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Sheila Keen-Warren, the woman who pleaded guilty to dressing as a clown and murdering her husband's then-wife in 1990, was released from a Florida prison on Saturday (November 2). The 61-year-old was sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder for the shooting of Marlene Warren. However, she had already been in custody for seven years since her arrest in 2017, and Florida's law in 1990 allowed significant credit for good behavior.
Keen-Warren has maintained her innocence even after her plea. Her attorney, Greg Rosenfeld, stated that she only took the plea deal because she would be released in less than two years and had been facing a life sentence if convicted at trial. According to US News, Rosenfeld said, "We are absolutely thrilled that Ms. Keen-Warren has been released from prison and is returning to her family. As we’ve stated from the beginning, she did not commit this crime."
The case dates back to 1990 when Marlene Warren’s son, Joseph Ahrens, and his friends reported that a person dressed as a clown rang their doorbell. When Marlene answered, the clown handed her some balloons, pulled a gun, and shot her in the face before fleeing.
At the time of the shooting, Keen-Warren was an employee of Marlene Warren’s husband, Michael, at his used car lot. Witnesses told investigators in 1990 that the then-Sheila Keen and Michael Warren were having an affair, though both denied it. Since 2002, she has been his wife. They eventually moved to Abington, Virginia, where they ran a restaurant just across the Tennessee border.