Killed by a Clown

When Bozo the Clown (or Pogo, Pickles, Buckles, Twisty, or any other variation of a clown, including real-life friends and family) knocks on the front door, do not answer it. Nothing good ever happens when clowns come clownin’ around. That is why clowns put the fear of all things good into the hearts and minds of so many people. The following clown crime stories will do nothing to lessen the fear of clowns.

You’re welcome.

Clown Knocks on Front Door; Shoots Woman in Face

On May 26, 1990, Marleen Warren saw a clown standing at her front door early this Saturday morning. The Bozo-lookalike stood on the doorstep with a bouquet of flowers arranged in a white basket with balloons attached.

Marleen opened the door, presumably thinking someone surprised her with sweet sentiments. Instead, the clown shot Marleen in the face while neighbors watched. After firing one shot from the handgun, the clown fled in a white Chrysler LeBaron without license plates.

Police spoke to the neighbors who could provide little help as far as giving them a description. The clown wore a big red wig, had the standard ref smile painted on his face and the big, red squeaky nose. He wore white gloves and held the balloons and flowers.

Police suspected a woman named Sheila Keen Warren dressed in the clown costume and shot Marleen, though proving she committed the crime was not so easy. Sheila began dating a man named Michael Warren, Marleen’s soon-to-be ex-husband. She was insanely jealous of Marleen since she and Michael had only recently separated.

Months later, police learned that Sheila recently purchased a clown costume from a West Palm Beach costume shop. A clerk remembered selling her flowers and balloons on the same day she purchased the costume.

Without DNA or physical evidence, the case grew cold. Sheila and Michael married and would live in Virginia happily ever after for the next 20-years.

Then, police found evidence pointing to Sheila as being the clown killer. They extradited her from Virginia back to Florida. Michael defended Sheila after the arrest, saying there was no way she had anything to do with the murder.

Sheila waived her right to a speedy trial. She now sits in jail without bond, though her lawyers argued that she should be released due to a “lack of evidence” tying Sheila to the murder.

Former Drug Cartel Shot by Clown

In 2014, a former Mexican drug lord was gunned down by a man dressed as a clown. The body of Francisco Rafael Arellano Felix, who operated with the Arellano Felix drug clan, was found shot at his home in Los Cabos, Mexico. He had been shot twice, once in the head, once in the chest.

The gang was reportedly one of the most violent gangs involved in the drug trade during the 1990s.

Felix was a 63-year-old best known for controlling the drug trade in Tijuana in the 1990s. Arrests and deaths stunted the cartel and limited the gang’s power. He served more than a decade in prison after his conviction for the murder of a Roman Catholic Cardinal.

The gunman wore a clown costume with a red wig and nose. He was never captured. In 2014, the PGR stated the potential mastermind behind Felix’s murder could possibly be Jose Rodrigo Arechiga Gamboa, the leader of Los Antrax. The two men were involved in money laundering activities days before the murder.

Ismael “El Mayo'' Zambada, another possible suspect, was a top leader in the Sinaloa Cartel. Two additional potential murders were identified as Noe Castrol, aka R1, Gamboa’s right-hand man, and a man known only by the alias “R13.”