Horse farm owner gets life in prison for boyfriend's murder after claiming self-defense

The Florida woman accused of killing her boyfriend and burying him in a shallow grave was found guilty of his murder.

Caylen Deller, 32, was charged with first degree murder in relation to the September 2024 death of Chad Mullen, her on-again and off-again boyfriend.

According to prosecutors, Deller killed Mullen at her San Mateo, Florida, horse farm, then got a friend and her horse to help move the body, which was found in a shallow grave over a month after he went missing.

Deller was found guilty of first-degree murder on Thursday after the jury deliberated for over an hour, and was sentenced to life in prison. She was also found guilty of tampering with evidence and failure to report the death of a person.

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On Wednesday, Deller testified that she killed Mullen in self-defense because he choked her and raised a hammer at her when she confronted him about unproven claims that he had sexually abused her young daughter. Deller said Mullen became angry, pinned her against the truck and grabbed her by the throat, alleging she was unable to breathe at the time.

That's when Deller said she grabbed a gun. Deller said she obtained the gun after Mullen allegedly broke into her apartment on Aug. 1, 2024.

"I pulled the trigger of the gun and shot him twice," Deller said. "I was extremely afraid."

"I shot Chad twice in self-defense," she said.

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The woman said she didn't intend to kill Mullen and believed she was defending herself.

Prosecutors then questioned Deller about why she chose not to contact police and why she kept in touch with Mullen despite having described him as a violent individual, presenting evidence that she placed 28 calls to him between Sept. 2 and Sept. 9, 2024.

Deller testified that she didn't initially call 911 after shooting Deller because she thought police wouldn't believe her self-defense claim, also not telling Mullen's family for that same reason.

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"It was probably not a good idea," Deller said. "I was more concerned about getting in trouble."

During closing arguments on Thursday, prosecutors said Deller should have called law enforcement.

"She could have called law enforcement to report that, Mr. Mullen attacked her or or charged at her or did something to her, but she never did," a prosecutor said.