Naman Shrestha
ABC’s ’20/20: The Case of the Killer Clown’ and AMC’s ‘The Killer Clown: Murder on the Doorstep’ chronicle the horrific murder of Marlene Warren, who was shot to death in front of her son, Joseph “Joe” Ahrens, in her Wellington, Florida, residence that they shared with her husband, Michael Warren. At the time, Michael was not home, but upon learning about the incident, he immediately went to the hospital where she was being treated. The investigators found him to be a person of interest, especially due to his alleged affair with a co-worker named Sheila Keen, who turned out to be the one to disguise herself as a clown to commit the heinous murder.
Michael and Marlene Built a Successful and Fulfilling Life Together
Michael Kenneth Warren was Marlene’s second husband. From her first marriage, she had two sons — John Arthur “Johnny” Ahrens Jr. and Joseph “Joe” Ahrens. She met 18-year-old Michael when she was 20 years old, reportedly in the same year her marriage to her first husband ended. From their first ever meeting, they took a liking to each other. As they got to talk and get to know each other, the two realized what they had was genuine and got into a relationship. What Marlene adored the most about Michael was how he accepted her kids with open arms and showered them with immense love. After dating for a few years, Marlene and Michael exchanged their vows in the company of their family and friends, as well as the little ones.
Together, Marlene and Michael created a loving and supportive household for John and Joseph. On the professional front, both of them were quite hardworking and determined to build a life of comfort for themselves and the kids. They had left Michigan to move to Florida and eventually settled in Wellington, Palm Beach County, one of the wealthiest cities in the Sunshine State. Alongside their thriving car business — a used-car lot and rental company called Bargain Motors — Michael and Marlene also dabbled in the world of real estate, which soon earned them profits. Eventually, they were able to afford the life of luxury they desired. Unfortunately, the Warrens received the shock of their life in 1988 when they discovered that their son, John, met his demise in a car accident. The trio never fully recovered from the loss but held his memories close to their heart.
Michael Was Considered a Possible Suspect in His Wife’s Killing For a While
When not working, Michael put all his care and attention towards his wife and Joe. In his downtime, he also indulged in the activities he loved, such as scuba diving and flying. In 1990, Marlene and Michael completed two decades as a married couple. While they were elated for their 20 long years of companionship, what they never imagined was that it would soon meet its end. On the early morning of May 26, 1990, Michael headed out with his friends to Miami to catch a horse race around 10 am. However, he received a chilling phone call when he was halfway to his destination — Marlene suffered a gunshot wound at point-blank range. Upon learning that his wife was on life support, fighting for her life at the hospital, he immediately rushed to be by her side.
Despite having a solid alibi, he was considered a person of interest. As the investigation intensified, Michael’s alleged extramarital affair with Sheila Keen, his employee at his auto business, also came to the surface. According to reports, Michael paid for an apartment where she stayed. With more suspicions raised against him and Sheila, the authorities questioned them, but they both provided alibis and denied having an affair. While the detectives were told by witnesses that a woman resembling Sheila had purchased a clown outfit a couple of days before the murder, Bargain Motors was under scrutiny as the business was suspected of being involved in fraudulent activities.
Michael Wasn’t Charged For Murder But Was Found Guilty of Fraud
The dark secrets behind Michael Warren’s business unraveled when the police raided the car dealership on the night of October 25, 1990, and confiscated several documents and paperwork. The following day, he was arrested and charged with dozens of counts, including grand theft, racketeering, and odometer tampering. As he stood trial for the charges, the jury found him guilty of 43 out of 66 counts and sentenced him to nine years in prison. After serving about four years of his sentence, he was released and reunited with Sheila, who started using an alias (Debbie) to prevent suspicions from the authorities. A few years later, he and Sheila moved to Abingdon, Virginia. Just across the Tennessee border, he established a fast-food joint called The Purple Cow in Kingsport, Tennessee.
With the business booming, the couple settled into a luxurious property on the side of a lake among the Blue Ridge Mountains. After 12 years of Marlene’s demise, Michael and Sheila tied the knot at the Little White Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2002. About a decade later, with renewed interest in the 1990 murder case of Marlene, the authorities gathered enough evidence against Sheila and arrested her on September 26, 2017, while the couple was on their way home from a road trip. Around the same time, he sold his restaurant business, which he co-owned with his wife. His life was turned upside down when his wife was sentenced to 12 years in prison on April 25, 2023.
Michael Warren Has Regained Ownership of His Old Business
After his wife, Sheila Keen-Warren, was sentenced for killing his former wife, Marlene Warren, Michael Warren seemingly continued residing in Abingdon, Virginia. Still married to the convicted killer, he got the opportunity to buy his old business, The Purple Cow, in late 2023, a few months after his wife’s sentencing. Since December of the same year, he has been officially serving as the owner of the fast-food joint, located at 1648 East Stone Drive in Kingsport, Tennessee. Once he regained the helm of the business, Michael reportedly changed a few things. For instance, he went back to the original recipes for specific items on the menu like spaghetti, chili, and soup beans. In the following months, he resumed the delivery services.
Michael also developed an official website and mobile application in order to allow customers to place their orders from the comfort of their respective homes. The owner also changed the opening hours of the restaurant and decreased the price of the food items on the menu. He claimed that he missed the restaurant that he founded back in the 1990s. Since his wife, Sheila Keen-Warren, was behind bars when he became the owner again, she was not involved in the venture for obvious reasons. However, in early November 2024, she was released from prison after serving 16 months of her sentence. Ever since then, the couple has preferred to keep things private and stay away from the limelight. From what we can tell, Michael is seemingly still married to Sheila, with whom he resides in Kingsport, Tennessee, while successfully running his business.
