Photo: Lannis Waters/The Palm Beach Post via ZUMA Wire; Margaret Norton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
Keen-Warren had been jailed since 2017 and was later extradited to Palm Beach County, Fla., where she was awaiting trial on a first-degree murder charge. She was taken into custody after authorities reopened the case in 2014 and advances in DNA technology allegedly linked her to the crime, PEOPLE previously reported.
But Keen-Warren’s attorney, Greg Rosenfeld, maintains his client’s innocence, calling the deal, “an incredible win for Ms. Keen-Warren,” he told CBS News.
According to the Associated Press, the plea agreement asks for a 12-year sentence rather than the probable life term she could have received if convicted in a jury trial, which would’ve begun in May.
Rosenfeld, however, says Keen-Warren could be back on the streets in less than one year.
“The state of Florida originally wanted to execute her, but now she is going home in 10 months,” Rosenfeld said, per the AP. “While it was difficult to plead guilty to a crime she did not commit, it was kind of a no-brainer when there is a guarantee that you will be home with your family.”
Sheila Keen Warren.Alamy Stock Photo
Aronberg countered Rosenfeld’s statement, saying Keen-Warren will spend a minimum of two years behind bars, ABC News reports.
The 1990 slaying also took place in front of Warren’s then 21-year-old son, Joseph Ahrens, who confronted his mother’s alleged killer via video in court this week.
“The only thing I want to say is, all through this trial, I didn’t see any remorse,” Ahrens said, according to ABC News. “God be with her.”
Prosecutors said they long suspected Keen-Warren, who was allegedly dressed as a clown bearing a bouquet of carnations and two balloons when according to authorities, she confronted Warren in front of her home and shot her before calmly fleeing the scene in a white convertible, PEOPLE previously reported.
The couple, who authorities say were having an affair at the time of the shooting and while Keen-Warren was working at Michael’s used car dealership, married in 2002. Both have reportedly denied the affair and Michael was never implicated in Warren’s death, according to multiple news outlets.
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“Killer Clown” investigation.Alamy Stock Photo
Among the evidence prosecutors say suggests Keen-Warren was the killer was a white Chrysler LeBaron found days after the murder, which contained evidence including long brown human hairs and “orange-like fibers,” authorities said, per ABC News. Investigators added that similar evidence was found during a search of Keen-Warren’s home and Warren’s neighbors confirmed seeing a “clown” hand the victim flowers and balloons before shooting her at the front door.
Additionally, local costume store workers claimed they saw a woman who prosecutors said was subsequently identified as Keen-Warren buying a clown outfit a few days before the homicide, according to CBS News. Keen-Warren also purchased one of the two balloons, which stated “You’re the Greatest,” at a Publix grocery near her home about an hour before the killing, which was apparently the only site where it was sold, the outlet reports.
Marelene’s stepfather, Bill Twing previously told PEOPLE, “Everyone got robbed when she was killed.”
source: people.com
