Sheila Keen Warren

Summary

Podcast Summary: Snapped – Sheila Keen Warren

Podcast: Snapped: Women Who Murder
Host: Oxygen
Episode Title: Sheila Keen Warren
Release Date: March 29, 2026

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Overview

This gripping episode chronicles the infamous 1990 murder of Marlene Warren, a well-liked Florida housewife, who was shot on her own doorstep by a killer dressed as a clown. The investigation uncovers a tangled web of infidelity, suspicion, and deception, ultimately leading to the arrest of Sheila Keen Warren—Marlene's husband's lover—decades later. The podcast explores the emotional toll on the victim’s family, advances in forensic science, and the complexities of seeking justice after nearly 30 years.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Shocking Murder (00:31–06:14)

• Crime Description:
  • Marlene Warren is shot at her front door by a person dressed as a clown, who presents balloons and flowers before firing a single bullet into her face.
    • “The clown pulls out a gun and shoots her. One bullet right in the face.” – Investigator/Reporter (00:36)
  • Her son, Joe Ahrens, witnesses the attack and attempts to chase down the assailant.
• Immediate Aftermath:
  • Marlene is rushed to the hospital but never regains consciousness and is taken off life support, devastating her family.

2. Marlene’s Background & Family Dynamics (06:14–13:35)

• Early Life:
  • Described as kind and optimistic, Marlene faced hardships, including her first husband’s trauma after Vietnam and the tragic loss of her oldest son John.
• Marriage to Michael Warren:
  • A seemingly happy second marriage; the family finds financial success owning a car lot and property in Wellington, FL.
• Strains & Suspicions:
  • Michael’s behavior changes after John’s death, growing distant and absorbed in his shady business practices.

3. The Investigation Stalls (12:29–22:55)

• Crime Scene Evidence:
  • Detectives recover few clues—some balloons, flowers, and a witness description of the getaway vehicle (white Chrysler LeBaron).
• Family & Suspect Interviews:
  • Marlene’s son offers a detailed account of the clown’s appearance, initially believed to be male.
  • Michael Warren is questioned but has an ironclad alibi, supported by friends.
• Emerging Motive:
  • Investigators dismiss the theory that an angry tenant could be responsible, and start focusing on Michael’s affair.

4. The Other Woman: Sheila Keen (22:55–30:14)

• Background:
  • Sheila Keen is introduced as a tough, energetic employee at Michael’s car lot who also worked repossessions with her husband.
• The Affair:
  • Employees describe Sheila and Michael’s relationship as openly passionate; Sheila is said to be possessive and eager to replace Marlene.
    • “Everyone in the company would see them showing public displays of affection.” – Prosecutor/Legal Expert (18:18, 24:26)
  • Sheila’s alibi during the time of the murder is weak, and witnesses soon link her to the purchase of the clown costume and balloons.

5. Following the Evidence (30:14–34:21)

• Breakthroughs:
  • Two employees positively identify Sheila as the buyer of the clown costume.
  • The white Chrysler LeBaron is traced to Bargain Motors, Michael’s business, linking the crime to both main suspects.
  • Forensic evidence—wig fibers and hair—are found in the car, but DNA testing technology isn’t advanced enough in 1990.
• Case Grows Cold:
  • Michael Warren is convicted of unrelated fraud and serves prison time.
  • Police lack sufficient evidence to arrest Sheila, and Marlene’s son Joe struggles with the unresolved trauma.

6. New Forensic Technology Reignites the Case (36:10–39:19)

• DNA Advances:
  • In 2014, renewed efforts allow mitochondrial DNA testing on previously collected evidence, including a long brown hair found on balloon ribbons.
  • Results conclusively link the hair to Sheila Keen Warren:
    • “It was able to be forensically determined that hair was Sheila Keene's.” – Detective (38:52)
• Arrest:
  • Nearly three decades after the murder, Sheila is arrested in 2017 while living with Michael—now her husband—in Virginia.

7. Prosecution, Plea Deal & Aftermath (40:42–43:30)

• Legal Hurdles:
  • COVID-19 delays and fading memories hinder the state's case, so prosecutors offer Sheila a plea deal—she pleads guilty and receives 12 years.
    • “Sheila would admit to having killed Marlene Warren, and in exchange, she would be sentenced to 12 years in the Department of Corrections.” – Detective (41:41)
  • Both family and prosecutors express frustration at the outcome:
    • “It's one of the most frustrating things as a prosecutor to know that someone committed the most heinous crime of all. And one day we'll walk free.” – Prosecutor/Legal Expert (42:10)
  • Sheila is released from prison in November 2024.
• Impact on the Family:
  • Joe Ahrens reflects on the destruction left in the wake of the crime, but strives to honor his mother’s legacy:
    • “My mom is going to be remembered in this world because of what I do and how I do it. Love one another, you know, care about one another. If I can do it, from what I've been through, I believe everybody can do it.” – Joe Ahrens (43:18)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "If anything ever happens to me, know that he had something to do with it." – Marlene Warren (relayed by Joe Ahrens, 01:13, 21:18)
• "This is the act of a sociopath. This is the act of a cold blooded killer who thinks they can deceive everyone for the next 27 years." – Prosecutor/Legal Expert (01:21, 37:38)
• "I saw the eyes of the killer that did it." – Joe Ahrens (01:36, 04:06, 42:33)
• "You have means, motive, and opportunity. And now you have DNA." – Prosecutor/Legal Expert (38:59)
• "I don't care if it takes 25 years. We're going to find out who killed your mother. I promise you. And you know what—they did." – Detective (30:32, 35:43)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:31: Description of the clown attack
• 03:37: Joe Ahrens witnesses the murder
• 07:14: Marlene’s first husband returns from Vietnam—family difficulties
• 10:23: The traumatic loss of Marlene’s oldest son
• 17:12: Police interview Michael Warren
• 22:55–24:26: Introduction of Sheila Keen, the affair, and co-workers’ observations
• 29:14: Identification of clown costume purchaser as Sheila
• 32:40: Discovery of hair/fibers linked to Sheila in the LeBaron
• 35:43: Joe Ahrens holds onto hope for justice
• 36:10–37:31: Advances in DNA evidence finally crack the case open
• 39:25–40:42: Arrest of Sheila, subsequent interrogation
• 41:41: Details of Sheila’s plea deal
• 43:18: Joe Ahrens on his mother’s legacy

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Conclusion

This episode masterfully weaves together family testimony, investigative twists, and courtroom drama, tracing the path from shocking murder to long-awaited justice. Through resilient narration and firsthand accounts, listeners see the profound ripple effects of a single violent act—how love, trauma, and perseverance intersect across decades.

Sheila Keen Warren was released from prison in November 2024 at 61 years old. Michael Warren was never charged in connection to Marlene's murder and maintains his innocence.

Transcript

[Narrator]

You know what I realized the hardest

[Investigator/Reporter]

part about building a website isn't making it look good.

[Narrator]

It's getting what's in my head onto the page.

[Investigator/Reporter]

But I've been playing with the new WIX Harmony editor and I'm impressed. You can literally just tell it what you want or if you're picky like

[Narrator]

me, jump in and move things around yourself.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

The nice part is you can hop between AI and hands on editing so

[Investigator/Reporter]

you end up with a site that actually looks the way you pictured it. Try it out for [e-mail] Harmony a

[Narrator]

middle aged housewife becomes the victim of a nightmarish murder.

[Investigator/Reporter]

The clown pulls out a gun and shoots her. One bullet right in the face.

[Detective]

It was so out of the ordinary, you know, something as benign as a clown would knock on the door just was such a tragic twist.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

This was something personal.

[Narrator]

The investigation uncovers dark secrets and deadly desires.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

You've got sex and you've got violence.

[Detective]

They were having an affair and had been going on for some time.

[Narrator]

But as the case grows stagnant, a killer lurks close to home.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

She said, if anything ever happens to me, know that he had something to do with it.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

This is the act of a sociopath. This is the act of a cold blooded killer who thinks they can deceive everyone for the next 27 years.

[Detective]

Yeah, I mean, I really don't want to talk to you. Okay.

[Police Interviewer]

Do you want to know what you're charged with?

[Detective]

Yeah. Okay.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

There was no doubt. I saw the eyes of the killer that did it.

[Narrator]

May 26, 1990. It's a sunny Saturday in Wellington, Florida. An affluent village located just a few miles from West Palm Beach.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

Wellington is a place like no one else lives. It was a paradise, you know, it was peaceful, it was a slice of heaven.

[Investigator/Reporter]

This was a neighborhood with big houses, big yards and it got its name, Arrow Club because it had a private airstrip and all the houses out back had hangers.

[Narrator]

In one of the area's largest homes, 40 year old Marlene Warren is enjoying the morning with her 21 year old son Joe Ahrens and his friend.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

The night before we ran into some friends that I haven't seen in a while. My mom said, hey, well why don't you come out to the house and stay. We woke up 8 o', clock, 9 o', clock, something like that.

[Narrator]

As they all gather in the living room, something, something strange happens.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Around mid morning, a car pulls into their circular driveway and but steps out of the car. A clown, full suit, orange curly wig, red bulb nose and carrying a couple of balloons and a bouquet of flowers. And the clown just walks up to the front door, rings the doorbell.

[Narrator]

Since Joe recently broke his leg, Marlene assumes the clown is a messenger bringing a get gift and opens the door.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

I hear how pretty, how nice. And then we heard bang.

[Investigator/Reporter]

The clown pulls out a gun and shoots her. One bullet right in the face. Her son, who's on the couch, he's in a cast, gets up, rushes over to her where she's laying in the doorway and she's bleeding from the mouth pretty extensively. But he doesn't really yet understand what's happening.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

We didn't see the gun. It just didn't rush register until I saw my mother's teeth gone and her gasping me for her hair. And then it sunk in. I felt a rip in my body, my spirit or my soul or my heart or all the above. I looked at the clown, watching him walk to the car. I was trying to find any detail to see who this person is. They look back at me. I will never forget those eyes, you know, and those are the eyes of the killer.

[Narrator]

As the gunman drives away, Joe quickly calls 911 and alerts first responders that his mother needs aid. Fearing that the perpetrator will escape the scene, Joe quickly gives chase.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

They tried to keep me on the phone. I dropped it. I grabbed my mom's purse, I grabbed her keys. I just jumped in a car and floored it. I ran through red lights. The only thought I had in my mind was to run into this car talking. But I couldn't catch up to the car, so I had to turn around. I raced home.

[Narrator]

When Joe arrives back home, he sees first responders.

[Detective]

When law enforcement first arrived, they discovered Marlene Warren, who was laying in the entryway to the home. She had suffered a single gun shot wound to the mouth and was transported to the emergency room to attempt to be saved. The big question was who'd want to do this to this woman and why? Marlene was well loved, well liked by everybody. She had no enemies.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

You would think that somebody coming to your door like that are not going to do you harm. You know, you don't even expect was so heinous.

[Narrator]

Marlene MacKinnon was the last person anyone would expect to die in such a terrifying way. She was born in 1950 to a Middle class family in Michigan.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Marlene was a Midwestern girl raised in a small town outside of Detroit. Lived for a long time on her grandfather's farm. She had a couple of sisters and she lived, you know, sort of a Happy, simple life there. By the time she was 18 years old, she was married and she had two young boys.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

My mother met my father, John Ahrens, when they were young. They were in the age of 14 to 16. You know, I remember my grandmother telling me stories that he would try to impress her then. My brother, John Arthur Ahrens was born in 1966. I was born in 1968.

[Narrator]

Soon after their son Joe was born, Marlene's husband John was drafted into service and deployed to Vietnam. Marlene was left to raise the boys by herself.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

She was a very good person. She was open minded and she distilled good things in us. I can remember times that we had to clean the house on the weekends, you know, and of course kids don't want to do that. She'd put the radio on and have the feather duster and, you know, hey, come on, you know, we get it done, we can go do fun things.

[Narrator]

But when John returned home in 1970, things were never the same.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

When he came back, he drank and he just couldn't handle it. He was just out of control. And I didn't understand it then, but I do now. He couldn't be a family man anymore, and my mom knew it. You know, she had to protect us from the negative things that he was doing.

[Narrator]

Marlene decided to end the marriage, but within a year she got a chance for a new start.

[Investigator/Reporter]

So now she's a single mom of two boys and she meets Michael Warren. He was 18 years old and Marlene was 20 and they fell in love really quickly. And within a couple of years they were married.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

Mike came into the picture when I was around four or five years old. I think what drew my mother, Marlene and Mike together was how inspiring he was. He was full of energy. You know, he was just a go getter.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Michael, even though he was young, took on the role of father figure, basically to Marlene's two kids, John and Joe.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

My mom seemed real happy. She was energized. They worked together well and everything seemed to have a flow.

[Investigator/Reporter]

They took the family to Florida and started their new life here. Michael started his car lot business, Bargain Motors. It was taking off.

[Narrator]

With their newfound wealth came new opportunities.

[Investigator/Reporter]

They started buying rental properties as investments.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

She would manage those and Mike would do the car business. My family at that time was a very happy, growing family.

[Investigator/Reporter]

They were able to buy the property in Aero Club, which was brand new at the time. Very affluent, upscale community at the time.

[Police Interviewer]

Mike had probably the nicest house there.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

We had a single engine airplane. We had the Jacuzzi and the hangar and the two car garage.

[Narrator]

You know, for the Warren family, life couldn't have been better until tragedy struck in 1988.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

I was around 18, 19 when my brother John Ahrens was picking up a car from the auction that he's never been to. The people that go there knew that there was not a stop sign in a place there should be one, and he did not know and drove right out in the traffic and got killed.

[Investigator/Reporter]

A really pivotal moment in Marlene's life was the death of her oldest son, John.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

It hit her hard and she knew she had to be strong for me. She would look in my eyes and say, hey, I know you're hurt. I know you're lost, but we have to stick together and we will get through this.

[Narrator]

The family did their best to move on.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

My mom was trying to pull it all together, but Mike, instead of getting closer, got further apart. His business absorbed him. My mother would deal with things with love and positive affirmation, and she was trying everything because she was a woman of there is a solution for every problem.

[Narrator]

But only two years after the death of a son, the family faces another tragedy. A bizarre shooting has left Marlene Warren clinging to life.

[Detective]

It was so out of the ordinary, you know, something as benign as a clown would knock on the door just with such a tragic twist.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

The cops, the detectives and everything were there in every room in my house and like searching through things and I was just like, what's going on? You know? But they explained to me that they were securing the scene and I would have to go downtown and talk to them.

[Narrator]

Investigators collect any evidence that might help them catch the gunman forensically.

[Detective]

There wasn't much left at the scene, terms of fingerprints or DNA or any physical evidence such as that the basket with the flowers and the balloon were collected and saved, but other than that, nothing else had been touched.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

For investigators, it was important that nothing was stolen. This was not a robbery. This was an out of the way residential community. You had to know where you were going. You had to have a purpose. So that led police to think that this was something personal.

[Detective]

Clearly, this is somebody that had a vengeance for Marlene Warren.

[Narrator]

Coming up, as Marlene clings to life, investigators uncover a potential motive.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

Everyone in the company would see them showing public displays of affection, and a suspect emerges.

[Police Interviewer]

You own a clown shoe?

[Narrator]

No, I don't.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

There was a lot more to the story.

[Narrator]

At a West Palm beach hospital, doctors are fighting to save the life of 40 year old Marlene Warren after she was shot by a gunman dressed As a clown.

[Investigator/Reporter]

The bullet went into her face, through the back of her mouth, and lodged in the back of her neck, in her vertebrae. Marlene's injuries were so severe that she had to be placed on life support.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

I called Mike that day when he was on the way to the racetrack, and I told him, mom just got shot and you need to come home. And he said he was on his way.

[Narrator]

When she comes out of surgery, her family is by her side.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

I remember talking to a doctor, and she told me that it had my mom stable, but she was not breathing on her own. It was a pretty serious situation.

[Detective]

They were able to recover the projectile from her neck area, but she never regained consciousness.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

I knew she wasn't coming back. You know, my grandmother had to make that decision. They gave her all the information. They weren't telling me anything. My grandmother said, hey, they're not getting any responses, any pulse, anything. We have to let her go.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Marlene's family made the decision to take her off life support, and she died that day at age 40.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

And that was the hardest day of my life. The hardest day of my life.

[Narrator]

Marlene's loved ones are devastated, but they're also determined to help police catch whoever killed her. Her son Joe and his friend, who witnessed the attack, are the first to speak with investigators.

[Detective]

Each of the young people were interviewed with regard to what the clown looked like, male or female. Height, weight, the color of the costume itself, whether there was a wig or a mask or paint for the face.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

I was looking at every detail that I could look at. The car was all white. It was a lebaron. It had a maroon or reddish interior for the carpet. It stuck out like a sore thumb. It would be hard to say how tall the clown was because of the hair that put another six inches on the person. So with that said, probably about 5, 9. The face looked like a mask because it was so smooth. It looked like a china dollar. The gloves, it seemed like the hand was big. That's all I could see.

[Detective]

Their first impression was that it was a male because of the height.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

They were wearing combat boots instead of clown shoes. It looked like the person intended to make a quick getaway. That's why this person was not wearing the floppy clown shoes. So this took planning.

[Narrator]

Detectives in immediately issue an alert for the white lebaron. They then ask Marlene's husband Michael, to accompany them to the station for questioning.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

Law enforcement is going to immediately look at the spouse, especially when nothing was taken, when there was no robbery. And so naturally, they would look at Michael Warren. Michael had an airtight alibi. He was in a car with his friends on the way to a racetrack when he got the call that his wife had been shot in the head.

[Detective]

The people he was in the car with confirmed that he was with them at the time of the shooting.

[Police Interviewer]

The reason that you're here today is mainly we wanted to get some background

[Detective]

on your wife,

[Police Interviewer]

see if there's anybody in her past that may have come back to haunt her. Anything come to mind recently that somebody really got angry with music?

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

I mean, not enough to take anybody

[Police Interviewer]

to want right now.

[Detective]

Michael Warren volunteered that they had some rental properties that Marlene would largely be responsible for collecting the rents.

[Police Interviewer]

And, you know, she.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

She takes care of the apartments, and

[Detective]

she's always on eviction.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

You know, I guess you always develop enemies.

[Detective]

They were respectful, but they made notes about his behavior, and they did note that he was grieving. And that discussion ended.

[Narrator]

When detectives speak with Marlene's son Joe, he shares a different perspective on her work client relationships.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

I remember when she would go collect rent and I'd go with her. If they didn't pay, she would work with them. She was never rude to any one of them, Even though they were rude to her. She was always understanding.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

You can just rule that out. That some angry tenant would have had the motivation to commit murder in her own home, dress up as a clown. It didn't make any sense.

[Narrator]

Before wrapping up Joe's interview, detectives wonder if anything in Michael's life could have led to this.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

When this detective started questioning me, I was subconsciously protecting Mike. He was my father, and I didn't know for sure that he had anything

[Detective]

to do with it.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

But I wouldn't say anything bad about the man. I told him Michael Warren's business was to sell and rent cars, and he was getting really good at it. He could influence people in ways that no one could.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

Michael Warren had a shady past. He would display misleading advertisements to try to confuse his rental car company with the more established brand.

[Detective]

It had been documented that he was rolling back odometers to get a higher price for a car that had higher mileage than what he was proclaiming. That was an ongoing investigation.

[Investigator/Reporter]

So investigators wondered if maybe there was a bad business dealer or a client of his who may have had a grudge against him.

[Narrator]

Detectives find out Michael's business practices weren't the only dishonest things taking place at the car lot.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

He's always had an excuse. One or two o' clock in the morning, he would say, oh, I have to repossess These cars.

[Police Interviewer]

You know, when your husband don't come home till 3, 4 in the morning, you throw up a red flag. And she stole all the people. She thought Mike was having an affair.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

After my brother died, I noticed he was living two different lives. A week or two before my mom approached me, she said, me and your father are arguing. And she was very upset and I'd never seen her that way. Joey, I've come to the conclusion that your dad doesn't love me anymore. She said, if anything ever happens to me, know that he had something to do with it.

[Narrator]

After learning about Michael Warren's unscrupulous behavior, investigators pay a visit to his car lot to find out if any of it finds played a part in his wife's murder.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

He wasn't the person who pulled the trigger, but was he involved in some way? That's what police wanted to know.

[Narrator]

When police re interview Michael's co workers, they confirm a potential motive at play.

[Police Interviewer]

I was around Mike for a long, long time, every day, day and night. And I knew that Mike was having an affair.

[Detective]

The employees at Bargain Motors, to a person, they all said that it was well known that Michael Warren and one of the employees, Sheila Keene, were having an affair. And it had been going on for some time. The employees at a Bargain Motor all described Sheila King as a tomboy. She would often wear combat boots and would dress in a manly fashion. Not too many people at the business spoke fondly of her.

[Narrator]

Given the multiple reports of Sheila and Michael's entanglement, police must look into who Sheila Keene really is. 26 year old Sheila was from a small town on the shore of Lake Okeechobee in southern Florida.

[Investigator/Reporter]

It's a farming community right on the edge of the Everglades. She was pretty, tall, long shiny brown hair. And she was also really tough, rambunctious, always full of energy. She had married a man named Richard Keene sometime in the late 80s. He went by the nickname Spud and he was a repo man. And Sheila, being the fearless woman that she was, started doing repo work with him. That's how she got connected to Michael. Richard Keene was doing work for Michael repossessing cars and one day brought his wife Sheila along. She jumps out of his tow truck and onto the car lot and right into Michael's life. Eventually, her husband stops working with Michael, moves on to other things. But Sheila stays on board and she starts doing more repo work for Michael. And other people who worked on the lot really started to notice that she And Michael were spending more and more time together.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

They began a open and obvious affair. I mean, they really didn't take great pains to conceal it. Everyone in the company would see them showing public displays of affection.

[Police Interviewer]

It was no secret that he wasn't. He was a player. They leave the doors wide open. There was no hiding it.

[Narrator]

According to his employees, Michael seemed to be in it for the sex, But Sheila wanted something more.

[Detective]

Nate described that Sheila's behavior had begun escalating in terms of her possessiveness of Michael.

[Police Interviewer]

I think it started off as fun, having sex and stuff. Then she realized, oh, I can make a good life here if I can get Marlene out of picture and have him to myself.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

She and her husband Richard, eventually they got divorced. She would openly say that life would be better if Marlene Warren wasn't alive.

[Narrator]

When detectives confront Michael about the affair, he claims it was a misunderstanding.

[Detective]

He admitted that others had thought they were having an affair, but he denied it.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

Michael told law enforcement that his relationship with his wife of 20 years was strong. There was no problems. Nothing was awry.

[Narrator]

Compared to witness testimonies, Police find Michael's version of events unlikely.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Their suspicions are really strong that there was this affair going on. So they questioned Sheila.

[Police Interviewer]

So I just want you to understand that you're here voluntarily. You have the right to leave it in time.

[Detective]

Okay.

[Police Interviewer]

We have more and more people telling us that the two of you had a very committed relationship. So we're trying, you know, we're trying to basically figure out why that.

[Detective]

Well, I can tell you why, because as far as, you know, a lot of women were concerned. I know a lot of women that wanted to go out with them, and they thought that I was. Which I wasn't. No, we had no sexual. And following up with that, they obviously also asked her where had she been the day before at the time of the homicide.

[Investigator/Reporter]

She didn't have a really strong alibi for that day. She said that the morning of the shooting, she was out repossessing cars, but she didn't really have any proof of that.

[Narrator]

The description of the shooter given by Marlene's son indicated it was a man. But looking at Sheila, detectives wonder if he was mistaken.

[Police Interviewer]

Do you own a clown suit? Have you ever purchased a clown suit?

[Narrator]

Sheila agrees to provide a hair sample should any evidence surface to rule her out. But her cooperation stops there.

[Detective]

Well, if you're telling me that I'm a suspect. Is that what you're telling me?

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

I'm telling you that there's a lot of things that make it look like, could be involved.

[Detective]

I think that I need to go find me an attorney if, I think. If you think I'm a suspect. At this point, there wasn't enough to make an arrest. There was nothing to forensically be able to say that Sheila King is the person that went to the door dressed as a clown.

[Narrator]

Detectives hope the unique items left at the crime scene might provide the connection they're looking for.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

There were flowers and a basket and a balloon. It was important to trace those items back to the store where they were purchased, and that could lead them to the killer.

[Detective]

They ultimately discovered that a local nearby Publix sold that exact style of basket and balloons and flowers.

[Investigator/Reporter]

A couple of employees there told police, yeah, we sold a woman that same Memorial Day bouquet of flowers and two foil balloons.

[Narrator]

And unfortunately, the store doesn't have surveillance cameras and the woman paid in cash. But investigators are undeterred.

[Detective]

The sheriff's department went to all of the local businesses that may have offered such a costume for sale or rent.

[Investigator/Reporter]

They find a clown shop on South Dixie highway in West Palm Beach. And the owner of the costume shop told officers that a few days earlier, a woman had called the shop and asked, do you sell clown suits? And they did so. The woman said, well, I want to buy one. Can I come in? She needed the colorful jumpsuit. She needed the orange wig. She needed plenty of face makeup to completely conceal the face, but she did not need the clown shoes.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

They said it was a woman with long hair, dark eyes, and manly features, the same description that Joe gave to law enforcement. Law enforcement brought the photo lineup to the costume store employees. They showed it to three employees. Two of them specifically identified Sheila Keene as the individual who bought the clown costume.

[Narrator]

Coming up, mounting evidence points to a killer driven by jealousy.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

Police found fibers from a wig, a clown wig, and they also found human hair.

[Narrator]

But will it be enough to bring the killer to justice?

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

He said, I don't care if it takes 25 years. We're going to find out who killed your mother.

[Narrator]

Less than a week into their investigation, police in Wellington, Florida, have a suspect for the murder of Marlene Warren. They've potentially connected 26 year old Sheila Keene to the clown costume worn by the gunman. And on May 30, another piece of evidence emerges.

[Investigator/Reporter]

All of the witnesses described a white Chrysler LeBaron that the clown arrived and

[Detective]

left in four days after the homicide happened, a white Chrysler LeBaron was located abandoned in a nearby Winn Dixie parking lot.

[Narrator]

When investigators run the VIN number on the car, they Discover it's been reported stolen.

[Detective]

Pay Less Car rental agency indicated that that car had been rented by this husband and wife from up north, not been returned to them. It was learned that the wife looked in the yellow pages, thought she was calling Payless where they had rented the car from, but she fell for a deceptive ad, and she called a Bargain Motors. There was an ongoing dispute between A Bargain Motors and Payless where cars would get returned to a Bargain Motors an error, and they would keep them. So as a result of that deceptive advertising, a Bargain Motors was able to siphon off business from Payless.

[Narrator]

The couple reported that they last saw the vehicle when they thought they dropped it off with Payless, but Bargain Motors

[Police Interviewer]

told them to leave the vehicle outside our gate.

[Narrator]

Now, with the car recovered, police have a direct link between Marlene's murder and Bargain Motors, Sheila's workplace.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

Within that car was some important evidence. Police found fibers from a wig, a clown wig, and they also found human hair.

[Narrator]

Unfortunately, police are unable to verify the hair belongs to Sheila.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

At the time, there was no DNA testing, and so they couldn't be conclusive. Prosecutors decided there was not enough evidence to pick her up for the charge.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Investigators have no new leads to go on. The investigation into Marlene's murder has gone cold.

[Narrator]

But police aren't ready to give up just yet.

[Detective]

Law enforcement had already been looking at Michael Warren's business practices with the Bargain Motors.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Four months after Marlene died, investigators moved on Michael's car lot, and they raided it. They'd look through all the files and all the boxes.

[Narrator]

The raid does turn up any new evidence related to Marlene's murder, but it does prove Michael had been committing fraud.

[Detective]

In 1992, he was formally charged with the evidence that they gathered from that raid. In 1994, Michael Warren was sentenced to eight years in prison for the racketeering and the odometer fraud.

[Investigator/Reporter]

He's released from jail in 1997. He's no longer considered a suspect in the murder. So this story sort of drops out of the media.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

When he got out, I talked to him one time on the phone, and it was out of nowhere. I guess he just got released. That was the last time I talked to him for over three decades.

[Narrator]

After serving his sentence, Michael moves to Virginia to make a fresh start. And sources tell investigators he has a new wife named Debbie.

[Detective]

They were living together in a beautiful big house in Virginia. Because Michael Warren was not charged with Marlene Warren's death, he was able to be the beneficiary of the $53,000 life insurance policy.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

He left me like a bag of trash. After all this, I had abandonment issues, post traumatic stress disorder. I had depression. After a few years, I figured that they're not going to find this person overnight. I started practicing on becoming a builder. You know, after this thing happened, I didn't know what I was going to do. And I had to do it. One thing at a time.

[Narrator]

In Florida, Marlene's loved ones spend the next 17 years clinging to hopes that her killer will eventually be brought to justice.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

I was waiting for closure. I would call every year to the detective's office and Detective Williams, he said, joe, I'm going to tell you something. He said, I don't care if it takes 25 years. Years. We're gonna find out who killed your mother. I promise you. And you know what they did.

[Investigator/Reporter]

In 2014, a grant comes in related to cold case investigations. And Palm beach county uses some of that money to take a new look at the murder of Marlene Warren. They start reexamining some of the evidence, including the balloons that the clown delivered, and find a long brown hair on one of the ribbons that hadn't been discovered in the original examination.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

Detective Paige McCann sent off a lot of the trace evidence, including hairs, fibers,

[Investigator/Reporter]

to the FBI for mitochondrial DNA testing. With the new science, they had the opportunity to open up a brand new lead in the case. They had samples from Sheila that they could compare with samples that were found in the lebaron and on the balloon ribbons.

[Narrator]

While awaiting results of the DNA analysis, investigators discover Sheila has also remarried.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

When investigators looked up the marriage license, they realized that the person Michael was married to, who supposedly was named Debbie, was not Debbie. It was Sheila Keene Warren.

[Detective]

Sheila Keene had bleached her hair blonde and was now going by the name Debbie.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

I found out they were married, and that just put the puzzle together for me.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

I believe Sheila Keene murdered Marlene Warren because she wanted Marlene Warren's life. This is the act of a sociopath. This is the act of a cold blooded killer. Thinks they can take away someone's life and not look back and just move away and try to deceive everyone for the next 27 years.

[Narrator]

Nearly three decades after the murder of Marlene Warren, investigators have discovered discovered evidence that could breathe new life into a case that left a quiet Florida community in shock.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

This case has received a lot of attention because it combined a lot of different things. You've got evil clown that you would only see in the movies. You've got sex and you've got violence. So you can see why People are so interested in this.

[Narrator]

Advances in DNA technology allow forensic specialists to conduct a more thorough analysis of the hair found in the getaway vehicle. And what they find is chilling.

[Detective]

It was able to be forensically determined that hair was Sheila Keene's.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

So now you've tied Sheila Keene Warren to the Chrysler baron. You have tied her to the clown costume. You have tied her to the balloons and the flowers. So you have means, motive, and opportunity. And now you have DNA.

[Narrator]

It's enough for detectives to finally obtain a warrant for Sheila's arrest.

[Police Interviewer]

We were contacted by the West Palm Beach, Florida Sheriff's office in regards to the possibility of a lady that was residing in our county by the name of Sheila Keene Warren. When we were ready to effect the arrest, which I believe was. Was on September 27, 2017, she and her husband Michael were out of town. We were able to ascertain information that they were somewhere around the Roanoke area.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

They pulled her over, they put her in the back of a cruiser, and she doesn't ask why she's arrested. It's like she knew.

[Narrator]

Since there is no evidence of Michael's involvement, he is free to go. But Sheila is immediately taken in for further questioning.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

I'm here to talk to you about

[Detective]

a case from several years ago.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

Yeah, I mean, I really don't want

[Detective]

to talk to you.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

Okay. Do you want to know what you're charged with?

[Detective]

Yeah.

[Police Interviewer]

Okay. We are charged with the first degree murder.

[Detective]

Okay.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

Of Marlene Warren.

[Detective]

I didn't do it. So that's the end of the story. I'm not talking to you.

[Narrator]

With Sheila behind bars, prosecutors must now build out their case.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Science can be very tricky, and it's not always 100% cold.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

Cases are hard enough to prosecute as is because memories fade. Evidence spoils. A lot of it is not just that. DNA is found. You've got to tie it together. Are the witnesses still alive? Can they testify on the stand?

[Narrator]

Sheila is extradited back to Florida to stand trial. But by 2020, a series of COVID related delays take a toll on the state's case against her law enforcement officers,

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

who he depended on to introduce the evidence at trial. One by one, they became unavailable.

[Narrator]

Amid mounting concerns, prosecutors decide to forego the trial and offer Sheila a plea deal. In 2023, the agreement that was reached

[Detective]

was that Sheila would admit to having killed Marlene Warren, and in exchange, she would be sentenced to 12 years in the Department of Corrections.

[Narrator]

Sheila accepts the deal, but neither side is happy with the outcome.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

Sheila Keene Warren did not plead to

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

this crime because she committed this crime.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

The state offered her this sweetheart deal because the state knew that nobody in their right mind would turn it down.

[Prosecutor/Legal Expert]

It's one of the most frustrating things as a prosecutor to know that someone committed the most heinous crime of all. And one day we'll walk free. But the fact that we're able to get some measure of justice for Joseph and for his mother, Marlene Warren, is a victory.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

A few years later, when I came out of my shock, I looked at a bunch of pictures of her. The eyes, they were. They were. There's no doubt at after that picture, none. I saw the eyes of the killer that did it.

[Narrator]

For Marlene's loved ones. Life will never be the same.

[Joe Ahrens (Marlene's son)]

It impacted everybody in our family and still does. Some are still shut down like I was, and I try to help them. And it's a process, you know, it's a slow process. My mom is going to be remembered in this world because of what I do and how I do it. Love one another, you know, care about one another. If I can do it, from what I've been through, I believe everybody can do it.

[Narrator]

Sheila Keene Warren was released from prison in November 2024 at 61 years old. Michael Warren was never charged in connection to Marlene's murder. He maintains that he had nothing to do with the death of his wife.