5 chilling revelations from The Killer Clown: Murder on the Doorstep, Marlene Warren's murder

Marlene Warren was shot to death by someone dressed as a clown on her front porch on May 26, 1990. While Warren and her son, Joe Ahrens were having breakfast their doorbell rang, and Marlene saw someone dressed as a clown on their front porch, carrying a basket of flowers and balloons. However, the clown shot Marlene right on her doorstep.

The witnesses, including Joe, identified a white Chrysler LeBaron fleeing the scene. The vehicle had orange fibers and brown hair that remained unexplained for decades.

An Oxygen report from May 2024, noted that the early leads pointed to an alleged affair between Marlene's husband, Michael Warren, and his co-worker Sheila Keen-Warren. However, limited forensic capabilities at the time prevented charges until advances in DNA analysis produced an arrest in 2017 and a guilty plea in 2023.

The three-part docuseries The Killer Clown: Murder on the Doorstep was released on June 5, 2025, on SundanceTV and is available for streaming on Sundance Now and AMC+. It revisited all the developments of the case, including interviews with investigators, family members, and experts, and examined motives and investigative hurdles.

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Marlene Warren Murder: 5 key revelations from The Killer Clown: Murder on the Doorstep explored

1) Killer Clown Costume Concealed Motive and Identity

Marlene Warren answered her front door on May 26, 1990, in Wellington, Florida, believing she was receiving a get-well gift. Instead, a figure dressed as a clown handed her balloons and flowers before firing a single shot to her head at point-blank range.

According to an Oxygen report from May 2024, the balloons from the crime scene had phrases like “You’re the Greatest.” As the investigation continued, prosecutors and investigators noted that there wasn't a lot of forensic evidence left at the scene.

“forensically, there wasn’t much left at the scene in terms of fingerprints or DNA," they said.

Witnesses described the assailant as wearing an orange wig, white gloves, and oversized clown makeup, which obscured facial features and gender. This disguise delayed identification, allowing Marlene Warren's killer to escape in a white Chrysler LeBaron. Marlene's on, Joe Ahrens was one of the witnesses and recalled the clown's face looking "like a mask."

“The [clown] face looked like a mask because it was so smooth. It looked like a china doll," Joe said.

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2) Husband’s Affair Suspicion and Alibi

Following her death, the police shifted their focus to Marlene Warren’s husband. They became suspicious of Michael Warren after he was found to allegedly be having an affair with a co-worker.

Investigators were told by Warens's employees and found that he was having an affair with one of his employees named Sheila Keen. This information was revealed to the investigators by Michael's employees at Bargain Motors, which Marlene and Michael co-owned.

Michael maintained that he was en route to a horse race with friends when Marlene was shot, clearing him as a suspect at that time. However, investigators kept an eye on him as he was set to inherit the property assets as well as Marlene's insurance payout.

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3) The Long-Running Investigation of Marlene Warren's Murder and Cold Case Hiatus

Investigators found evidence including orange fibers from a clown wig and brown hairs discovered in the abandoned LeBaron. However, advancements in forensic technology were insufficient in 1990 to produce definitive DNA matches.

Joe Ahrens spoke about the case on 48 Hours and said that it took more than "30 years to make sense of it all. He recalled detectives recovering the balloons, flowers, and wig fragments but could not conclusively link them to a suspect.

In October 1990, law enforcement shifted focus toward Michael’s car lot, uncovering racketeering and odometer fraud charges that led to his conviction later that year.

With no fresh leads on the clown costume or firearm, the case went cold, leaving Joe to grapple with grief and unanswered questions for decades.

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4) DNA Breakthrough and Arrest of Sheila Keen-Warren

By 2014, a specialized cold case unit revisited the evidence using improved DNA analysis. Samples from the LeBaron, the same car Joe had chased, were reexamined. They were found to match Sheila Keen’s DNA from a hair sample submitted during initial interviews. Police discovered that, in 2002, Sheila had married Michael Warren and relocated to Virginia under the alias “Debbie."

As per the CBS report from November 2024, Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg stated that it seemed like "mission accomplished" for them.

“When you combine the fact that the two of them were in an affair … at the time of the murder … and then later, they got married … it did seem like mission accomplished,” Aronberg said.

Sheila Keen-Warren was arrested on September 26, 2017, nearly 27 years after Marlene Warren's murder, and charged with first-degree murder.

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5) Plea Deal and Release of Sheila Keen-Warren

After prolonged pretrial delays, including lost “clown sighting” files and COVID-related postponements, Sheila opted for a plea deal on April 25, 2023. She pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received a 12-year sentence, with credit for time served, leading to her release on November 2, 2024.

Even as she admitted guilt in court, Sheila maintained her innocence. As per the CBS report, her attorney, Greg Rosenfeld, before and after the plea hearing, insisted that she hadn't killed Marlene Warren.

Joe Ahrens described mixed emotions, stating in the 48 Hours interview that he was relieved to have found who killed his mother nearly three decades ago.

Despite the legal resolution of Marlene Warren's murder, questions remained about whether justice was fully served.

The Killer Clown: Murder on the Doorstep is available for streaming on Sundance Now and AMC+.

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Stay tuned for more updates.