As a teenager, Marlene married her first husband and had two sons, John and Joseph Ahrens. That marriage ended when Marlene was just 20 years old. Marlene was a single mom of two boys when she met Michael. He was 18, and she was 20. She later married her second husband, Michael “Mike” Warren, The couple ultimately moved to Florida, where Michael opened a car lot that became hugely successful. Michael managed their car rental business, A Bargain Motors. For a while, life was good. However, Marlene’s happiness was shattered in the fall of 1988 when her son, John Ahrens Jr., died in a car accident. After the tragic accident and loss of her some, Marlene’s marriage started falling apart.

May 26, 1990

• 10:00 AM that morning Michael Warren’ was on his way to the horse track with friends.
• 10:45 AM Marlene Warren, answered the door to her Wellington, Fla., home to accept a bouquet and balloons from a clown wearing an orange wig, a red bulb nose, gloves and a painted-on smile. She was greeted with gunfire, shot at least once in the face. Her 21-year-old son, Joey Ahrens, ran to her as she collapsed in the doorway and looked the clown in the eye, deep brown eyes, he told the police. After firing, the person dressed as a clown calmly walked to a white convertible Chrysler LeBaron, no license plate, and drove away.
• 1:18 PM Detectives received a call from anonymous female caller who stated that Marlene Warren was just shot and suggested that the Sheriffs Office might want to question Sheila Keen and Mike Warren.
• 3:18 PM Detectives Interviewed Michael Warren
• 7:30 PM Owner of Costume Shop contacted Detectives. 
  

May 28, 1990

• 9:30 PM – Marlene Warren, 40, died two days later at Palms West Hospital.

Within weeks of the slaying, police reportedly viewed Michael Warren and Sheila Keen as suspects. He was 38. She was 27. She repossessed cars for Michael Warren’s Florida used-car dealership and, detectives learned, had been having an affair with him. But no arrests were made and the case went cold — for nearly 30 years.

Michael’s employees point police to Sheila Keen

Car lot employees revealed to police that Michael was having a brazen long-term affair with a young co-worker named Sheila Keen.

“It was no secret that he was a player. They’d leave the doors right open. There was no hiding it,”

Sheila’s then-husband, Spud, was a “repo man,” and she worked with him on repossess cars, how she first met Michael. But Michael and Sheila adamantly denied the affairs in separate interviews with police.

Investigation

Police traced the flower basket and balloons back to a nearby Publix.

• The detectives interviewed two employees from a Publix at 2948 North Military Trail in West Palm Beach, who recalled a female purchasing the exact flower and balloon ensemble found at the scene less than two hours before the murder. Both of the employees described the person who purchased the items as a white female with long brown hair tied in a ponytail and having male mannerisms. The Publix was located approximately one mile from Sheila’s apartment.
• Sheila was interviewed but denied shopping at that Publix that morning. She also denied romantic involvement with Michael Warren and stated she had never been in a Chrysler LeBaron.

They located a clown shop in West Palm Beach that sold a clown costume to a woman a few days before the murder. Employees stated women purchased everything — the wig, the red nose, the suit — except for the clown shoes. Two employees ID’d a photo of Sheila as the customer.

• Two employees at the Spotlight Costume shop located at 5612 South Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach told the detectives that a tall thin white female with long brown hair came into the shop two days prior to the murder and purchased a clown costume. The person stated that they needed enough white makeup to cover the entire face and that the costume would be for a female. The person did not purchase any clown shoes with the costume. Based on the receipts form the store, detectives purchased an identical wig as the one purchased just days earlier by the clown from the Spotlight. The wig was identical in composition and material. Both witnesses were able to positively identify the Sheila from photo lineups and a newspaper article as the person they recall buying the clown costume.
  

Chrysler LeBaron turned up in an Winn-Dixie parking lot at Okeechobee and Royal Palm Beach boulevards. 

• Detectives also interviewed several witnesses from “A Bargain Motors” : Numerous witnesses recall an incident occurring approximately 45-days prior to the murder where a married couple (Mr .and Mrs. Restivo) called “A Bargain Motors,” believing it to be “Payless Car Rental”, trying to return a white Chrysler LeBaron they had rented. The witnesses recalled Michael Warren telling the couple to just leave the keys in the visor and that the car would be picked up. Mr. Claude Poitres, an employee of “A Bargain Motors” told investigators that shortly after the phone call, he drove Michael Warren and the Defendant to Payless Car Rentals and observed them get into a white Chrysler LeBaron and drive away. Poitres stated that Warren told him not to say anything to anyone about the LeBaron.
• This is also the vehicle witness Claude Poitres observed Michael Warren and the Defendant steal approximately forty-five days before the murder. It was also consistent with the description of the vehicle witnesses observed the clown get into after shooting Marlene Warren.

Sheila’s home Search

• Items were collected from the Sheila’s home, including two pair of black lace up style shoes consistent with the observations made by the witnesses inside the home.
• CSIs processed the shoes and recovered various hair fibers from the bottoms of the shoes, specifically, orange yellow acrylic fibers and burgundy fibers.

Police found fibers from the clown wig and human hair in the car and after searching Keen’s apartment Detectives found orange fibers investigators say matched the description of the wig the clown was wearing. The costume nor the gun was ever found.

• Microscopic analysis on the orange/yellow acrylic hairs located in the white Chrysler LeBaron, on the shoes located in Keen’s home, on the ribbon from the balloons at the crime scene and orange/yellow acrylic hairs from the wig purchased at the Spotlight costumers concluded that they were identical in composition. Microscopic analysis of the burgundy hairs located on the boots of Sheila Keen and the burgundy fibers from the carpet of the LeBaron located in the Winn Dixie parking lot concluded that they were identical in composition.
• Microscopic hair analysis on the human hair located in the LeBaron concluded that the hair was identical to a sample of hair from the Defendant. DNA analysis on the hair concluded that Keen could not be excluded at the source of the hair. Further, DNA analysis on the skin portion of the hair root concluded that the Defendant is the source of the skin on the hair located in the Chrysler LeBaron.

Michael Warren arrested for fraud

During the murder investigation, detectives discovered Michael Warren was rolling back odometers on vehicles at his used-car lot. He was convicted of racketeering and multiple other felonies and served nearly four years in a minimum-security state prison in Florida.

He was released on New Year’s Eve 1997. Michael wanted a fresh start and moved to Virginia with a new wife Debbie was blonde. But it was later discovered that his new wife was actually Sheila Keen Warren, and she had been living under the alias for 17 years.

April 27, 1972

• Michael Warren marries Marlene Ahrens.

May 13, 1987

• Richard Keen marries Sheila Sheltra.
• Three months later, their son Charles is born.

January 17, 1990

• Sheila Keen files a petition for an injunction for protection against domestic violence from Richard Keen.
• The injunction is temporarily granted due to reported abuse.
• Sheila moves into an apartment allegedly paid for by Michael Warren amid rumors of an affair.

April 15, 1990

• Payless Rental Car reports a white 1990 Chrysler LeBaron stolen.

May 24, 1990

• Sheila Keen purchases a clown costume.

May 26, 1990 – 10:45 AM

• Marlene Warren answers the door of her Wellington, Florida home to a person dressed as a clown holding flowers and balloons.
• The clown shoots Marlene in the face.
• Witnesses hear the gunshot and see the clown calmly walk away.

May 28, 1990

• Marlene Warren dies at Palms West Hospital from the gunshot wound.

May 29, 1990

• Autopsy performed on Marlene Warren.
• She is killed by a projectile identified as .38 or .357 caliber.

May 30, 1990

• Detectives recover the white Chrysler LeBaron believed to be the getaway vehicle.
• Investigators find brown hair and orange fibers inside.
• Investigators begin focusing attention on Sheila Keen and Michael Warren, who deny involvement.

October 26, 1990

• Michael Warren is arrested on charges including racketeering, odometer tampering, and grand theft.

1992

• Michael Warren is convicted on 43 counts including racketeering, odometer tampering, and grand theft.

March 31, 1994

• Michael Warren begins serving his prison sentence.

December 31, 1997

• Michael Warren is released from prison.

April 29, 1999

• Richard and Sheila Keen divorce.

August 15, 2002

• Michael Warren marries Sheila Keen in Las Vegas.

2014

• Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office reopens the Marlene Warren murder case with a cold case grant.
• A task force including PBSO, the State Attorney’s Office, and the FBI reviews forensic evidence and re-interviews witnesses.

March 28, 2016

• Richard Keen passes away.

2017

• Cold case investigators re-test forensic evidence.
• DNA testing reportedly links Sheila Keen Warren to hair in the suspected getaway vehicle.
• Investigators discover Sheila and Michael Warren are living together and operating the Purple Cow burger restaurant in Kingsport, Tennessee.
• A former employee tells detectives Sheila once dressed as a clown for Halloween and provides a photograph.

August 31, 2017

• A Palm Beach County grand jury indicts Sheila Keen-Warren for first degree murder for the killing of Marlene Warren.

September 26, 2017

• Sheila Keen-Warren is arrested in Abingdon, Virginia.

September 27, 2017

• Keen-Warren waives extradition.

September 28, 2017

• Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg announces Keen-Warren faces either life in prison or the death penalty, pending a decision on whether prosecutors will seek capital punishment.

April 2023

• Sheila Keen Warren pleads guilty to second degree murder as part of a plea agreement.
• She is sentenced to 12 years in prison with credit for over five years spent in Palm Beach County Jail.
• She is placed in Gadsden Correctional Facility.

November 2024

• Sheila Keen Warren is released from custody.

Early Life and Family Background

Sheila Keen Warren was born Sheila Marie Sheltra. She spent much of her childhood in LaBelle, Florida. Around 1980, her family relocated to Martin County, Florida, where she attended high school. Her father, Robert Sheltra, operated a construction company in Indiantown, Florida, and he continued living in the area for many years.

Prior Criminal History

In 1984, Sheila Sheltra was arrested for shoplifting in Palm Beach County, Florida. Records also show she was charged with felony theft in the summer of 1986. She received a sentence of six months probation.

Marriage to Richard Keen and Family Life

Shortly after her 1986 theft case, Sheila married Richard C. Keen. She was 23 years old. He was 41 years old. The couple later welcomed a son named Charles. By 1990, both Sheila and Richard were working for Michael Warren.

Relationship With Michael Warren and Domestic Violence Filing

In January 1990, Sheila filed a domestic violence complaint against Richard Keen. She moved into an apartment near West Palm Beach, Florida. Reports at the time indicated that Michael Warren was allegedly paying the rent. Around this same period, rumors circulated of a personal relationship between Sheila and Michael Warren.

Divorce and Marriage to Michael Warren

Sheila and Richard Keen later divorced. Some records list the divorce as finalized in 1999, while other sources describe it as 2000 depending on jurisdictional references. In 2002, Sheila married Michael Warren in Las Vegas.

Later Life and Move to Tennessee

After relocating, Sheila and Michael Warren operated the Purple Cow restaurant in Kingsport, Tennessee. Sheila Keen Warren owned a house in Kingsport on a quiet cul-de-sac near the restaurant.

Family Developments

Richard Keen, her first husband, passed away in 2016.

FL v. Sheila Marie Keen Warren

May 26, 1990, 10:00 AM that morning Michael Warren’ was on his way to the horse track with friends. 10:45 AM Marlene Warren, answered the door to her Wellington, Fla., home to accept a bouquet and balloons from a clown wearing an orange wig, a red bulb nose, gloves and a painted-on smile. She was greeted with gunfire, shot at least once in the face. 

• Indictment
• Hendry County Search Warrant
• PC Warren
• Warrant Capias
• Discovery Exhibit 
• 2019-10-28 States Objection on Indigenous status
• 2020-11-06 States First Motion-in-Limine to Admit Evidence at Trial of Sheila Keen Warren
• 2021-01-04 Sheila Keen Warren Motion for Bond
• 2022-10-02 Second Motion to Compel in Sheila-Keen-Warren-Case
• 2022-11-01 Motion to Suppress
• 2022-11-01 Exhibits
• 2023-02-18 627366838-New-motion-in-Killer-Clown-case
• 2023-02-22 Motion in Limine Michael Laforte
• 2023-02-22 Motion in Limine
• 2023-02-23 Motion to Suppress Unlawful Warrant
• 2023-02-23 Motion to Suppress
• 2023-02-25 EVIDENCE EXHIBIT LIST FILED
• 2023-02-25 EVIDENCE EXHIBIT THIRD-PARTY CULPABILITY
• 2023-03-03 OPPOSITION TO STATE’S MOTION IN LIMINE TO EXCLUDE TESTIMONY OF MICHAEL LAFORTE
• 2023-03-03 TO DEFENDANT’S MOTION IN LIMNIE TO EXCLUDE EVIDENCE RELATED TO THE WINN DIXIE LEBARON
• 2023-03-03 TO DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO EXCLUDE IDENTIFICATION TESTIMONY AND OTHER EVIDENCE RELATED TO THE SPOTLIGHT CLOWN COSTUME
• 2023-03-03 TO DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO SUPPRESS EVIDENCE OBTAINED PURSUANT TO SEARCH WARRANT
• 2023-03-07 TRIAL OR HEARING NOTES
• 2023-03-08 EXHIBIT LIST 1
• 2023-03-08 EXHIBIT LIST 2
• 2023-04-05 EXHIBIT LIST DEFENSE AND PROS
• 2023-06-16 PETITION

Killer Clown Investigation

• Investigation
• Clown Sighting Case File
• Sheila Keen Warren Evidence