Chad Mullen, a 53-year-old man from Putnam County, Florida, was reported missing on September 15, 2024. He was last seen on September 9, 2024, when he was traveling with his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Caylen Deller, to the area of 465 San Mateo Road in Satsuma, where Deller's business, Stormy’s Stables, is located. Mullen’s phone last pinged in this area on September 10.
Mullen's body was discovered buried on a farm property at 852 Federal Point Road in Hastings, Florida, on October 28, 2024. This location is less than a half-mile from the Putnam-St. Johns county boundary.
Caylen Deller, 30, was identified as a person of interest in the case and was subsequently arrested on November 8, 2024, in Volusia County, near Edgewater, after failing to appear at a scheduled appointment. Deller has been charged with first-degree premeditated murder with a firearm, tampering with physical evidence, and failure to report Mullen’s death. She is currently being held without bond and is set to return to court on January 9, 2024.
Tina Marie Lee-Ellis, 56, a resident of Satsuma, was also arrested in connection with Mullen’s murder. She surrendered to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office on November 7, 2024, and was charged with accessory to first-degree murder after the fact, tampering with evidence, and failing to report the death of a person with the intent to conceal the death or alter evidence. Lee-Ellis was granted a $540,000 bond, which requires her to obtain $54,000 to be released. If released, she will be electronically monitored and must have no contact with Mullen’s family. She is also set to return to court on January 9, 2024.
During the investigation, authorities searched Lee-Ellis’ residence at 131 Pine Street in Satsuma on October 1, 2024, and found firearms, ammunition, and methamphetamine. Lee-Ellis had previously been arrested on October 21, 2024, for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, and possession of methamphetamine, before being rearrested in connection with Mullen’s murder.
The indictment against Deller alleges that she fatally shot Mullen on September 9 or 10 and that the act was premeditated. It also accuses her of tampering with evidence between September 9-12, including altering, destroying, concealing, or removing Mullen’s body and various items such as ropes, ratchet straps, a net, cinder block, and a grappling hook to impair the verity or availability of evidence in the investigation.
