The Killer Clown: Solving the murder on the doorstep
On 26th May 1990, Marlene Warren and her 21-year-old son, Joey Ahrens, were having breakfast at their home in Wellington, Florida, when the doorbell rang. What happened next would shatter their lives — and prompt a three-decade manhunt for the infamous Killer Clown.
In this article, the team at Crime+Investigation examines the details surrounding the case.
The murder
It started out like any other day. Marlene, her son and three friends were having breakfast in the kitchen when the doorbell rang. Curious, Joey looked outside and saw a clown carrying balloons and flowers.
At first, he thought it was a goodwill gesture because he had recently broken his leg, but when his mother opened the door, the unthinkable happened.
Joey recalled: '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 911 right away.'
Marlene had been shot in the face at point-blank range in a vicious, calculated attack. In their panic to stop the bleeding, the boys didn't get a good look at the shooter, who quickly drove off in a white LeBaron like nothing had happened.
The aftermath
When first responders arrived, a barely conscious Marlene was immediately transported to hospital and placed on life support. 'I kept telling her I love her, and I don't want her to go,' Joey told reporters. But two days later, with no hope of recovery, Marlene died.
The savage attack frightened the community and confused investigators. The affluent neighbourhood had a low crime rate, and Marlene had no known enemies. By all accounts, she was a well-liked small business owner and devoted mother who cared about others.
Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office spokesman Bob Ferrell said at the time: 'This is the strangest thing I've seen in all my 19 years in law enforcement.'
The case goes cold
According to statistics, around 60% of all femicides are carried out by a family member — usually a partner or ex-partner. With this in mind, it didn't take long for the police to turn their attention to Marlene's husband and Joey's stepdad, Michael Warren.
On the surface, the couple’s relationship seemed fine. They owned several businesses, including apartment complexes and car dealerships, and lived in a beautiful, upscale house in Florida’s exclusive Aero Club. However, tensions were high behind closed doors as Marlene suspected her husband of having an affair.
Joey recounted a poignant conversation he had with his mother before her murder: 'She said, "If anything does happen to me, your father did it". I told her, "No way. He would never do anything like that." She said, "Don't put it past him."'
As it turned out, Michael was having an affair with one of his employees, Sheila Keen. When questioned, both denied the relationship and any involvement in Marlene's death, but investigators remained suspicious, especially since Sheila had no alibi for the morning of the murder.
Additionally, several witnesses said they saw a woman matching Sheila’s description buying a clown costume earlier that week.
However, there simply wasn't enough concrete evidence to pursue a conviction, and the case went stone cold for three long decades.
Brand-new evidence
Sheila and Michael eventually married in 2002 and lived a happy, comfortable life until new forensic evidence surfaced in 2017. Specialists retested items from the original investigation and finally linked a hair found in the suspected getaway car to Sheila's DNA.
This breakthrough, combined with earlier evidence, was enough to secure an arrest. However, Sheila maintained her innocence. After spending seven years in custody fighting her case, she finally accepted a plea deal in 2023 and was charged with second-degree murder.
She was sentenced to 12 years in prison but only served 18 months after receiving credit for good behaviour.
Marlene’s loved ones were devastated by her early release, but Joey remains resolute: 'When [Sheila] starts to live her life again, it's not going to be what she thinks. She's got a lot of stuff to go through. I saw no remorse, and that tells me that she's going to live in hell.'
Do you love true crime? Subscribe to the Crime+Investigation newsletter for exclusive access to new articles, episodes, clips, competitions and more. We’ll send you the latest content weekly, so you never miss a breaking story.
