Local
Post-shooting conduct featured in Caylen Deller’s Putnam County murder conviction
A Putnam County jury deliberated about an hour before finding Caylen Deller guilty of first-degree murder in the 2024 shooting death of Chad Mullen. An attorney who followed the case said jurors may have been influenced by Deller’s conduct after the shooting, including false statements to police and Mullen’s family.
A Putnam County jury found Caylen Deller guilty of first-degree murder in the 2024 shooting death of her boyfriend, Chad Mullen, after deliberating for about an hour. The conviction carries a mandatory life sentence, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
Deller acknowledged shooting Mullen twice but testified that she acted in self-defense. She told jurors that Mullen choked her, then came toward her with a hammer. Deller said she took a gun, pointed it at him and fired after he backed away.
Shannon Schott, a lawyer who was not involved in the case but followed the trial, said jurors may have focused on what Deller did after the shooting. She said Deller gave police inaccurate information and misled Mullen’s family as they searched for him. Deller acknowledged during questioning that she had lied repeatedly about what happened to Mullen.
Deller did not call 911 after the shooting, Schott said. Investigators later found Mullen’s body in a shallow grave on a Hastings farm, weeks after he was reported missing, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
The trial also included allegations that Deller had confronted Mullen about child sexual abuse. Schott said those claims could affect jurors differently, but argued that the combined circumstances—including the lies after Mullen’s death—worked against Deller’s defense.
State Attorney R.J. Larizza said the jury “wasn’t fooled by her lies,” while acknowledging that the verdict could not heal the family’s pain. Putnam County Sheriff H.D. “Gator” DeLoach said the verdict showed authorities would continue working to hold people accountable.