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An award winning television news producer and skilled communicator with more than twenty years of experience developing compelling content and managing production teams. | Learn more about Ruth...
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- CBS News
- New York, New York, United States
Post Mortem | The Troubled Case against Jane Dorotik. 48 Hours. Join Correspondent Erin Moriarty and Producer Ruth Chenetz as they unpack two decades of reporting on the case of Jane Dorotik, who was convicted for the murder of her husband, Bob. A conviction that was overturned 21 years later.
- Overview
- A DEADLY DELIVERY
- SEARCHING FOR A KILLER WHO WAS DRESSED AS A CLOWN
- COLD CASE UNIT MAKES BREAKTHROUGH
- QUESTIONING THE EVIDENCE
- FROM DEATH PENALTY TO LIFE IN PRISON TO A PLEA DEAL
- POST MORTEM PODCAST
The 1990 murder of Marlene Warren, shot by someone dressed as a clown, haunted not just the public, but the Palm Beach County State Attorney 's Office. Despite identifying two suspects, the case, went unsolved for decades.
Dave Aronberg is the current state attorney.
Dave Aronberg: It's easy to see why this case has so much interest … who isn't afraid of a killer clown?
Dave Aronberg: This was an assassination. This was not a random act of violence. This was not a robbery.
Joe Ahrens: The unknowingness of this heinous crime. The fear … it was hell.
Joe Ahrens was 21 and living at home with his stepfather Mike and his mother Marlene when she was murdered.
The morning of May 26, 1990 had started as a cheerful one. Ahrens, recuperating from a broken leg, was having breakfast at home with his mom and three friends when they saw a clown approaching carrying balloons and flowers.
Joe Ahrens: And we kind of … figured … I had a cast on, somebody was sending, to heal and — for gesture …
Peter Van Sant: This is like, "Oh, what a delightful gift," to cheer you up with your broken leg, right?
Joe Ahrens: Right.
Joe Ahrens: My mother opened the door … And then we heard "bang" and she fell. At that point, we knew something was wrong. … My mother was struggling to breathe … And then I jumped to the phone, you know, called 911 right away.
As the clown slowly and silently walked to a car, Ahrens and some of his friends tried to get a closer look at anything that might help describe the disguised attacker.
Joseph Ahrens: Before they turned the machine off on my mother … I told her that I loved her very much and that we were going to get justice.
As Ahrens mourned the loss of his mother Marlene, investigators continued looking for additional evidence tying Sheila Keen to Marlene Warren's murder.
Dave Aronberg: You talk about this case to anyone, and the first place people go is, yeah, it's the mistress … So, investigators focused on Sheila Keen.
And soon a big break when detectives located an abandoned white Chrysler LeBaron—matching the description witnesses gave of the getaway car.
Peter Van Sant: What was found inside that Chrysler LeBaron?
Aleathea McRoberts: There was synthetic fibers … similar type fibers to … a clown wig.
Shirley Twing and her daughter, Marlene, shared a fascination with clowns. In Twing's home, she even kept a room full of clown art and figurines.
The sad, sometimes unsettling images brought comfort to Twing, despite the fact that a clown had so brutally ended her daughter's life.
Shirley Twing: I don't hate clowns. I just hate one.
Although the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office hadn't given up on solving Marlene's murder, 27 long years had passed without an arrest. Then, by 2017, a cold case unit made a breakthrough. State Attorney Dave Aronberg finally had new, important evidence.
Dave Aronberg: The hairs that were found in the LeBaron were able to be traced to Sheila Keen … through DNA technology.
With that new DNA match, detectives believed they could now definitively connect Keen to the alleged getaway car— and to Marlene Warren's murder. And when sheriffs found suspect Keen, they were blown away to learn whom she had married.
After the arrest of Sheila Keen-Warren in 2017, "48 Hours" wanted to talk to Mike Warren about what he knew about his wife's murder.
Peter Van Sant: [knocking on front door]: Hey, Mike. I'm Peter Van Sant with CBS News.
He wouldn't open the door, but we spoke through it for several minutes.
Peter Van Sant: Did you have anything to do with planning the murder of your wife, Marlene?
Mike Warren: Most definitely not.
Peter Van Sant: You did not?
It is said the wheels of justice turn slowly, and when it came to the murder of Marlene Warren,
that grind often seemed to come to a halt. After the 27-year wait for an arrest, Sheila Keen-Warren's trial kept getting delayed. By 2022, she had spent five years in jail; her trial was postponed six times.
Aleathea McRoberts: And then we had COVID … So, it just was one thing after another. … decades of accumulation, of files and photographs and … mountains of evidence and documents.
Defense attorney Greg Rosenfeld was also trying to work his way through all that evidence. And he says, adding to the delays, was a lack of cooperation from the state.
Greg Rosenfeld: Evidence kept — I'd say, disappearing.
Rosenfeld says one crucial piece of evidence for the defense that disappeared for years was what investigators called the "clown sighting file."
Correspondent Peter Van Sant, producer Ruth Chenetz and host Anne Marie Green discuss the bizarre murder case that took investigators nearly 30 years to make an arrest. Hear what it was like for Van Sant to stop by Mike Warren's house for an interview where the neighborhood dog decided to participate in the discussion. Plus, they talk about evidence that may have been mishandled and the risk that could have led to an acquittal for Sheila Keen-Warren.
Produced by Ruth Chenetz, Richard Fetzer and Sarah Prior. Ryan Smith is the development producer. Marlon Disla, Mike Baluzy, Marcus Balsam and Philip Tangel are the editors. Anthony Batson is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer.
- 48 Hours" Correspondent
- 42 min
- CBS News
Apr 20, 2014 · 48 Hours. Decades of Deceit. By Troy Roberts. April 19, 2014 / 11:05 PM EDT / CBS News. Produced by Ruth Chenetz. For more than 24 years, Gloria Weidner has been mourning her daughter Amy, who,...
- CBS News
- 42 min
Jan 21, 2021 · 48 HOURS in “The 30-Year Secret – The Tracey Harris Murder” is produced by Ruth Chenetz. Michelle Sigona is the development producer. Kat Teurfs is the associate producer.
Feb 25, 2016 · Crime. Harold Henthorn's trail of victims. By Ruth Chenetz. February 25, 2016 / 1:16 PM EST / CBS News. (Editor's Note: "48 Hours" has followed and investigated the mysterious death of Toni...
Ruth Chenetz is a Producer and Senior Producer at CBS based in New York City, New York. Previously, Ruth was an Executive Producer Syndication at Paramount and also held positions at CNBC International, ABC News.
