Defense team wants physical evidence in Killer Clown Case disqualified
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — Defense lawyers in the Killer Clown trial are trying to have the DNA and other physical evidence, that led to the arrest and charges against Shelia Keen-Warren, disqualified due to "probable tampering."
Warren is the woman accused of dressing up as a clown in 1990 and killing the wife of Michael Warren, a man she'd later marry. The so-called 'killer clown' arrived at the home of Marlene Warren carrying balloons and flowers and shot her in the face.
After the case went cold for 27 years, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office used new evidence to arrest Keen-Warren in 2017. Detectives said fibers of hair, carpet and strands from a clown's wig tie Keen-Warren to the crime scene.
See also: 'He pulled her in the lake;' 911 call released in deadly alligator attack in Fort Pierce
In a series of motions, Keen-Warren's defense team argues the physical evidence is highly suspicious, was handled improperly and should not be admissible.
Photos included in the motions show holes in evidence bags and the defense argues the preservation of evidence has been terrible.
UPDATE: MARCH 8, 2023
A pre-trial hearing about the various motions to suppress evidence has revealed prosecutors will allow the jury to hear the testimony of a man named Ed Bahr.
Bahr who was behind bars in New England, over the years, has told a story to fellow inmates and to two guards about the craziest thing he’s ever done in his criminal history - killing a woman in Florida while wearing a clown disguise and he allegedly said he was hired by the woman’s husband.
And while that might sound like a bombshell, it’s noteworthy that it happened while he was trying to wheel and deal to avoid the electric chair for his other crimes. And as with any inmate confession, the prosecution will be able to bring up the issue of his credibility. He has none- they’ll argue. That might be the reason the prosecution agrees to let his testimony in.
"I think it’s very compelling, as we stated from the beginning, our client is innocent, Miss Keen Warren did not commit this crime, she has been sitting in jail for 5 1/2 years now, we’re looking forward to our day in court, she’s looking forward to her day in court, we’re getting geared up for trial," said Ms. Keene Warren‘s Defense Attorney Greg Rosenfeld.
I Team Chief Investigator Mike Magnoli asked Rosenfeld,
Do you think she was a suspect of convenience? Do you think that’s how PBSO's Lead Detective Bill Williams kicked all of us into gear?
I don’t think she was a suspect of convenience, I know she was a suspect of convenience.
Keen-Warren is set to go on trial in May.
