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You are here: Home / Politics / America / A Successful Conclusion from the Cold Case Files: Floriduh Woman aka Floriduh Clown Edition

A Successful Conclusion from the Cold Case Files: Floriduh Woman aka Floriduh Clown Edition

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NBC News has the details:

Twenty-seven years after a clown carrying flowers and two balloons shot a woman to death at her front door, Florida authorities announced an arrest in one of the more bizarre cold case investigations in a state known for bizarre crimes.

Sheila Keen Warren, 54, was arrested without incident in Washington County, Virginia, on a charge of first-degree murder with use of a firearm in the killing of Marlene Warren, 40 — her current husband’s previous wife — in 1990, officials said Tuesday.

“Any murder’s horrific. It doesn’t matter whether you’re wearing a clown costume or not,” Palm Beach County sheriff’s Sgt. Richard McAfee said at a news conference Tuesday.

“Taking another person’s life is a horrific incident,” McAfee said. “It just took us 27 years to bring closure to the victim’s family. Murder cases never go away.”

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

143Comments

  1. 1.

    dmsilev

    clown carrying flowers and two balloons shot a woman to death at her front door

    And here I was thinking that those trick daisies only shot streams of water.

    I’m sure we’ll soon learn that the only thing that can stop a bad clown with a flower-gun is a good clown with a flower-gun.

  2. 2.

    GregB

    Was this cold case conclusion timed for the promotion of the current film adaptation of Stephen King’s It?

  6. 6.

    TenguPhule

    It doesn’t matter whether you’re wearing a clown costume or not,

    To be fair, the clown costume made it that much worse.

  9. 9.

    Adam L Silverman

    @TenguPhule: I saw. And the Iraqi parliament is pushing for immediately retaking Kirkuk by force. As our the Iraqi Arab Shi’a irregular forces we’re partnered with. My guess is the Sunni irregular forces will also begin making the same argument. Absolutely strategic malpractice and stupidity to do this now.
    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-kurds-referendum/baghdad-piles-pressure-on-iraqi-kurds-to-reverse-overwhelming-independence-vote-idUSKCN1C1127

    This could have and should have waited until after the fight with ISIL was won.

  13. 13.

    TenguPhule

    @Adam L Silverman:

    This could have and should have waited until after the fight with ISIL was won.

    The Kurds may be counting on ISIL to give them some breathing room. Between that and Israel coming out in support for the vote, I’m sure nothing could possibly go wrong.

  14. 14.

    Adam L Silverman

    @TenguPhule: Because everything else Bibi Netanyahu has ever suggested should be done in the Levant and Middle East has worked out so well.

    As for ISIL, they will give no quarter.

    The outstanding question, given Manafort’s involvement with this, is who was he really working for? As you can see in the Reuters article, the Russians have come out and condemned this. But with Manafort’s involvement, I wouldn’t take the bet that they weren’t angling for this as it really fits their long term objectives.

  16. 16.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @rikyrah: since trump is going out of his way to argue that he won’t benefit from this plan, seems like a good opportunity to start asking to see the returns again

  18. 18.

    jacy

    I suppose I should be grateful that the clown my husband ran off with didn’t shoot me. Although he’s been hospitalized 8 times since he met her for “undefined” reasons, so I”m thinking she’s secretly poisoning him….

  19. 19.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Adam L Silverman:
    I never did like the change in Joker’s design in the revival Batman series and S:TAS. His face looked weird with those black eyes.

  22. 22.

    Chet Murthy

    @TenguPhule:I think Adam’s right. Indeed, it would have been -better- to wait until ISIL was destroyed, and …. heh, the Iraqis fell to infighting amongst themselves, let their military fall apart again, etc. And -then- hold the referendum. Right now, the Iraqi military is united, the Iranians are around to give ’em backup, and the political caste is as united as it’s gonna get. Uh …. at least, so it seems to me.

  23. 23.

    dmsilev

    @rikyrah: Kevin Drum has a couple of posts analyzing it (Post #1 and Post #2). They’re short, because surprise surprise, the tax plans are vague and leave most of the important details unspecified. Short version: Rich people (including one D.J. Trump) and corporations get huge tax windfalls, and most ordinary people either get nothing or get shafted (Live in a blue state with an income tax? Congratulations, you can no longer deduct your state taxes from your federal income).

  24. 24.

    jl

    @TenguPhule:

    ” It doesn’t matter whether you’re wearing a clown costume or not, ”

    But there are many cases where this is a true and wise statement, as long as we must endure clowns and their costumes among us.
    A competent Executive could work on solving real problems. Why doesn’t Trump get to work on that?

  29. 29.

    debbie

    Any murder’s horrific. It doesn’t matter whether you’re wearing a clown costume or not

    I apologize, but I can’t stop laughing.

  32. 32.

    jl

    @dmsilev: removing illusory productivity costs of a few brackets and shafting (mostly blue) states by eliminating state and local tax deduction seem to be the main reasons for the bill.

    Edit: In addition to shoveling more money down the gullets of the rich.

  33. 33.

    dmsilev

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I want you to brace yourself here because this is going to be a shock, but Trump is lying.

    We can identify at least one taxpayer who will hugely benefit from the proposal: President Donald Trump. We still haven’t seen his tax returns, but thanks to leaked documents we know that at least at some point in the past, the only income tax he paid was the alternative minimum tax (the AMT). We also know that his businesses operate through “pass-through” vehicles (partnerships, LLCs and S corporations). A regular corporation pays tax on its income; shareholders in turn pay tax on the dividends they receive. In pass-through vehicles, by contrast, business income is taxed only in the hands of the owners of the business, rather than at the entity level.

    And we know that Trump is very wealthy, and therefore in the ordinary course of events might be expected one day to leave behind a large estate, which, to the extent not left entirely to his wife at that time, would attract a substantial estate tax bill.

    What does the Republican proposal do in this case? It eliminates the AMT. It subjects income derived from pass-through businesses like Donald Trump’s empire to a special 25 percent tax rate (rather than 35 percent or 39.6 percent, the individual rate), because owners of these businesses are special, in some indeterminate way. And the proposal repeals the estate tax.

    (Vox analysis of the “plan”)

  34. 34.

    TenguPhule

    @Chet Murthy:

    Indeed, it would have been -better- to wait until ISIL was destroyed, and …. heh, the Iraqis fell to infighting amongst themselves, let their military fall apart again, etc. And -then- hold the referendum

    Not from the Kurd’s point of view. Its terrible for the rest of us, but I can see why it would make sense to them.

    They do not want the main Iraqi forces getting stronger, because for sure they’d be trying to deploy into Kurdish territory if they were. They know they sure as hell can’t count on us to support them because we’ve fucked that up too many times to count under both Bushes, may they both rot eternally. Turkey is going to shit anyway, maybe they feel they can cut a deal with Iran?

    Its not like the strategic picture is going to get any better for them to try.

  35. 35.

    japa21

    @jl: Does it exclude property taxes as a deduction? My guess is probably not, because those wealthy folks pay a lot in property taxes.

  37. 37.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @dmsilev: to the extent not left entirely to his wife at that time, would attract a substantial estate tax bill.
    Ezra and the gang gets snarky!

    reminds me that I would like to see not only his tax returns but their pre-nup

  39. 39.

    raven

    Got through the 1st half of 70-71 and gonna put it on ice for tonight. I thought the treatment of the VVAW was pretty fair. They had to have someone on there to whine about Kerry dissing the troops by recounting what happened but that was to be expected. I was surprised that Musgrave was in VVAW, I don’t remember him from DC but that’s ok. Have people been talking about the Doc here?

  40. 40.

    encephalopath

    I’m not sure I buy the “New DNA technology” line they’re selling here. 27 years ago the less accurate DNA testing they were using would have said “Match– you’re one of the 10,000 people in Florida who could have committed this murder.”

    That level of uncertainty doesn’t seem of have ever stopped a DA from prosecuting before.

    The idea that the less accurate testing 27 years ago said not-prosecutable but the newer accurate test says perfect match, just doesn’t pass the sniff test. For the new test to say Match, the older less accurate test would also have to have said Match. Otherwise we are in non-overlapping Venn diagram circles here.

  41. 41.

    Adam L Silverman

    @TenguPhule: I’m not so sure. We haven’t heard at all from the Talabanis on this. As for the strength of the Iraqi Security Forces, they’re not going to suddenly deteriorate once we’re done with ISIL. This was stupid to do right now.

  42. 42.

    dmsilev

    @jl: The idea that the number of brackets has anything to do with the complexity of paying taxes has always been ridiculous. If you do your taxes by hand, you calculate your AGI and then go to the back of the booklet and look in a big table which tells you what tax is owed on that income. Use TurboTax or whatever, or go to an accountant, and either the computer or the accountant (or the accountant’s computer) does the same sort of lookup. You could have one bracket, ten, or some some continuous complicated function that requires three semesters of partial differential equations to understand and it wouldn’t make any difference. Anyone trying to push “fewer brackets is better” is trying to hide something.

    The complexity in the tax code is all about what counts as income and what can be offsetted or credited and so forth.

  43. 43.

    hellslittlestangel

    “Any murder’s horrific. It doesn’t matter whether you’re wearing a clown costume or not,” Palm Beach County sheriff’s Sgt. Richard McAfee said at a news conference Tuesday.

    I was going to type, sarcastically, “Thanks for clearing that up.” Then I imagined thousands of Floridians typing, in earnest, “Thanks for clearing that up.”

  44. 44.

    TenguPhule

    @Adam L Silverman:

    As for the strength of the Iraqi Security Forces, they’re not going to suddenly deteriorate once we’re done with ISIL.

    I believe the term was teeth clenched teamwork.

    The Sunni forces/Shia militia issue.

    And they’ll have their hands full putting Mosul back together.

    It may not have been optimal for them to do it now, but I think they don’t see it ever getting better any time soon.

  50. 50.

    japa21

    @Major Major Major Major: In Chicago we would have been thrilled with a high of 86 in the past week. 7 straight days 90 and above (twice it hit 100 in one of the suburbs) Every day represented a record for that date. First time we have had 7 straight 90’s since July of 2012. I can accept July, but late September. Oh, and no rain during that whole period.

    ETA: Today was close to or maybe 70. Almost felt like winter.

  52. 52.

    Jeffro

    Naturally there was a Virginia angle to this wacky clown-killer case…it’s like we’re turning in to North Florida or something…

    Tomorrow: no meetings and a Nats game complete with ball cap giveaway, just me and mini-me. Also, the ISS went straight overhead tonight and I managed to catch that – always kind of inspiring. Good times!

  59. 59.

    Millard Filmore

    @dmsilev:

    The complexity in the tax code is all about what counts as income and what can be offsetted or credited and so forth.

    And all those linear feet on the library shelf of tax code books are for the special interest carve outs that the 99% will never be able to use.

  60. 60.

    Bill Arnold

    @jl:

    removing illusory productivity costs of a few brackets and shafting (mostly blue) states by eliminating state and local tax deduction seem to be the main reasons for the bill.

    @japa21:

    Does it exclude property taxes as a deduction?

    Do the Republicans realize how badly this could play if the Double Taxation meme takes off? That unbearable tension – stabbing (some) blue states (Connecticut an exception?) by … Raising Taxes!!!!. (Does Rule 34 apply for this? Surely it must.)

  61. 61.

    Jeffro

    @dmsilev:

    Anyone trying to push “fewer brackets is better” is trying to hide something.

    Ya think? It’s what counts as a well-reasoned sales pitch in today’s GOP: going from 7 brackets to 3 is AUTOMATICALLY BETTER SUCK IT LIBTARDS!! Something like that. It’s even hard to make fun of, it’s so dumb.

  64. 64.

    Adam L Silverman

    So I just saw a clip of Moore in his cowboy get up from the other night. Turns out he was semi pocket carrying that revolver. As in his jeans were too tight to properly put the revolver all the way in his front pocket. So about 1/3 or so was sticking out. And he appears to have been carrying it without a holster, which is incredibly stupid even for a revolver. One of the poster people for what not to do with a gun.

  67. 67.

    debbie

    @raven:

    I couldn’t believe that tape of Nixon talking to someone about the brilliant speech he’d given and that no one would ever write a better speech than he had. It was like listening to Trump.

  72. 72.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    andrew kaczynski ?‏Verified account KFILE
    Pro-Confederate activists held an “Alabama Secession Day” event two years in row at Roy Moore’s Foundation.

  73. 73.

    trollhattan

    [California shakes fist at Florida] How can we possibly keep up? With a third of of our population you really punch above your weight.

  74. 74.

    Citizen_X

    @debbie: Talking to someone named Kissinger.

    I couldn’t believe how many times Nixon or Dr. K said, “This may sound cold-blooded, but…” You, Mr. President? Dr. Kissinger? Naw!

  75. 75.

    eclare

    Wow, this would have been a great book for Ann Rule to write, but she died a few years ago. She wrote The Stranger Beside Me, about Ted Bundy. She was a true crime writer in the Pacific Northwest who had been tasked with writing about some recent murders, the whole time volunteering with Ted at a suicide hotline. Fascinating book. Late to the thread, topic may have moved on.

  76. 76.

    Steve in the ATL

    @rikyrah:

    Will a Front pager do a story on the scam that is the GOP ‘tax reform’ plan?

    Easy enough–just copy/paste any comments on previous ‘reforms’.

    @hellslittlestangel:

    “Any murder’s horrific. It doesn’t matter whether you’re wearing a clown costume or not,” Palm Beach County sheriff’s Sgt. Richard McAfee said at a news conference Tuesday.

    I was going to type, sarcastically, “Thanks for clearing that up.” Then I imagined thousands of Floridians typing, in earnest, “Thanks for clearing that up.”

    QFT, dude, QF effing T.

  80. 80.

    Jeffro

    @p.a.: He’s been getting more shrill these past couple of years…example (quoting, then refuting someone from the comment section of his last article):

    “What you are arguing for is a tax increase, and I am against that” wrote someone who could type but not think.

    But then this…

    I [Ritholtz] call myself an ex-Republican. When I was coming of age, Jacob Javitz was my senator. A Republican, Javitz backed balanced budgets, low taxes, no unnecessary overseas adventures and keeping government out of the bedroom. I agreed with all of that.

    Why ex-Republican? Because the modern GOP has tacked so hard and far to the right, and it has gotten into bed with religious zealots who have no use for science. I simply have no reason to want to be associated with that sort of ideology. Even though I am socially progressive, I am still fiscally conservative.

    …drives me crazy. WE ARE ALL FISCALLY CONSERVATIVE WHEN IT COMES TO ‘HAVING’ TO PAY FOR OTHER PEOPLES’ SERVICES. Well, most of us are, anyway. Jesus. Just let it go, center-right-tards. We’re not gonna rob ya blind, I promise. Come to the Light.

  81. 81.

    eclare

    @dmsilev: You are correct. Have worked in tax for 25 years, both public and Fortune 100. Once you figure out what goes on the line, no biggie. Issue is what goes on the line.

  83. 83.

    efgoldman

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Pro-Confederate activists held an “Alabama Secession Day”

    Everybody remembers and honors the Seventh Alaska Traitor Light Infantry.
    Somebody sent a letter to Marse Robert to ask him to take command, but Seward wouldn’t forward it.
    Hey my history makes as much sense as their history, right?

    ETA: Oh. Alabama! I misread it as “Alaska”; I’m very tired.
    But my way was funnier.

  84. 84.

    trollhattan

    @eclare:
    Ted Bundy was the prototype for dozens, if not hundreds of film and television serial killers. He was very good at his…craft? Was a Seattle teen when he was active there and it was pretty damn creepy.

    Then I land in northern California for Zodiac, Juan Corona and the SLA. Just great.

  87. 87.

    eclare

    @trollhattan: Only one woman that he abducted got away. Just sayin’, don’t walk alone. He had fake casts, crutches, etc. And I am going to stop being creepy.

  89. 89.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Pro-Confederate activists held an “Alabama Secession Day” event two years in row at Roy Moore’s Foundation.

    If the right wing morons were actually running the government like a business, Alabama would get its wish as it was sold off or shut down along with Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and South Carolina for not being profitable, along with all those empty flyover states out west whose names I can never remember.

  93. 93.

    CaseyL

    Besides the clown angle, what got me about this story is how the murderer has been married to the vic’s husband all these years. Either he was in on it from the start, or he’s had a godawful shock finding out his current wife murdered his previous wife.

  95. 95.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Steve in the ATL: Why, exactly, do we need two Dakotas?

    (according to a Vox article a couple years back, to counterbalance the southern states in the Senate post-Civil War Senate, see also, Idaho)

  102. 102.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Adam L Silverman: “It’s been the most amazing journey of my life. I’ve taken the eye off the ball on terrorism, I’m just amazed the whole planet hasn’t crumbled because I wasn’t on it,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said of the weeks he’s spent leading the health care repeal effort.

    Good lord– and I’m sure he said that as if he were joking, I’m also sure he actually believes it.

    But now that it’s over, the old Graham is back and more than willing to laugh at how improbable it was that a national-security expert briefly held the national limelight as a supposed health-policy wonk.

    I’ve read enough of Ryan Grim’s stuff to credit him with quiet, maybe worn out, sarcasm there.

  103. 103.

    The Pale Scot

    @Jeffro: Barry writes some good stuff. His How the FDIC can curb banks’ reckless speculation is a classic.

    As a bonus, without the intervention of government guarantees, those of you who continue to have depositors will finally be able to compete in a free and open market. Without FDIC insurance, your depositors will be making their decisions based on your reputation and their assessment of the safety and security of your operations — and not Uncle Sam’s willingness to continually bail you out.

    You have the FDIC’s best wishes for success in the future — just not our insurance.

  106. 106.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Adam L Silverman: I saw Howard Dean on MSNBC last week, talking about how LG should stick to foreign policy, and he stammered something about “I agree with a lot of what he says about foreign policy…” A pretty remarkable moment, the man who owes his national reputation to his opposition to Iraq blowing kisses to one of the most unhinged neocons in politics. I’m not entirely sure if it was just some kind of pundit politesse, or the effect of all that sweet, sweet MEK lobbying money.

  108. 108.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Who knows. The sad reality is a lot of these folks, on both sides of the political aisle, are friends and/or friendly and/or on good terms with each other. But because of the way the politics has gone in the US for the past 20 years crystalizing trends going back 40, they can’t actually work together to solve anything.

  109. 109.

    J R in WV

    @eclare:

    My Grandma carried a 1903 Colt .32 automatic, the forerunner to Browning’s 1911 .45 auto.

    Not a small pistol, she carried it as a store keeper in one of the two big pockets of her apron – the money was in the other pocket. I’ve mentioned this before, stop me if you’ve heard it.

  110. 110.

    trollhattan

    @Mike J:
    Just now watching Chicago cops beating the snot out of demonstrators in Grant Park. Not nazis, not klan, kids and young adults who want to end the war.

    I can only take this film in measured doses but overall it’s really, really effective.

  113. 113.

    Lizzy L

    @Major Major Major Major: You’re in the city. It was 97 degrees yesterday in my neighborhood. Low 90s today.

    In August 2003 there was a heat wave in Europe. 35,000 people died — 15,000 of them in France. Most of those who died were old and sick, and a lot of them died of simple dehydration. They were alone, they were feeble, and no one checked on them. Moral: don’t be France. Drink. Check on your neighbors.

  114. 114.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Omnes Omnibus: One of my former students, now a retired USAF colonel who was an aviator, used to refer to him as “our Lindsay”. And it wasn’t a compliment.

  115. 115.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Lizzy L: I know I’m in the city. And the alert was from the city. I went to the sfdph website, it was warning me of 80 degree temperatures.

    Didn’t get any alerts when I was down on the peninsula the rest of the day and it was hotter.

  121. 121.

    John Revolta

    This woman was shot in the face by a clown in front of her kids. I really hope the husband wasn’t in on it. I mean that’s pretty severe, even for Florida.

  122. 122.

    efgoldman

    @debbie:

    Any idea why Miller would have issues with Chad?

    Somebody told him he could go on the road as “Jeremy” while the real one took a summer off. Then they heard him “sing” and said “never mind.” He never got over it.

  125. 125.

    Adam L Silverman

    @debbie: According to the article he based his concerns on a report written by the acting DHS secretary that argued that Chad wasn’t combatting terrorism rigorously enough or something. I’ve not seen the report, but I’ve provided enough support over the years to US Army Africa to know this is a bad call. Right now there is a general officer from Chad at USAWC as a student as part of the International Military Education Program. I would expect at least one more at National, Naval, and/or Air War Colleges. Absolutely stupid. Decisions being made by a 31 year old who may have never traveled outside of the US before. And even if he has has no idea what is actually going on and being done in important parts of the world. He just wants to keep Muslims and people of color out of the US.

  128. 128.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Adam L Silverman: I talked to some people who say an ad to be butler/p.a. for someone for $200K. Does that count?

    I really like Milwaukee and I was happy to drive over (I really like my replacement Saab). OTOH, I wasn’t able to take advantage of a city I consider more fun than Madison.

  132. 132.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Adam L Silverman: To my liking? OMG! It is the car I would have chosen when buying the first one. Better stereo, sport suspension, upgraded leather, six-speed manual. Odd that a divorce and a flood got me the car I always really wanted.

  137. 137.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Amir Khalid: No, he clearly knows one end from another. He was a MP in the Army. He was a civilian cop when he got out before he became an attorney. He’s just one of these folks that should know better but doesn’t.

  140. 140.

    opiejeanne

    @Lizzy L: I remember reading about that heatwave in Europe. August was the month when everyone in France went on vacation. The elderly’s families were almost all out of town. No one to check on them.

  141. 141.

    NobodySpecial

    Why exactly should the Kurds wait around to become Palestine 2.0? We ideally should have guaranteed their Independence the moment they started going to town on ISIL. I get the cowardly arguments against, but having already shattered the region, the least we could do is support the ethnic minority that’s had our back for most of the Millennium.

  142. 142.

    evodevo

    @encephalopath: Yeah, me either … and I taught genetics for many years….If there was ANY kind of match, most prosecutors would have charged the perp… I’d be looking at the original DA and what his entanglements might have been with her/her family….

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