‘Killer Clown’ Shoots Florida Mother at Her Doorstep — Cold Case Solved Decades Later

On the morning of May 26, 1990, 40-year-old Marlene Warren rose early in her Wellington, Florida, home to make breakfast for her son and two of his friends. It was Memorial Day weekend, and her son Joe — then 21 and recovering from a broken leg — stayed inside the house while Marlene prepared the meal.

At about 10:45 a.m., someone knocked at the front door. Through the foyer glass, Joe and his friends saw a delivery person dressed as a clown holding balloons and a basket of flowers. Marlene, who had long loved clowns and even painted clown portraits for the home, answered the door.

Instead of a delivery, the costumed visitor drew a gun and shot Marlene at point-blank range. She collapsed on the foyer floor amid scattered red and white carnations. Joe later recalled screaming for his friends to call 911 as the clown calmly got into a white convertible and drove away. The brutal, unusual attack shocked the quiet suburban neighborhood.

Investigators initially uncovered physical clues — including fibers from an orange wig found in an abandoned white convertible and in a residence tied to one of the people connected to the household. Despite those leads, the investigation produced no arrests at the time and the case went cold for many years.

The file was formally reopened in 2014 as forensic technology advanced. New testing and careful review of old evidence produced the breakthrough detectives had sought: forensic scientists matched orange wig fibers found in the car and in a former residence to fibers found on a ribbon tied to a balloon, linking those materials to a suspect.

In September 2017 police arrested Sheila Keen Warren near the home she shared with Michael Warren in Abingdon, Virginia. Sheila — who later used the name "Debbie" — had married Marlene’s widower, Michael, in 2002. Authorities said Sheila had worked with Michael helping to repossess cars at his Florida used-car business; rumors of a relationship between them after Marlene’s death circulated, but Michael has never been charged in the homicide.

Sheila was extradited to Palm Beach County and held without bond while prosecutors built their case. She initially pleaded not guilty, but on April 25, 2023, she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in connection with Marlene’s killing. A judge sentenced her to 12 years in prison; Department of Corrections records indicate she was released in November 2024, about 18 months after entering her plea.

"I lost my whole family," Joe said after the resolution of the case. He expressed disappointment with the length of the sentence but said he takes comfort in the memory of his mother and brother.

The case remained one of South Florida’s most unsettling unsolved crimes for nearly three decades. Advances in forensic analysis eventually produced a suspect and a conviction, bringing a measure of closure to a family and community long haunted by the killing.

Reporting note: This account compiles court records, public statements from family members and law-enforcement findings related to the investigation and prosecution.