2 women, including girlfriend of missing Florida man found buried on rural property, arrested for murder

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Updated  November 8, 2024 4:49pm EST
FOX 13 News
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    SATSUMA, Fla. - The girlfriend of Chad Mullen, a man who disappeared in September and was found dead and buried on a rural Florida property earlier this month, has been arrested along with another woman. 

    On Thursday, detectives got arrest warrants for Caylen Deller, 30, and Tina Marie Lee-Ellis, 56, of Satsuma, for the murder of Chad Mullen.

    Officials said Lee-Ellis turned herself into the sheriff’s office on Thursday evening. She was arrested and charged with accessory to first-degree murder after the fact.

    On Friday, Putnam County deputies said they were searching for Deller, who was supposed to show up to an appointment, but didn’t arrive. 

    She was arrested by detectives in Volusia County and is charged with first-degree premeditated murder with a firearm.

    Pictured: Caylen Deller. Image is courtesy of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office. 

    Mullen was reported missing by his family on September 15 after not hearing from him for a week. However, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office posted that he was likely last seen alive about a week earlier, on Sept. 9, before traveling with Deller, his on-again/off-again girlfriend, to the area of 465 San Mateo Road in Satsuma, the location of Deller's business.

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     Mullen was entered as a missing person on Sept. 17 and on Sept. 20 detectives obtained a search warrant for Stormy Stables in San Mateo, a business owned by Deller and the last known location Mullen’s phone pinged. 

    Chad Mullen was reported missing on Sept. 15. Image is courtesy of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office. 

    Last week, deputies investigating a tip began searching a property at 852 Federal Point Road in Hastings, which is about a quarter of a mile from the Putnam County line.

    Deputies said due to the amount of dirt that was recently moved on the property, detectives along with forensics from St. Johns Sheriff’s Office, FDLE and the District 23 Medical Examiner’s Office began to search, dig and sift dirt from the area and gradually uncovered a body.

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    Two days later, the medical examiner’s office confirmed that the body was Mullen’s. 

    Deputies investigating a tip began searching the Hastings property where Mullen's body was found. Image is courtesy of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.  

    Investigators say Deller and Mullen had a volatile on-again, off-again relationship.

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    Throughout the case, investigators' focus narrowed on Deller and Lee-Ellis. They searched at Lee-Ellis’s residence at 131 Pine Street in Satsuma on Oct. 1 and said they found firearms, ammunition and methamphetamine. 

    Lee-Ellis was not at the home during the search and was arrested and charged on Oct. 21 with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon and possession of methamphetamine.

    Tina Marie Lee-Ellis mugshot courtesy of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office. 

    It is still unclear how long the women knew each other. 

    The case is still under investigation. 

    Anyone with information as to Mullen's death is asked to contact CrimeStoppers of NE Florida at 1-888-277-8477 or download the P3 app. Tips are anonymous.

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