A Florida woman accused of killing her boyfriend and concealing his body in a shallow grave has been convicted of murder.
Caylen Deller, 32, was found guilty of first-degree murder in the September 2024 shooting death of Chad Mullen, her on-again, off-again boyfriend.
Prosecutors said Deller killed Mullen at her horse farm in San Mateo, Florida, before enlisting a friend and using a horse to help transport his body. Investigators discovered Mullen’s remains in a shallow grave more than a month after he disappeared.
A jury reached its verdict Thursday after deliberating for more than an hour. Deller was sentenced to life in prison and was also convicted of tampering with evidence and failing to report a death.
Prosecutors said Chad Mullen was fatally shot by his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Caylen Deller, in September 2024. They alleged that Deller used a horse and recruited a friend to move his body before burying him in a shallow grave. (Putnam County Sheriff’s Office)
During testimony Wednesday, Deller said the shooting was an act of self-defense. She claimed Mullen choked her and lifted a hammer during a confrontation over unsubstantiated allegations that he had sexually abused her young daughter. According to Deller, Mullen became enraged, forced her against a truck and grabbed her throat, leaving her struggling to breathe.
Deller testified that she reached for a gun after Mullen allegedly broke into her apartment on Aug. 1, 2024.
“I pulled the trigger of the gun and shot him twice,” Deller told the court. “I was extremely afraid.”
She maintained that the shooting occurred because she was trying to protect herself.
Caylen Deller, 32, received a life sentence after being convicted of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Chad Mullen, at her Florida horse farm in September 2024. (Putnam County Sheriff’s Office)
Deller said she never meant to kill Mullen and believed she had no choice but to defend herself during the alleged attack.
Prosecutors challenged her decision not to contact authorities, as well as her continued communication with Mullen despite describing him as violent. They presented evidence showing that Deller made 28 calls to him between Sept. 2 and Sept. 9, 2024.
Deller said she did not call 911 immediately after the shooting because she feared officers would reject her claim of self-defense. She said that same concern kept her from notifying Mullen’s family.
Caylen Deller was sentenced to life in prison after jurors convicted her of first-degree murder in the death of her boyfriend, Chad Mullen. On the witness stand, Deller claimed she shot Mullen twice in self-defense after he attacked her during an argument. (WFOX)
“It was probably not a good idea,” Deller said of failing to report the shooting. “I was more concerned about getting in trouble.”
In closing arguments Thursday, prosecutors told jurors that Deller had a responsibility to contact law enforcement after the shooting.
“She could have called law enforcement to report that Mr. Mullen attacked her or charged at her or did something to her, but she never did,” a prosecutor argued.
