1990 Florida Killer Clown Trial Delayed

WELLINGTON, FL — The 32-year-old Florida case of a killer clown may not go to trial for several months — or even until next year, according to The Palm Beach Post.

Attorneys for Sheila Keen-Warren, 58, told a judge this week the delay is required while they attempt to track down reluctant witnesses, and they were not ready to go to trial in June as planned, the Post reported.

“This is a long-ago event,” defense attorney Richard Lubin told the Post. “Witnesses are in their '60s, '70s and '80s. Some of them are dead. Others are debilitated.”

Keen-Warren is accused of fatally shooting 40-year-old Marlene Warren in the face in 1990, after she arrived on the victim’s porch in Wellington, dressed as a clown and carrying balloons and carnations, according to The Associated Press.

Keen-Warren was arrested in 2017, with law enforcement citing DNA technology advances. At the time of the shooting, Keen-Warren was an employee of Marlene Warren’s husband; the two later married, in 2002.

The defense has encountered issues with witnesses while preparing for trial, according to the Post, and has claimed an attorney for the state did not provide necessary names and addresses. Some witnesses no longer live in Florida, or even the country, and judges’ orders must be obtained to force their testimony, the Post reported.