WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A South Florida murder trial has been delayed for a sixth time in the case of a woman accused of dressing like a clown to kill the wife of her lover.
Prosecutors agreed to give the defense more time to contact witnesses.
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Sheila Keen-Warren is accused of fatally shooting Marlene Warren more than 30 years ago, wearing a clown suit and makeup to conceal her identity.
The shooting happened 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,” Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Detective Paige McCann said during a September 2017 news conference.
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 later married the victim’s husband, Michael Warren, in 2002 and moved with him to Tennessee, where they operated a restaurant.
She had long been considered a suspect in the shooting, but it took investigators 27 years to make an arrest.
She was arrested in Virginia in 2017 when investigators said DNA provided the evidence they needed to arrest her.
A Palm Beach County judge agreed Tuesday to another delay while her defense tries to contact witnesses.
Prosecutors have said they will not seek the death penalty.