The True Story of a Real Life "Killer Clown"

A few days ago, I saw a promo on Lifetime for one of their upcoming thrillers, Killer Clown, which will premiere on the network on August 1. This was one of two August Lifetime movie previews that I've seen; the other one being She Stole My Son's Heart, which will premiere on Lifetime on August 8. Regarding Killer Clown, here's the synopsis, according to Lifetime:

Decades after witnessing her mother’s brutal murder at the hands of the “Killer Clown,” Elizabeth Helmer remains haunted by the crime that shattered her childhood. When she begins investigating the long-unsolved cold case, Elizabeth becomes the target of a terrifying copycat stalker, forcing her to confront painful memories she has spent a lifetime trying to escape.

Along with that, it says that it's "inspired by true events." That really got my attention. A "killer clown" cold case being the centerpiece of a Lifetime thriller, and it's inspired by true events? Oh baby! I know exactly what event it's inspired by, and I'm not the only one knows this:

Sheila Keen-Warren. It's been a minute or two since I wrote a true crime "Women Who Kill" story, but when I saw this promo, I just had to bring this up. Born Sheila Marie Sheltra on July 29, 1963, Sheila had a bit of a rap sheet: arrested for shoplifting in 1984, and charged with felony theft in 1986. It was following her latter case that Sheila married Richard Keen--a marriage that her parents objected to, for many good reasons. For one, Sheila was 18 years Richard's junior. Richard was 41 at the time, while Sheila was 23. Oh, and Richard Keen was with the Klan. Yeah.

By 1990, the Keens were working for Michael Warren at his car rental business, but in January of that year, Sheila accused Richard of domestic violence. She ends up moving into an apartment paid for by Michael, which fueled the already red-hot rumors that they were having an affair--rumors that were true. So yeah, Michael and Sheila were doing, in the immortal words of Steven Q. Urkel, "the horizontal polka." And it was a long dance, as Michael's marriage to Marlene Warren was having problems.

Marlene Warren was born Marlene Mae McKinnon on April 15, 1950, and she was married to John Ahrens, with the marriage resulting in two sons, John Jr. and Joe. That marriage ended in 1970, and two years later, Marlene met and married Michael Warren, but the marriage started suffering in 1988 following the tragic death of John Jr. in a car accident. Marlene had suspected that Michael was cheating, but as for Sheila, she definitely saw Marlene as an obstacle.

Sheila definitely wanted Michael to herself, and she didn't care what she had to do to achieve her goal. She even resorted to disguising herself as a clown as part of her demented plan, and on May 26, 1990, Sheila appeared at Marlene's front door in her outfit, and presented Marlene with a bouquet of flowers and balloons. There was one more thing the villainess had: a gun, and she shot Marlene right in the face! Joe Ahrens rushed to his mom's aid after hearing the gunshot; all the while, the evil Sheila calmly walked to her car--a white convertible Chrysler LeBaron--and drove off. Marlene was hospitalized, but she died two days later on May 28, 1990; she was only 40.

Michael and Sheila were suspected, but at the time, there was no DNA evidence tying either one of them to the murder. Michael was arrested and convicted of fraud, and after his release on New Year's Eve 1997, he and Sheila continued their relationship. Sheila finalized her divorce from Richard Keen in 1999, and in the summer of 2002, Michael and Sheila became husband and wife.

So Sheila got what she wanted, but things do come out in the open eventually. It took an additional 15 years, a cold case grant reopening the case, and hardcore DNA evidence for this to happen, but finally, on August 31, 2017--just a hair over 15 years after marrying Michael Warren, Sheila Keen-Warren was indicted for first-degree murder, and was officially arrested less than a month later. Mrs. Keen-Warren faced either life in prison or the death penalty for her decades-old crime, and on April 2023, close to six years after her arrest, Keen-Warren entered a guilty plea as part of a plea deal.

Sheila Keen-Warren received a 12-year prison sentence, but on November 2, 2024, she was suddenly released! She served only 18 months of that sentence because she received substantial credit for the seven years she already spent in custody awaiting trial, combined with the "gain time" for good behavior permitted under Florida's 1990 sentencing laws. Yeah.

So yeah, I truly believe that this is the true crime story that the upcoming Lifetime movie, Killer Clown, is based on. Based on that fact alone, I have to think that the film will have a villainess in it; it has to! The film (which, again, premieres on August 1) stars Sara Paxton as central protagonist Elizabeth Helmer, making this another Lifetime thriller featuring a big name as its central star. Paxton is best known for starring in the 2006 teen comedy Aquamarine (which is getting a televised adaptation), and that same year saw her in Disney Channel's Return to Halloweentown. A year later, Paxton played evil sorority queen Rachel Witchburn in Sydney White, and would later appear in films such as Superhero Movie and Weapons.

Sheila Keen-Warren was quite the demented murderess. She got involved with married man, then she dressed as a clown as part of her insane plan to kill her lover's wife. It took 27 years after the murder for Sheila to be caught, but she only served about seven years locked up before she was released. Yikes. I am excited for the Lifetime movie, though, especially the high chance of a villainess appearing in the film. It should definitely be a good one!