a CSI moment but now with these torn bags I swear I think I
could have on Cross undermine the reliability of that evidence they were in a terrible bind there and so that's
when I think the prosecution team said we are in deep doodo and let's get a a plea deal but I think also the
prosecution they they still were steadfast in they had the right person it was whether they could prove it
Beyond A Reasonable Doubt and they didn't want to roll roll the dice and it was important to them that she plead
guilty let's talk about this plea deal Sheila takes the plea deal which means that she changed her not- guilty plea to
a guilty one but Peter I was particularly struck by your exchange with the defense attorney I want to play
some of that Sheila did not commit this murder it was very difficult for her to admit to committing a crime that she did
not commit but as a matter of law she has admitted to committing The Murder by saying yes correct for the purpose of so
she is convicted murderer and so far as the log go sure but when you're told you can be home or you know you can play
Russian Roulette and risk spending the rest of your life in prison it's kind of a
no-brainer I don't know is it a no-brainer I mean we talked about the fact that we're dealing with a lot of
circumstantial evidence that the evidence that had been retained the there were problems with the way it was
preserved or not preserved it's 30 years later people have crappy memories or are
not around anymore I don't know if it's quite a no-brainer to admit to killing someone all right and if you are
innocent would you ever admit to a murder you did not commit and all of the ramifications that will have for you the
rest of your life um I understand what the defense attorney was saying his argument and I'm sure he talked to his
client with that but my point in driving that home and the point that for Joe arens has given him some peace is that
she admitted in open court that she had committed the murder and it ties all of these
circumstantial pieces together and for Joe it does make that puzzle fit and so he has that satisfaction and he went out
to his mom's grave and he said we did it you know we finally got Justice even though she's only going to be uh in
prison and this is still in dispute she may be getting out as early as 2025 or it could be sooner she was
sentenced to 12 years but it's something called gain time it's a formula for time
served so while it's a 12year sentence every month she's there she gets time taken off so it's 2025 perhaps sooner
and we did get a statement from Mike Warren about this where he said regarding the
plea my wife did not commit this crime it's difficult to see her plea to a crime she did not commit but it was not
worth the gamble when she was offered a deal that will have her home in 16 to 18
months I got to tell you I didn't know how I felt about the way this ended because usually when you have a case
that sort of drags on for decades there's some satisfaction when you know the guilty
party has to pay the price where there's Justice and even though she agreed to this plea deal somehow it didn't feel as
satisfying it's just a bizarre it's a bizarre ending the circle hasn't been closed in this case that's
it for this week's postmortem Peter Ruth thank you so much for joining me thank you for letting us tell the story it's
been great anarie it has been great listen everyone be sure to join us next Tuesday for another postmortem watch 48
hours Saturdays at 109 Central on CBS and streaming on Paramount plus and be sure to follow 48 Hours wherever you get
your podcast you can also listen ad free on the Amazon music or wry app [Music]

Was a clown costume the perfect disguise to get away with murder? On Oct. 31, 2023, "48 Hours" Peter Van Sant reported how a killer dressed like a clown murdered a mom and almost got away with it.

On Nov. 2, 2024, Sheila Keen-Warren was released 18 months after she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the 1990 shooting of Marlene Warren.

Watch "Murder by Clown" and then catch up with "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant and producer Ruth Chenetz on "Post Mortem" as they discuss the bizarre murder case that took investigators nearly 30 years to make an arrest. We’ll hear what it was like for Peter to stop by Mike Warren’s house for an interview, where the neighborhood dog decided to participate in the discussion. Plus, they talk about evidence that may have been mishandled and the risk that could have led to an acquittal for Sheila Keen-Warren.

00:00 Murder by Clown 41:46 Listen to a post-mortem on the episode

Listen to "Post Mortem" wherever you get your podcasts: https://apple.co/40Ebj6X

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

Marlene Warren was murdered by a clown in 1990; Sheila Keen was arrested decades later and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

Key points

The Clown at the Door. Marlene Warren is shot by a clown delivering flowers and balloons, shocking her family.
A Mother's Last Words. Joe pleads with his mother in the hospital, hoping for her recovery.
A Long Wait for Justice. After 27 years, new DNA evidence connects Sheila Keen to the murder of Marlene Warren.
Sheila Keen Warren's Plea Deal. Sheila Keen Warren pleads guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Michael Warren's Support. Michael Warren expresses his belief in Sheila's innocence despite her guilty plea.
The Clown Sighting. Citizens reported a clown near the crime scene, leading to a bizarre investigation.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I kept telling her I love her and I don't want her to go.

Joe's emotional plea to his mother in the hospital.

7:20WatchNov 8, 2024

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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