Police arrest woman in 'killer clown' cold case

— -- Twenty-seven years ago a clown walked up to the front door of Marlene Warren's Wellington, Florida house and fatally shot her.

Now, nearly three decades later, police say they've identified the alleged killer clown: Sheila Keen Warren, 54, who later married Marlene Warren's widower, Michael Warren.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that Sheila Keen Warren was arrested Tuesday in Washington County, Virginia, without incident.

Police have not said whether Michael Warren was involved in his former wife's death.

According to the Sheriff's Office, Marlene Warren was at her home on May 26, 1990, when she answered her front door and was met by a clown carrying a flower arrangement and two balloons, who offered the items to her. Witnesses said they heard a gunshot and Marlene Warren fell to the ground. The clown then walked back to a vehicle in the driveway. Marlene Warren was hospitalized and died two days later.

Police did identify Sheila Keen Warren as a suspect but she was never arrested.

Then in 2014, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit reopened the homicide investigation.

"Witnesses were re-contacted and additional DNA analysis was conducted," the Sheriff's Office said in its release. "It was also learned that Sheila Keen had married Michael Warren, Marlene Warren’s husband, in 2002. Both had been living in Tennessee operating a restaurant together. As a result of the investigation, probable cause was established linking Sheila Keen Warren to the murder of Marlene Warren."

The case was then presented in late August to a grand jury, which issued a true bill for First Degree Murder, which led to an arrest warrant for Sheila Keen Warren.

It was unknown if Sheila Keen Warren has an attorney.