'Is my husband under arrest?' New details in clown killer case
The accused clown killer who investigators say fatally shot a woman in 1990 asked a series of questions upon her capture last year, including "where are we going?" and "is my husband under arrest?"
Sheila Keen Warren, who was Sheila Keen at the time, is accused of killing Marlene Warren in Florida while wearing a clown suit, an orange wig, white gloves, a red nose and white makeup. Michael Warren, who was married to Marlene Warren at the time, is now married to the suspect, Keen Warren. Michael Warren has long been in a person of interest in the case.
Palm Beach County prosecutors released evidence late Thursday that they say helped lead to the arrest Keen Warren in September at the Virginia home she shared with her husband. They say DNA was instrumental in her arrest, including hair found in a car linked to the slaying.
Keen Warren, 54, was talkative when a U.S. Marshal pulled over their vehicle and placed her into their custody last year, according to the Sun Sentinel.
"Where are we going? Am I under arrest and what for? Is my husband under arrest?" she asked, according to the newspaper. Later she was told she was being held in connection to the murder that was committed 27 years before.
The evidence released by prosecutors includes witness statements, photographs, reports and maps.
When the 40-year-old Marlene Warren opened her door on that Saturday morning in Wellington, Fla., she found the clown in the orange wig. Her then 20-year-old son and his friends say the clown handed her gifts. Without saying a word, the clown shot her in the face and walked to a Chrysler LeBaron convertible.
Michael Warren told investigators he and his wife had a good relationship, but his employees and relatives said Marlene Warren had been threatening to divorce him over numerous affairs and a beating she said he had given her a year before. Warren's employees insisted he would never divorce because his wife would get half his assets.
Michael Warren was the beneficiary of a life insurance police issued for Marlene Warren, accordng to the Sun Sentinel. Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance confirmed that "the death claim was paid in June 1991 in the amount of $53,359.37 to Michael Warren," according to the newspaper.
He was convicted in 1994 of grand theft, racketeering and odometer tampering and served four years in prison. After he married Keen, they settled in Virginia.
Authorities also revealed that Marlene Warren's funeral was videotaped, according to the Sun Sentinel, but the recording was not helpful in the investigation.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Sheila Keen Warren.
With News Wire Services
