HASTINGS, Fla — The "on again, off again" girlfriend of a man found buried in St. Johns County was apprehended shortly after a warrant was issued for her arrest Friday.
Caylen Deller, 30, is being charged with the first-degree premeditated murder of Chad Mullen. Deller was scheduled for a visit with her child this morning in Edgewater, Florida, and police were waiting in the area, but PCSO says she did not show.
Four-to-six hours later, Volusia County deputies saw the car she was driving and pulled her over, Major Steve Rose with PCSO told First Coast News. That's when she was arrested.
Up until today, investigators had not interviewed Deller. She has decline being interviewed. They tried several times, and it never happened.
Prior to Friday, she was a person of interest in the case.
The body of Chad Mullen was found buried on a Hastings farm property Oct. 28. He was reported last seen on Sept. 9 and was reported missing on Sept. 15. Mullen's family and Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida offered a $15,000 reward for anyone who could provide information leading to him.
His phone last pinged on Sept. 10 at Stormy's Stables on San Mateo Road in Satsuma, which police say is a business run by Deller.
Police say Mullen was killed by a gunshot. He was not killed at the place where his body was buried, but he was dead when the body was buried.
Chad Mullen's Disappearance
Following the disappearance of Mullen, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office asked to interview Deller, but she declined. They said they had tried to contact her many times and would much like to interview her, adding that she made "outlandish statements."
Police records show that on Aug. 1, Mullen received a trespass warning that ordered him to stay off of the property where Deller lived in Satsuma.
Deller said she stopped living with Mullen "to get away from the drugs and to make a clean start with her life," the police report from the incident shows. She told police Mullen came home and attempted to open the sliding glass door. When she realized who it was, she asked him to go away and said she would meet him somewhere else, just not at the house, according to the report.
She asked police to warn Mullen off her property "as he does not understand that he cannot come to her home anytime" and "no longer wanted to be involved with" him. The responding officer said Mullen understood and left without incident.
PCSO searched the property at Stormy's Stable in San Mateo twice, having a dive team search two ponds there. They did not find Mullen. He was found on Monday on a farm property off Federal Point Road in Hastings, where police were pursuing a lead in Mullen's case. They dug on the property and found the body in the ground.
Mullen's daughter, Holli Mullen, told First Coast News that she last spoke to him on Sept. 9. He told her his truck had broken down by the side of the road, and he needed to get the phone number of a friend. She believes this is the last time he spoke with his family.
He was supposed to go to his brother's wedding in Texas, but he did not show up. His family saw this as a red flag, as he had already bought a plane ticket.
