The trial of a woman accused of killing her lover’s wife while dressed as a clown has been postponed after the discovery of a police “clown sightings” file.
A Florida judge pushed back the trial of Sheila Keen-Warren after a 25-page file put together by the case’s original investigators came to light.
Defence lawyers say that the file contains “40 credible leads” and includes names, addresses and phone numbers.
“Despite alleging that it did its due diligence in searching for this file, the State admitted that the “clown sighting file” was located in a box in its office,” defense attorneys said in a new court filing.
Lawyers for the defendant told the court that they needed additional time to track down those leads and the judge agreed.
Marlene Warren was shot in the face in May 1990 by a suspect wearing an orange wig, red nose and faceprint.
She was killed after the suspect handed her carnations and foil balloons after she answered the door at her Florida home.
Ms Keen-Warren was arrested in Abingdon, Virginia, in 2017, with prosecutors pointing to advances in DNA technology.
At the time of the killing, the suspect was employed by the victim’s husband, who she later married and she has been held in a Palm County jail ever since.
She has pleaded not guilty to the killing.
