Attorneys for Florida 'Killer Clown' claim male inmate bragged about carrying out 1990 murder

Attorneys for the accused Florida 'Killer Clown' have claimed that another inmate previously bragged about carrying out the 1990 murder that she's charged with - and now want the details revealed at her trial. 

Sheila Keen-Warren is accused of fatally shooting Marlene Warren in Wellington, Florida in 1990 while wearing a clown costume. She was arrested 27 years later in September 2017.  

Keen-Warren, who has pleaded not guilty, is set to stand trial on May 12. 

In a  recent defense court filing, attorneys say Edward Bahr, an inmate in Maine bragged to his cellblock neighbor 'that he murdered a woman in Wellington, Florida.'

Sheila Keen-Warren is accused of fatally shooting Marlene Warren in Wellington, Florida in 1990 while wearing a clown costume. She was arrested 27 years later in September 2017

In a recent defense court filing, attorneys say Edward Bahr, an inmate in Maine bragged to his cellblock neighbor 'that he murdered a woman in Wellington, Florida'

Costume shop employees allegedly identified Sheila Keen-Warren as the woman who had bought a clown costume two days before the murder. But defense attorneys argue that witnesses gave different descriptions of the costume bought at Spotlight

Marlene, 40, was shot in the face in May 1990 after answering the door of her Palm Beach home to a person who was dressed up as a clown

Marlene, 40, was shot in the face in May 1990 after answering the door of her Palm Beach home to a person who was dressed up as a clown. The clown handed her balloons and flowers then coldly fired a single shot before driving off in a white sedan. She died two days later. 

'The person dressed as the clown was carrying a flower arrangement and two balloons,' the sheriff's office said. One balloon reportedly bore a picture of Snow White, the other was emblazoned with the words, 'You're the Greatest!' 

Costume shop employees allegedly identified Sheila Keen-Warren as the woman who had bought a clown costume a few days earlier. 

Years after the murder, Keen-Warren married Michael Warren, the widower of Marlene Warren. 

Michael Warren has maintained that neither he nor his current wife Sheila were involved in the May 1990 killing of his first wife Marlene. 

Michael, who a car salesman, was not at home at the time. He and Sheila knew each other through work and were suspected of having an affair but it was never proven. 

Police who had never closed the investigation used new DNA technology to test existing evidence which they had gathered from the scene and they linked it to Sheila who was extradited from Virginia to Florida to face charges. 

Paramedics take Marlene Warren to an ambulance on May 26, 1990, after she was shot in front of her home in Wellington, Florida. It would be 27 years before her alleged killer was arrested

Pictured are the two balloons and flowers which the clown gave to Marlene. One of the balloons said 'You're the greatest' and the other had a photograph of Snow White on it

Michael and Sheila married in Las Vegas in 2002 then quietly moved to Kingsport, Tennessee, and later on to Abingdon, Virginia. Neighbors described them to DailyMail.com as a sweet couple who were friendly. They said they never brought up Marlene or Michael's first marriage

But now, new details released in a defense court filing this week reveal that an inmate at Maine State Prison has claimed the killing as his own. Bahr was not in jail at the time of Warren's killing.

He also allegedly made similar statements to corrections staff, and while incarcerated in Connecticut.

This week, defense attorneys are asking Circuit Judge Scott Siskauer to file an order which would allow Bahr's 'out-of-court statements' and other evidence of 'third-party culpability' to be used at the trial because they constitute exculpatory evidence that is 'necessary' for her defense.

Bahr told authorities that 'he would tell him everything he knows' concerning the death of Marlene Warren if [the detective] 'could promise him he would not get the electric chair,' according to the motion filed. 

While in solitary confinement with another prisoner, Bahr allegedly gave intricate details about the murder such as that 'he dressed up as a clown and shot the woman, that her husband owned a used car lot named Bargain Motors, that a young male had come out of one of the rooms right after the shooting.' 

That fellow inmate later gave a sworn interview detailing what Bahr allegedly told him, and that he had said Warren's murder was 'the 'biggest thing' he had ever done.'

'[H]e stated that in broad daylight he dressed up as a clown, then he went up to this residence where this woman was living and had knocked on the door and said delivery, and she opened the door, he pointed a gun to her face and said, ha-ha, and shot her in the face,' the inmate told police, according to a transcript.

Bahr allegedly told the inmate, 'this guy had offered him a substantial amount of money to kill his wife,' the motion filed states.

Sheila Keen-Warren (pictured in court in 2017), is accused of murdering Marlene Warren in 1990 while dressed in an orange wig and face paint and carrying balloons

The transcript of the interview continues: 'He said he wanted – he wanted his wife dead because… she was divorcing him (Inaudible) and she was to take over the car dealership.'

Attorneys described how he was 'known to brag about committing a murder in the Ft. Lauderdale or Metro Dade area.'

He also allegedly told the inmate 'that a 'female biker type' got the clown costume from the Stoplight costume shot,' and that 'he was hired by the husband of the murder victim during a meeting at the Mermaid Bar.'

When Bahr was re-interviewed during a deposition in September 2022, he 'denied telling [the inmate] that he murdered Marlene Warren,' according to the filing.

He admitted that he did talk about the 'clown homicide,' but that the conversations were on what he had seen reported on TV news.

However, the motion points out a glaring discrepancy: 'There was, however, no TV in solitary.'

In a motion filed in November, defense attorneys also asked for the prosecutors to be prohibited from making any mention of evidence or witnesses that allegedly show Keen-Warren purchasing a clown costume two days before the murder.

The motion states that evidence that Keen-Warren was the person who purchased the clown costume from West Palm Beach's Spotlight Capezio on May 24, 1990, is 'irrelevant and unreliable,' and would 'deprive' her of 'her rights to a fair trial and due process.'

Employees of the retailer had previously said that a person bought an orange wig, a 'yellow and hot pink' clown suit and a makeup kit, but no mask. 

But defense attorneys claim the witnesses gave different descriptions of the costume from the one that was purchased at Spotlight.

'[T]hat clown suit is not the one described by eyewitnesses to Marlene Warren's murder,' they wrote. 

One witness 'said the clown was wearing a gray jumpsuit, like a mechanic's uniform,' and wore a wig similar to 'Bozo the Clown,' the motion states.

Another witness said the clown 'was wearing a white clown suit with red hearts or diamonds,' while a third described the costume as having 'blue dots on it,' the attorneys wrote. Both witnesses told police the wig was red.

The white sedan the clown used to drive up to Marlene's home then away again was later found abandoned (above) in a parking lot  

The judge has not yet ruled on several of the motions about evidence related to the circumstances of the killing.

He is expected to issue orders after holding hearings over the course of two days in early March.

'More than 30 years after Marlene Warren's murder, much of the evidence that Sheila Keen-Warren could have relied on to establish that someone else has confessed to the murder, to impeach the State's witnesses, or present an alibi defense is unavailable for various reasons,' the motion states.

It adds: 'The law permitted the State to take their time in filing charges, but not to force Sheila Keen-Warren to fight her case blindfolded with one arm tied behind her back.'

Both the defense and prosecution are expected to make their arguments on the motion in court on March 7 and 8.