MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) – A Florida decide has reluctantly delayed the trial of a lady accused of dressing like a clown and fatally taking pictures her lover’s spouse greater than 30 years in the past after protection attorneys mentioned they’re having a tough time contacting witnesses.
The trial for Sheila Keen-Warren was supposed to start June 3. But on Tuesday Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Scott Suskauer agreed to what may very well be a four-month delay, the Palm Beach Post reported.
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Suskauer mentioned he had already cleared his schedule, delaying different trials and hearings to have the ability to preside over a three-week trial.
“Think about the impact it has on me. I have a duty to the public,” Suskauer advised the attorneys. “You also have a victim’s family that has waited a long time for justice.”
This is the sixth time the trial has been delayed.
It was May 1990 when Marlene Warren opened her door and was shot within the face by a clown delivering carnations and balloons to her residence in Wellington, a suburb of West Palm Beach, court docket information present.
The former Sheila Keen, rumored to be having an affair with Marlene Warren’s husband, Michael Warren, was thought-about a suspect, however the case in opposition to her appeared skinny. Two nights earlier than the killing, a lady confirmed up at a dressing up retailer telling clerks she urgently wanted a clown go well with, an orange wig, white gloves, a crimson nostril and sufficient white make-up to cowl her face utterly. One of the clerks recognized her in a photograph lineup, however the different clerk wasn’t certain.
She later married Michael Warren they usually had been residing in Virginia when investigators mentioned DNA supplied the proof they wanted to arrest her in 2017.
Assistant State Attorney Reid Scott agreed the newest delay was unavoidable.
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“I want this defendant to be fully prepared for trial,” Scott mentioned. “I don’t want to deal with appellate issues.”
The protection group — Richard Lubin, Greg Rosenfeld and Amy Morse — blamed Scott, writing that he didn’t present them with names and addresses of key witnesses who are actually scattered throughout the nation.
The protection group additionally mentioned they should view proof, together with hair fibers, two balloons, a Publix bag and automotive rental papers, that was not in an proof locker on the sheriff’s workplace. Those gadgets had been despatched to forensics for additional evaluate, they mentioned.
“Customarily, a criminal prosecution is straightforward: The police investigate a crime, the police arrest a suspect, and the state prosecutes the suspect,” however this case hasn’t been dealt with that method, they wrote.
“Following the arrest, the police and state continued their investigation,” they wrote. “This backwards prosecution has hampered Ms. Keen-Warren’s ability to prepare for trial.”
Because a lot time has handed because the killing, sworn depositions have been taken from some witnesses who both can’t or received’t seem.
“This is a very difficult situation,” Lubin advised the newspaper. “This is a long-ago event. Witnesses are in their 60s, 70s and 80s. Some of them are dead. Others are debilitated.”
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