>> reporter: it's the season of the clown. stephen king's "it," now scaring up a fortune on the big screen, but is this the mild-mannered face behind a real killer clown? in the news right now -- a break, after 27 years as a cold case -- >> new developments in that cold case -- >> it's been called the killer clown case. >> charges of first degree murder. >> police are looking for an assailant who was wearing a costume, not just a costume, a clown costume. >> a woman was shot at her front door. my heart dropped. >> you're just handing them balloons, and flowers, and intention is to shoot someone who has a smile on their face. >> reporter: right here tonight, "20/20" on the case, taking to the skies above posh palm beach county where they've

never seen a bizarre murder like this. >> she said to her parents, if something happens to me, michael did it. >> reporter: but was it her husband michael or someone else dressed to kill? we found the woman who likely sold that costume. >> said, i need to buy a costume. i said, can you come back tomorrow? >> no, i know exactly what i want, can i come in? >> reporter: and what that person may have wanted was murder. >> how could a case that was so notorious go unsolved all those years? >> reporter: i'm david muir. >> reporter: and i'm elizabeth vargas, and this is "20/20." here's deborah roberts. ♪ >> people were concerned it was a mad, crazy clown. >> this is not fun and games. >> that was going to show up at your door and shoot you in the face. >> it was just bizarre. >> if someone dressed as a clown knocked on my door, i wouldn't open it. >> this is real life. >> what is shocking about it is

where it happened, because it happened in wellington. >> reporter: wellington, florida. a hidden jewel in the crown of palm beach county, an area synonymous with power and money. the 35th president played here at the oceanside kennedy compound. the 45th wines and dines at the legendary mar-a-lago, 126 rooms, 20 acres. >> you've got the wellington of the equestrian set where bruce springsteen has a house where bill gates is building a fiefdom. >> reporter: but it's not just celebrities who're doing well in wellington. so are most other homeowners, get this, many land their own private planes on a 4000-foot runway located smack in the middle of their backyard. >> the houses were built around a grass airstrip and they all had hangers out back for the owner's planes.

>> we call sunday sundown. >> so you take this out every day. i take it about two, three days a week when i got to the office which is 50 miles. some people have two car garages, you need a three hangar garage. >> reporter: ah life at the aero club, offering the well-heeled an option to arrive in style. but back in 1990, an unexpected visitor descended into aero club in a style like no other. on a saturday morning in may just before 11:00am, a colorful character, dressed fully as a clown, drives into the non-gated community and heads for an aptly-named street called take off place. the clown car, so to speak, a white chrysler lebaron. inside, a delivery of balloons and a bouquet of flowers. gifts earmarked for mrs. marlene warren. >> she was home with her son and several of his friends. "a vehicle pulled up in the driveway," they noticed someone

dressed as a clown exit the vehicle and approach the front door. >> the clown walked to the door. and then marlene answered the door -- >> the clown hands her balloons and some flowers, she says oh, how pretty. >> and i'll still remember this fact to this day, one of the balloons said, "you're the greatest." >> the clown pulls out a gun and fires at point blank range into marlene's face. the clown slowly departs. >> reporter: and then what? >> leaves. >> reporter: jumps in the car -- >> yeah, and goes. >> reporter: and takes off? >> that's it. never to be seen again. >> reporter: at the time of the shooting, marlene's 22-year old son joe is at the home with friends and gets a brief look at his mom's killer clown. >> he remembers seeing the clown's brown eyes as the clown got into a white chrysler lebaron. >> reporter: neighbor bill kramer was out walking his

dog and remembers a sound. >> i heard what sounded to me like a nail gun. a gun used in construction to drive nails into hard surfaces. >> reporter: the former navy pilot sees a commotion at back of the home as joe's friends run for cover. >> some very excited young people came running out saying something on the order of, "they've shot joey's mother." my wife said, "stay there. i'll call 911." >> reporter: the 40-year old mom lingers, but there is no hope. she dies two days later. but why marlene, a woman neighbor's barely knew? >> she was a pleasant acting woman. she was friendly. if i'd see her in the parking lot or going down the street, we'd wave and say hello. and that was about the extent of our relationship. >> reporter: but those who study crime and construct stories about it, the killer doesn't appear to be a stranger. >> there was something almost malicious about it. this was a personal crime. it was a very personal kind of crime.

>> this got to be the most recent photograph of marlene we have got. >> reporter: her still grieving parents say she had no enemies. >> marlene was outstanding, friendly, loving, kindness. do anything for anybody. >> always courteous, always respectful. >> here's a set of three clowns. >> reporter: eerily, mom shirley says the family always liked clowns. in fact, here's their "circus room" in their home. >> i kind of look at this one right here and say hey, things will turn out all right. i feel he's sad because marlene was killed. >> did you buy these after marlene was killed? >> i had them even before. marlene hauntingly, painted this one as a young girl. >> this picture here is a painting of a clown. marlene painted it when she was a teenager -- and i think it's

quite a coincidence. and i'll keep it forever, that is for sure. >> and it's just a shame that somebody took her away from us at 40-years-old. this was taken two, three years before she got murdered. >> reporter: she was also taken away from her husband of 18 years, michael warren, a self-made man. >> confident, that's the word. very confident about everything. >> reporter: but former neighbor john herring says he seemed to be a fish out of water. >> reporter: rough around the edges? >> a little rough around the edges. >> reporter: were they a part of the community? >> in the wellington area, you would -- you knew almost everybody. and you would go to the country club or to the grocery store. michael wasn't part of that. you never ran into him anywhere. >> as one guy once described it to me "he had that used car rent-a-wreck kinda personality." >> reporter: and an occupation that goes with it. at the time of the murder, michael warren was running a used car lot and rental car agency. >> a lot of the cars were not the best cars to buy.

it was one of those places that you went if you had really bad credit and you needed something to drive. >> reporter: while warren doesn't appear to be a guy looking for trouble, somehow, trouble seems to find him. >> things were always happening to him. his plane disappeared once. and it shows up somewhere with a broken engine, nobody knows what happened. he had race horses at one point and one horse shows up dead. and the guy said to me "he was that kinda guy." >> reporter: while there's nothing in warren's history to suggest he or anyone in his family, would be the target of murder crime reporters from back in the day sensed something was amiss. >> now you're thinking you're just going to cover yet another shooting and then you hear that this is -- police are looking for an assailant who was wearing a costume, not just a costume, a clown costume. >> it made sense that the murderer the killer had to have known or been associated with the family in some way.

>> reporter: a family seemingly in crisis. marlene telling her parents the marriage was rocky, but the family businesses reportedly made things more complex. >> a lot of the properties that she and michael, her husband, owned, were in her name, and so if there was ever to be a divorce, it would have been a complicated one. >> reporter: the newspapers back then run with speculation michael may have a mistress -- and there's this curious comment from marlene to her parents. >> she said to her parents, "if something happens to me, michael did it." >> reporter: and when something does happen to marlene, wellington is on edge. >> it was the shock of this crime, because all of the sudden, they were betrayed in their sense of, of safety and security. >> reporter: up next -- who is this demon in disguise? and why is marlene warren a target? >> investigators know how hard it is to climb inside the mind of a killer. >> motive? love triangle, money, greed, it could be a lotta things.

>> reporter: and did this costume store employee unknowingly help dress a killer clown? >> i said, "can you come back tomorrow, we're closed." "no, i really need this tonight." >> reporter: and did that killer somehow know about the family's fascination with clowns? when we return. - [narrator] what if your shark vacuum could clean almost anywhere, all on its own. presenting the shark ion robot. it maneuvers from floors to carpets. and uses smart sensor navigation to spot trouble, and steer around it. this robot is a shark that cleans, docks, and charges automatically. the shark ion robot. protein. not just for knives and forks anymore. ( ♪ ) well yes! a soup in the right direction.

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. >> announcer: "20/20" continues. >> reporter: how does 40-year old marlene warren married and moneyed wind up in a palm beach co. cemetery? detectives conduct surveillance monitoring who showed and who didn't at her burial. there's also leads to run down. which lead detectives to deborah offord and barbara castricone who used to run a costume shop in town 1 of only 3 in palm beach county at the time. >> there were only a handful of us back then. there wasn't you know internet shopping like there is today, even catalogs. >> reporter: in the hours leading up to the murder deborah recalls a persistent customer who arrives after closing time. >> so you had a knock at the door?

>> right. >> and then what? >> she said "i need to buy a costume," and i said, "can you come back tomorrow, we're closed." and "no, i really need to get a costume tonight." >> reporter: the urgency understandable if it was halloween. but it's may. and the customer isn't looking for just any outfit. full on circus clown hair and make-up designed to delight or terrify. >> a rubie's clown costume, an afro clown wig, bob kelly clown makeup and a sponge nose. >> reporter: deborah offers police a description -- >> i'd say probably around 5' 8." brown eyes, long, chocolate hair, and jeans, and a men's work shirt. >> do you remember how much? >> i think the sale was like either 79 or 89 dollars. i sort of almost can see the sales receipt. >> cash. >> cash. >> reporter: after lots of questions from the detectives barbara can no longer contain her curiosity. >> did you know why they were asking? >> i said, "could i ask please

what this is in reference to?" he said, "well, you're probably going to read about it all over the papers tomorrow morning, but a woman was shot at her front door by a person dressed in a clown costume bearing flowers and balloons, and he shot her in the face," and my heart dropped. >> reporter: those two balloons would offer up a small clue. one reading "you're the greatest." >> one of them was an unusual balloon, believe it or not, and it was only sold at one of the publix grocery stores in palm beach county. >> reporter: clerks at that same publix tell police that the same person also bought flowers. former reporter jim dipaola was covering the story for the sun sentinel at the time. >> they were like, we know who the killer might be because we saw that person come and buy the same exact stuff you're talking

about 90 minutes before the murder. >> reporter: the biggest clue of all still hiding in plain sight. >> they're looking for the chrysler lebaron. >> reporter: four days after the murder, the white 2-door is located. >> detectives found the car at this royal palm beach shopping plaza only 5-miles from where the shooting occurred. >> reporter: there's no murder weapon inside, and curiously, no fingerprints. >> detectives meantime are looking for any scrap of evidence so far they've been relatively quiet about the new lead but there's hope that this will be a break in the investigation. >> reporter: police are reportedly quizzing business associates of michael warren who confirm his dead wife's suspicions about michael cheating. >> there were rumors that mr. warren was having an affair with a specific woman that used to repossess cars for him. >> reporter: that woman is sheila keen. >> sheila was a glades girl. >> sheila grew up in the small towns, on the outskirts of the

everglades near lake okeechobee. she was country, she was attractive, the boys liked her, and she liked money, she wanted a rich life. she wanted nice things. >> reporter: and michael warren could offer some nice things. it started with a paycheck. warren was in the business of selling cars. sheila in the business of repossessing them from his deadbeat customers. >> and she apparently was tough as nails. people said that she would go to any neighborhood at any time of the day or night and pull her flatbed truck up and take a car. she was fearless. >> reporter: but both deny any romantic relationship. >> when they asked mr. warren about the supposed affair with sheila keen he denied it. and it was he said she said. >> employees said that they would leave for long lunches together. >> reporter: slowly but surely dark clouds of suspicion gathering in the sunshine state and sheila keen squarely in the cops' crosshairs especially when they get wind of this.

>> she allegedly went to an auto parts store to entertain the owner's young children. >> reporter: and speaking of disguises the 27 year old was married to someone who might have worn one himself. >> she marries a guy 20 years older than her, was a member of the klan. and she fell in love with him. >> reporter: when her short marriage sputters out, police say that's when she is suddenly free to spend time with the wealthy mike warren. >> so michael warren was paying for an apartment for sheila keen. >> yes, that's according to the police, that's correct. >> the other residents at the complex where sheila lived said "we thought michael and sheila were married, he was there so often." >> reporter: detectives get a search warrant for sheila's apartment confiscating some of her clothes and obtain samples of her hair. they also take a long hard look at the widower who they say stands to benefit from marlene's murder including; a life insurance policy covering the victim.

full control of the family business. plus that home at aero club. in all a seven figure possible payout for the grieving husband. >> we were riding around wellington and i told him. i says, "mike," i says, "i don't think that you done it. but i know pretty damn well that you know more about it than you're lettin' out." and he says, "honest. honest, bill." he says, "i don't know." >> reporter: honestly, things are about to get even stickier for michael warren. remember that get-away car? the abandoned chrysler lebaron? police have been able to link it back to a car lot in west palm beach. that's right. michael warren's car lot. >> reporter: when we come back the wealthy wellingtonites think the pieces of a puzzle are coming together. >> you ask him -- >> i asked him. >> to his face, did you -- >> uh-huh. >> kill your wife? >> well said did you have anything to do with it? so why for almost 27 years does the case go ice cold?

>> how is it that police would not have arrested her in the least on that evidence? >> it's not illegal to buy balloons or a costume. >> reporter: stay with us. i rode shotgun in lead humvee and i looked for bombs. stop short. i don't see nothin' man. you don't see it, he feels it. you are my hammer out there. don't let these young guys see you fold. ♪ i'm only human, i make mistakes ♪ ♪ i'm only human, that's all it takes ♪ ♪ to put the blame on me i'm alive because of you. i'm not a hero. we're brothers, we look after each other. thank you for your service. rated r. real energy harnessed from the earth.

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>> announcer: we return to more of "20/20." >> reporter: the clown-centric horror blockbuster "it" has become an international sensation this year, becoming the top horror film of all time, but in 1990 "it" was real.

in the weeks and months following the murder committed by a clown the local clown economy takes a hit. >> nobody wanted to hire them, the kids were afraid of them. the last thing a kid wants to see at their party is a clown." the bozo backlash impacted longtime entertainers like selim salguero who suddenly finds himself persona non grata. >> everybody was very apprehensive about having a clown come to your, um, to a party, to an event because of, uh, they didn't know who this killer clown was. >> reporter: meanwhile, michael warren is also having trouble at his job. police are digging into his background during the murder investigation, uncovering something shady on his used car lot. odometer tampering, the kind seen in the movie "used cars." >> you're not going to find another deal like this in town. warren is charged, but not for murder. >> mike warren is accused of 66 crimes in connection with the way he ran his failed auto dealership in west palm beach. >> i mean, there's so many

aspects to this that -- that are -- strange. >> reporter: best-selling author, and florida native carl hiaasen is fascinated by all the twists and turns in the case. >> maybe there's good money in odometer tampering. you know, who knew? >> reporter: michael warren sure knew. he magically turned old cars new again, rolling back the odometers, adding value to the cars, allowing him to sell them for more to unsuspecting buyers, and it was in a very large number of cars that, that had happened. warren is convicted of 43 counts of racketeering, theft, and the odometer rollbacks, but neither he, nor his alleged mistress are charged in that costume-wearing, gun-toting murder of marlene. he maintains his innocence in that crime, and has an alibi. >> michael spent a lot of time at racetracks, and he was on i-95 headed to calder racetrack in miami during the time of the murder, and he had friends with him in the car, so he had an alibi. >> reporter: good news for sheila. she says she has one too.

>> sheila said that she could not possibly have committed this crime because she was out repoing cars at the time. >> reporter: but the bad news, the evidence seems to point to her. for starters, the description from those costume shop employees who i.d'd sheila from a photo shown to them by police. >> if you look at this picture, do you see a resemblance to the woman you saw in here, possibly? >> yes. >> reporter: and don't forget the getaway car. inside? turns out some pretty compelling evidence. >> the investigators found a few things in the white chrysler lebaron that the clown allegedly had made the getaway in. there were orange fibers that could have come from a clown wig, and apparently a few hairs as well, human hair. >> reporter: human hair! chocolate-brown human hair! the color of sheila's, and remember when police searched her apartment they took hair samples. might they match? and, there are those props bought by someone clerks say matches sheila's description at

a publix located, by the way, just 1500 feet from sheila's old apartment. >> they were able to potentially link her to the flowers and the balloons. >> so how is it that police would not have arrested her in the very least on that evidence? >> it's not illegal to buy balloons or a costume, and nobody at the scene could say that that was sheila keen because whoever the killer was, was wearing a clown suit with makeup. >> reporter: bottom line, prosecutors felt there simply wasn't enough evidence to get a conviction, and with that the unsolved mystery fades from the headlines. >> once the murder happened, and the headlines kind of died down, and there were other horrific murders to cover unfortunately marlene kind of got lost. >> it didn't stay in the headlines. >> no, not that way. >> reporter: behind the scenes there's lots of talk about the case, and a differing of opinion on how to move forward. >> some of the people that were

investigating the crime felt they had enough evidence to maybe, make, go ahead and make an arrest, and some of the detectives were upset that the state attorneys' office kept saying no we want more evidence. >> there were reports that sheila keen had dressed as a clown previously at some other office event, that someone fitting her description had been seen buying flowers, that someone fitting her description had been seen buying a clown costume. it would seem that that's pretty strong circumstantial evidence. >> it's not about the police or the state attorney's office not connecting dots or failing in any way. everybody worked diligently on this case. it's just being patient enough to make sure that when we prosecute somebody for first-degree-murder, we intend on getting justice for that victim, and the victim's family, and we want to make sure that we do it right. >> reporter: no arrest. no progress. only suspicion, especially from warren's neighbor john herring. >> when i asked him, did you do it, and he said, of course not. >> you asked him -- >> i asked him. >> to his face, did you -- >> uh-huh. >> kill your wife?

>> yeah. well, i said, did you have anything to do with it? he says, no, of course not. i said, good. >> reporter: on new year's eve 1997, michael warren has something to celebrate! he's released early after serving only 3 ½ years of his sentence for the odometer tampering, and maps out a new life for himself! coming up -- a neon clue? will a vegas wedding at the chapel of love add some heat to a very old case? stay with us. things than de for better rheumatiod arthritis. before you and your rheumatologist move to another treatment, ask if xeljanz xr is right for you. xeljanz xr is a once-daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. it can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened. don't start xeljanz xr if you have an infection.

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>> announcer: "20/20" continues. once again, deborah roberts. >> reporter: our story now shifts in time and location,

14 years later far from the palm trees, sunny beaches and luxury yachts of palm beach, florida, 835 miles to be exact, to the lovely, quaint town of abingdon, virginia nestled in the majestic blue ridge mountains. >> we kind of combine the best of both worlds, we have that small town charm. people come here to stay, and enjoy the culture, and then they go enjoy the great outdoors as well. >> reporter: and it's here in this leafy, rural area that two out of towners buy a prime piece of property in 2004, building this 4100 square foot home in an exclusive subdivision, and the house looks even better from the back. it's right on the lake where you can see the owners' private dock and watercraft. >> they're very friendly, outgoing, nice. >> reporter: neighbors brook and rocky blevins become close friends with the newcomers known to them as "debbie" and "mike." >> he was a happy, affectionate type person. they would hug you when you'd go see them. >> if you needed something, you'd call them and they'd be there. >> reporter: to the blevins it's

clear that mike and debbie are head over heels in love with each other. >> they were very close and it was a connection of, their smile at each other, the twinkle of their eye. they were very much in love, very close. in fact mike and debbie even work together running their business just across the state border in kingsport, tennessee. the two operate the purple cow, a quirky and popular drive-through fast food joint known for its signature steak bomb, dancing hot dogs, and cows that greet you at the curb. here's mike on the purple cow's yelp page, boasting, i have been in the food industry since i was 15 years old. my love for food is great. >> he prided himself in that, mike. he is a terrific cook, but they had a tremendous business. >> they both were the ones that prepped the food. they worked long hours. >> reporter: but it turns out that sociable, hard-working couple has a dark past. mike, the friendly burger

flipping owner of the purple cow is none other than michael warren whose wife marlene was gunned down 14 years earlier by that killer dressed as a clown. as for debbie, she's actually sheila keen, the person police suspected of being that killer clown, who despite circumstantial evidence pointing her way was never charged with the crime. >> even some of the investigators in the case were surprised that there was no indictment, because everything sort of lined up, pointing to sheila keen being the clown, and michael warren somehow being involved, but it was all circumstantial. >> reporter: still, there's something astonishing authorities in florida may not have known. when mike warren gets out of prison after serving more than three years on that odometer fraud conviction, he and keen hook up in the marriage capital of the world. that's right -- vegas!

in a tait -- tasteful and understated ceremony at the little white wedding chapel in 2002, michael marries sheila, his former alleged mistress, and the prime suspect in his wife's death. >> the weird thing is that they would hang together that long,start a business, get married as if nothing ever happened. it takes a certain amount of nerve to do it that way. >> reporter: and for 15 years, the two love birds make their quiet nest in abingdon, just last year, selling the purple cow, and retiring to enjoy life at their lakefront home. >> they finally started living their lives instead of working. >> they seemed very open. he just seemed to be a happy laid back kind of guy. >> reporter: but other neighbors say they see a different side of that rough around the edges former used car dealer. vicki and john chittester say they have a nasty run in with michael warren after he suddenly shows up at their lakeside property, trying to haul away rocks with his tractor. >> i told him to put down the

rocks and get off our property. >> he said, can't we be neighborly about this? i told, i said, the neighborly thing would be to call over and ask if you can come over here and do that. he said, [ bleep ] you. he's like, what are you going to do, you scrawny -- i said, i'll tell you what i'm going to do you fat ass, but he wouldn't get off the tractor. >> so he unloaded the rock. >> he was a bully. >> somebody who thinks he's going to get what he wants. >> yes, uh, exactly. >> reporter: mike and debbie may want nothing more than to continue their mundane, low-key suburban existence, but sometimes you just can't bury the past, especially when it involves a bizarre and notorious crime involving a killer clown that's still alive in the minds of some people back in florida. >> it was like an urban legend. the fact that it was never solved it just went on, and on, and on. in may, which was the 27th anniversary of the killing, my editor said, well, let's, let's re-look at this. >> reporter: while marshall's writing that anniversary article for the palm beach post, a breakthrough, her researcher

uncovers those startling facts on michael and sheila, make that debbie's new lives. >> she found that michael warren and sheila keen had gotten married. she also found that they were living in abingdon, virginia in the blue ridge mountains. >> reporter: the warren's new private life is now public, out there for all to see. will they be able to enjoy that quiet retirement much longer before someone comes knocking on the door? >> our agency received a call in regards to the murder of an individual that occurred back in 1990. >> reporter: coming up -- could a 27 year old cold case end with the tears of a clown? stay tuned. ♪ you've got a strange effect on me, ♪ ♪ and i like it ♪ you make the world seem right, ♪ ♪ you make the darkness bright, oh yes. ♪ ♪ you've got a strange effect on me, ♪

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>> announcer: we return to more of "20/20." >> reporter: it's august in bucolic abingdon, virginia where violent crime on a scale from

1 to 100 is a lowly 13. sheriff fred newman receives an unexpected call from his counterpart in palm beach county, florida. >> our agency received a call in regards to the murder of an individual that occurred back in 1990. >> reporter: not just any cold case sheriff newman is told but an infamous murder that made headlines in south florida. >> i've been sheriff of our county for 18 years. we have never encountered any type of a murder of that nature. >> reporter: florida authorities want the sheriff to track down the key suspect that woman known locally as "debbie." of course debbie is none other than sheila keen now married to michael warren the husband of the murder victim. >> they live in a very upscale neighborhood. they kept a very low profile. they, i guess, sort of flew under the radar if you would. >> reporter: but the sheriff and his deputies are zeroed in on sheila now. and just last month on september 26th a trap is set after the

warrens are spotted leaving their home in their cadillac suv. >> vehicles were strategically placed along various locations and observed the black cadillac escalade as it was travelling. >> reporter: and just as the warrens are returning the trap is sprung. the couple's escalade stopped and surrounded as her husband michael looks on sheila is placed in custody. >> i did not notice anything from a standpoint of being distraught. somewhat surprised, i guess. if you would. i think reasonably calm for the most part. >> she was placed in one of our patrol vehicles, handcuffed, and transported to the regional jail. >> reporter: sheila keen-warren not only with a new last name, but a new hair color blonde charged with the murder of marlene warren. another photo of the accused killer clown oddly showing her smiling while in custody reminiscent of this mug shot taken when she was 21 convicted

for shoplifting. >> when the case went cold -- a lotta people forgot about it. >> yeah. >> did it ever go off the radar for investigators? >> no. i can tell you right now, we probably have 300 cases that are unsolved cold cases. none of 'em are off the radar. >> police in florida arresting a female suspect. >> reporter: sheila warren's arrest makes headlines nationwide the sheer novelty of a cold case involving a killer clown seemingly cracked after 27 years proves to be a huge, irresistible story. >> detectives always suspected sheila, but couldn't prove it. >> reporter: the burning question just how do authorities say they cracked the case that has vexed investigators for nearly three decades? they say the breakthrough was through something that didn't exist back in 1990 sophisticated dna testing. >> we were able to do that with new technologies in dna and we were able to complete the

puzzle. >> how confident are you that you have the shooter? >> 100%. >> 100%? >> no doubt. when -- when you're talkin' dna, they will be able to tell you that it's you to the exclusions of millions and millions of people, all right? plus, the area that this was captured in can only be what the perpetrator was involved in. >> reporter: while authorities are intentionally vague on exactly what they tested and how remember, back in 1990, investigators reportedly found orange fibers possibly from a wig and hair in that chrysler lebaron believed to be the getaway car. >> if they found hair, the statistics are basically one out of 10,000. if they found blood, great. that would give you a slam-dunk because you would end up with statistics of one in trillions. >> can you really go back 27 years and test evidence for today's dna technology and make a case? >> yeah, without a doubt.

as along as the dna has been preserved cold and dry. the testing has gotten so incredibly sensitive. so specific. there's no way out. they're going to get results. >> reporter: back in abingdon, virginia shock and bewilderment after that friendly neighbor "debbie" is charged with first degree murder. >> i've been in shock ever since. >> yeah, couldn't believe it. still don't. just hope and pray that she's not guilty. >> reporter: the blevins say since "debbie's" arrest her loving husband mike has been holed up in his home apparently in a state of stunned disbelief. >> very distraught, which he would be. he told me, he said, "you know she didn't do this." he says, "so kind hearted." i say, "well, absolutely. that's why this whole thing is just so hard to believe." >> reporter: for marlene warren's parents, it's not hard to believe at all.

it simply confirms their decades-old suspicion. >> i turned angry when i heard mike had married sheila. angry. remembering that she killed my daughter, and he marries her? you know there's gotta be something there. >> reporter: when we come back does michael warren have anything to worry about? >> so there could be another arrest? >> the answer to that is, yet to be determined. >> reporter: next what he's saying only to 20/20 tonight and the stiff price prosecutors want sheila to pay for the murder of marlene. stay with us. (hard exhalation)

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charges of first-degree murder with a firearm. it's a crime that's taken so long to bring to trial, state attorney dave aronberg was still in college when it happened. >> sometimes justice can be delayed but justice eventually arrives. >> reporter: accused killer clown warren doesn't exactly play to the crowd in her first appearance before a judge playing the mime instead obscuring her face with her hair, turning away from courtroom cameras. >> state is seeking no bond, your honor. >> reporter: she later pleads not guilty. >> she vehemently denies any involvement. >> reporter: and while this all has the air of a media circus, aronberg struck a sobering and serious tone at his press conference announcing the state will pursue the maximum penalty. >> we filed the notice of intent to seek the death penalty today just now with the court. >> this is a death eligible case, but i would bet that the prosecutors are using it to some

degree to put pressure on her to plead guilty and/or potentially come clean about her husband's role, if any. >> reporter: as for her husband, formally married to murder victim marlene warren? tonight he's telling 20/20 that sheila is "falsely accused and that this is very serious and very unfair." investigators are mum on whether he might face charges. >> i can't speak specifically to michael were going to investigate anyone who may be culpable and we'll make a decision on prosecutions as appropriate. >> reporter: meantime back in palm beach county there's a sense of relief that there's possibly an end to a bizarre and chilling murder case. >> when you heard that 27 years later that police had made an arrest, what did you think of that? >> i was happy 'cause i think there should be justice. we felt like, "okay, there's the end of that story that's been open and forgotten." i think that we were just glad that it's -- wow, that's done.

>> it's about time that this case comes to a close. that's people look at clowns with more of a happy type of look and not so, uh, scary it type of costume. >> everybody wants this to sort of be put to rest. and i feel for her family. they need closure more than anyone else. >> if you're the family of the victim it's bittersweet because you-- finally somebody's been arrested. but the idea that it took 27 years-- has gotta be frustrating and-- and a little bit perplexing as well. >> this is the entrance to our clown room. she liked the clowns when she was a little girl. i come in here, i think of her. >> reporter: emotions still raw all these years later for marlene warren's parents. >> i feel like crying. those nasty people. you can't tell me that he didn't know.

no way in heck. she got away with it for so long. if there's a hell, i hope she rots in it. >> strong words from a mother still groving. >> sheila warren is slated to be in court for a hearing on november 13th. that's our program for tonight. thanks so much for watching. >> from all of o'us here at "20/20" and abc news. thanks for watching. have a good evening.