February trial set for killer clown case

The woman accused in South Florida’s nearly 30-year-old killer clown case will stand trial in February,

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Sheila Warren, 55, in the shooting death of Marlene Warren in Wellington.

During a court hearing Wednesday, Circuit Judge Joseph Marx set jury selection to begin Jan. 31 for an estimated three-week trial. Prosecutors and defense attorneys say they are continuing to interview witnesses and examine evidence and won’t be ready sooner.

Held on no bond since her 2017 arrest, Sheila Warren wasn’t in the courtroom for the discussion about her trial preparations. The judge said he wasn’t told why deputies did not escort her from Palm Beach County Jail as planned.

Joe Ahrens, Marlene Warren’s son, attended the hearing and then left the courthouse with prosecutors Reid Scott and Brian Fernandes. Reached by the South Florida Sun Sentinel later, he declined to comment.

On May 26, 1990, the 40-year-old victim opened the door of her Aero Club estate home for a clown wearing an orange wig, a red bulb nose, gloves and a smile painted on white makeup. The clown held two balloons and flowers in one hand and a pistol in the other.

The clown fired at Marlene Warren’s face and fled in a white Chrysler LeBaron, which was found four days later abandoned at a shopping center parking lot. After a massive investigation, the case eventually turned cold.

Detectives dusted off their files in 2014, ordering new DNA testing through the FBI’s crime lab. They apparently used saved samples of Sheila

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