An upcoming episode of the long-running true-crime series Snapped on Oxygen explores the chilling ‘Killer Clown‘ case, focusing on the 1990 murder of Marlene Warren, who was shot and killed by an assailant dressed as a clown. The episode airs on Sunday, May 26, 2024.
On May 26, 1990, Marlene Warren was at home in Wellington, Florida, with her 22-year-old son, Joseph Ahrens, and his friends. As they finished breakfast, a white sedan arrived in the driveway, and a person dressed as a clown approached the front door carrying flowers and balloons. One of the balloons had the message, “You’re the Greatest.” When Marlene answered the door, the clown handed her the gifts, then pulled out a gun and shot her in the face. The clown then calmly returned to the car and drove away, leaving Marlene fatally wounded; she died from her injuries two days later.
The investigation into Marlene Warren’s murder went cold for nearly three decades. Initially, no arrests were made, but in 1991, a woman named Sheila Keen, who later became Sheila Keen-Warren after marrying Michael Warren, Marlene’s widower, was identified as a suspect. At the time, Sheila ran a business repossessing cars and often worked with Michael, though both denied having an affair. Marlene’s parents also suspected Michael of having a mistress.
In 2014, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office reopened the cold case, re-interviewing witnesses and conducting further DNA analysis on the evidence, including orange fibers that may have come from a clown wig. Investigators discovered that Sheila and Michael Warren had married and moved to Abingdon, Virginia, where they owned and operated a fast-food restaurant called The Purple Cow.
Advancements in DNA technology led to a breakthrough in the case. On September 27, 2017, Sheila Keen Warren was arrested in Abingdon, Virginia, and charged with first-degree murder. A piece of hair found in the suspected getaway vehicle, a white Chrysler LeBaron, linked her to the crime scene.
Snapped: Shelia Keen Warren airs Sunday, May 26, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. on Oxygen.
