A woman who shot a mum dead on her doorstep 27 years back while dressed in a clown costume faces the death penalty.

Sheila Keen, 54, evaded justice for nearly three decades because of its brutal murder of Marlene Warren, prosecutors have said.

On Thursday, she appeared in court for the first time to plead not guilty.

Her lawyer said she 'vehemently denies' the killing.

Prosecutors in Palm Beach, Florida, have stated they'll push for the death penalty.

Marlene was eating breakfast with her son Joey and a number of his friends when a strange car pulled up outside in May 1990.

A clown got out and walked to the door carrying flowers and 2 balloons.

When Marlene, 40, answered the door, the visitor offered her the flowers.





Joey recalls her saying "Oh how pretty" before the clown abruptly shot her in the face from point-blank range with a pistol.

The killer, wearing an orange wig, white face paint and reddish nose and gloves, and then calmly walked back to the car and zoom off.





Marlene died two days afterwards and the terrifying murder in Wellington, Florida, remained unsolved for nearly 3 decades.

But last month police made a stunning breakthrough.

Suspicion had initially fallen on Marlene's husband Michael Warren.



The marriage had been on the rocks for a while and Marlene was considering leaving him.

The couple had more than $1million in property and business assets - but all were in Marlene's name.

Detectives finally decided Michael wasn't the killer, but they wondered if he was still somehow connected.

Attention turned to Sheila Keen, rumoured to be Michael's lover after they met at his used car firm.

Sheila's Estranged husband confirmed the pair were having an affair, and her Neighbours said Michael Warren had been coming and going so often they Assumed that they were married.





Further evidence emerged which was strong but circumstantial.

Sheila Lived across the street from the sole costume store in Palm Beach County believed to sell the kind of balloon that the killer was carrying.

Staff said they thought she could be a woman who purchased a clown costume there two days before the murder.

However, DNA evidence was basic, and the proof wasn't sufficient to convince prosecutors to charge either Warren or Keen.

In 2014, the cold case was reopened and detectives went back through all of the leads and once more took a look at Warren and Keen.

As a result of the initial investigation in 1990, Warren was convicted of theft and racketeering charges related to his car businesses.

Police found that after he got out of prison he and Keen had vanished.

They eventually traced records that revealed Keen had formally divorced her first husband, and in 2002 married Warren in Las Vegas.

They had been running a restaurant together in Tennessee.




Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department said "as a result of the investigation, probable cause was established linking Sheila Keen Warren to the murder of Marlene Warren."

Advances in DNA analysis are believed to have played an important role and on August 31 this year, a grand jury issued a First Degree Murder indictment for Sheila Keen.

Now aged 54, she was traced to Washington County, Virginia, more than 800 miles from where the murder took place 27 years ago.

Police said she was arrested "without incident".

Her husband, who was with her when she was arrested, was interviewed again, but has not been charged.


Source: https://aderonkebamidele.com/killer-clown-face-death-penalty-27years-investigation/