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The tragic death of Marlene Warren in 1990 sent shockwaves through the usually quiet community of Wellington, Florida, and would go on to become one of the most infamous unsolved murder cases for decades. The murder of Marlene Warren opened a decades-long investigation in which several police dogs focused on Marlene's husband, Michael Warren, and his alleged lover, Sheila Keen.
No one was responsible for the crime for years, leaving it cold. Sheila Keen was arrested for the murder in 2017 when new evidence was recovered. As viewers tune in to Married to Evil on ID, they will receive a detailed update about this long-unsolved case and the shocking twists that led to the arrest of Keen-Warren.
Married to Evil season 2 premiered on August 25, 2024, and new episodes are scheduled to air on Sundays at 10 PM (ET). The men who initiated the investigation continue to seek justice for Marlene Warren's death.
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What happened to Marlene Warren?
On May 26, 1990, 40-year-old Marlene Warren was at her Wellington residence when the doorbell rang. Her son, Joe Ahrens, recounts the moment vividly. When Marlene answered the door, she came face to face with a clown holding an arrangement of flowers and some balloons.
She mentioned how nice the presents were. She didn't realize any danger was surrounding her at that moment. The clown whipped out a gun and shot Marlene in the head. It was easy for the suspect to escape the scene in a white Chrysler convertible.
Marlene was then rushed to the hospital but succumbed to her injuries two days later. The community was in shock after her senseless murder, and law enforcement agents were called upon to look for any lead. They worked on the case, even though years would pass without evidence or clear suspects.
Early suspicions: Michael Warren and Sheila Keen
After the immediate murder, attention fell upon Marlene's husband, Michael Warren. Their relationship was reportedly strained, and it's said that Marlene confided in her son that Michael might be responsible if anything happened to her. The investigation showed Michael had been having an affair with Sheila Keen, an employee at Michael's car repossession business.
While he had been an initial suspect, Michael had the clear alibi of en route to a horse race with friends when the murder occurred. Sheila Keen also came under suspicion after it was reported that a woman of her description was seen purchasing a clown costume along with the same flowers and balloons used in the crime.
However, despite such circumstantial evidence mounting, including hair fibers in the car similar to the getaway vehicle, there was not enough at that time to charge either Michael Warren or Sheila Keen. Thus, with no significant development in the investigation, the case turned cold, and Marlene Warren's family was never able to find out who killed her.
Breakthrough in the case: Sheila Keen's arrest
The murder of Marlene Warren remained unsolved for almost 27 years, haunting her family while frustrating investigators. In 2017, however, a cold case unit re-examined evidence from the crime scene and tested DNA from a hair found in the suspected getaway car.
A match was made for Sheila Keen. Keen, by that time, had married Michael Warren, and the two were living together in Tennessee, running a restaurant called Purple Cow. It was the revelation of their marriage, coupled with the DNA match, that finally made investigators arrest Sheila Keen-Warren for Marlene Warren's murder.
The prosecutors argued that Sheila Keen-Warren impersonated a clown to murder Marlene since she was having an affair with Michael. Despite the arrest and lawyers for the defense claiming the evidence is circumstantial, Sheila's trial has been delayed several times.
However, the case still lingers in peoples' minds as one of the weirdest and most cold-blooded murders in recent history.
The unfortunate death of Marlene Warren in 1990 shook the very foundation of her community and left lasting trauma on her family. What had been a harmless encounter with a clown unfolded into a cold-blooded murder that was unsolved until nearly three decades later.
The investigation that followed them led them to suspect that it was a love triangle between the victim's husband, Michael Warren, and his colleague, Sheila Keen. It wasn't until 2017, after police achieved a breakthrough in DNA testing, that they arrested Sheila Keen-Warren for the murder of Marlene.
As the legal process continues, Marlene's case gives people sleepless nights, reminding them of how lives can be torn apart in just a second and how justice, even after so many years, is still being sought.
