Killer clown suspect booked into Palm Beach County Jail

Sheila Keen Warren was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail late Tuesday night, Oct. 3, 2017 on a

By Marc Freeman

Sheila Keen Warren, the woman accused of being the killer clown in a 27-year-old murder case, is now in Palm Beach County to face prosecution, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

She has a court appearance scheduled Wednesday morning.

Authorities arrested the 54-year-old southwest Virginia woman on Sept. 26, based on a recent grand jury indictment concerning the death of Marlene Warren in Wellington.

Sheriff Ric Bradshaw credited new DNA evidence, and recent witness interviews, with enabling his detectives to close in on Keen Warren, who was identified as a suspect before the case went cold.

Keen Warren was booked into Palm Beach County Jail shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday. She’s charged with first-degree murder, and prosecutors are expected to announce quickly whether they intend to seek the death penalty.

After announcing her arrest, authorities were quick to point out that she is married to Michael Warren — Marlene’s husband at the time of her death. The sheriff also said the investigation remains open; Michael Warren, another original named person of interest, has not been charged.

Known as “Debbie,” Keen Warren and her spouse of 15 years had settled in small, historic Abingdon, Va., within the Blue Ridge Mountains. They had a reputation as a hardworking, sociable couple who until last year operated a fast-food restaurant in nearby Kingsport, Tenn.

Their neighbors and customers had no idea of their past alleged ties to one of South Florida’s high-profile murders.

The 40-year-old victim answered the door to her home in the upscale Aero Club development to accept a bouquet and balloons from a clown wearing an orange wig, a red bulb nose, gloves and a smile painted on its white face.

Right away, the clown fired and a bullet hit Warren’s face. She died within two days from her wounds, officials said.

Detectives back then said the clown left the scene in a white convertible Chrysler LeBaron without a license plate; the car was found four days later abandoned at a shopping center parking lot.

Among the early leads in the investigation: The car was reported stolen from a car rental business and allegedly had a link to Michael Warren’s used car dealership, Bargain Motors Inc. of West Palm Beach, authorities said.

At the time of the shooting, the woman then known as Sheila Keen was 27 and working for Michael Warren’s used car dealership, Bargain Motors Inc. of West Palm Beach, helping to repossess cars.

Employees at a West Palm Beach costume shop said that a woman had recently bought a clown costume two days before the murder. Two store clerks at the time picked Sheila Keen Warren out of a photo lineup, according to published reports.

Detectives also have told reporters that a search of Keen Warren’s home yielded fibers from a bright orange wig. And similar fibers were found in the getaway car.

Finally, employees from a store less than a mile from where Keen Warren lived in suburban West Palm Beach identified her as the woman who bought flowers and balloons about 90 minutes before the killing.

But at a Sept. 28 news conference, Bradshaw and State Attorney Dave Aronberg declined to say what evidence was used to allegedly connect Keen Warren to the murder.