WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A South Florida woman accused of dressing up as a clown and killing her future husband's wife in 1990 will stand trial early next year.
Palm Beach County Judge Joseph Marx has set jury selection in the murder trial of Sheila Keen Warren for Jan. 31, 2020.
Keen Warren wasn't in the courtroom during Wednesday's hearing to determine a trial date.
During a 2017 news conference, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Detective Paige McCann said that Sheila Keen, as she was known at the time, was dressed like a clown when she fatally shot Marlene Warren at her Wellington home on May 26, 1990.
"Marlene answered the front door and the clown had two balloons, as well as a bouquet of flowers, and went to hand Marlene those items," McCann told reporters.
Marlene Warren, who had been eating breakfast with her then-22-year-old son and several of his friends, was surprised and commented, "How nice."
"It was at that time that the clown pulled out a gun and shot Marlene in the face," McCann said.
The clown then calmly walked back to the white Chrysler LeBaron in which she had arrived and drove away.
Marlene Warren died at a hospital two days later.
Keen Warren had long been considered a suspect in the shooting, but it took investigators 27 years to make an arrest. She eventually married Michael Warren in 2002 and moved to Tennessee, where the couple operated a restaurant.
In September 2017, Keen Warren was charged with first-degree murder and arrested in Virginia.
Keen Warren faces the death penalty if convicted.