PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — The ex-girlfriend of a missing Putnam County father found buried on a Hastings farm property on Oct. 28, was indicted on multiple charges in his murder Monday, according to the State Attorney's Office, 7th Judicial Circuit.
Caylen Deller, 30, is charged with first-degree murder with a firearm, tampering with physical evidence and failure to report death of a person with intent to conceal the death in the killing of her ex-boyfriend Chad Mullen, the indictment states. She was arrested on Nov. 8.
Mullen was reported missing on Sept. 15. Police said Mullen and Deller had a "volatile on-again, off-again relationship," and were not dating at the time Mullen went missing.
On Sept. 20, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) served a search warrant at Stormy Stables in San Mateo, which is owned by Deller. They sent dive teams into ponds on the farm property multiple times, but did not find Mullen's body.
Then on Oct. 16, Mullen's family and PCSO announced they were offering a $15,000 reward for anyone who could help find Mullen.
Less than two weeks later, on Oct. 28, a tip led police to the farm property in Hastings, about a quarter-mile from the Putnam County line, where they found recently removed dirt. Detectives and forensics experts then dug in the dirt, uncovering Mullen's body.
The medical examiner determined Mullen's cause of death was homicide. Police said he was killed by a gunshot and was not killed at the place where his body was buried.
Another woman, Tina Marie Lee-Ellis, 56, is also charged in Mullen's murder.
