PALATKA, Fla. — Jury selection began Monday in the trial of Caylen Deller, the Putnam County woman accused of killing her boyfriend in 2024 and burying his body in a shallow grave in a Hastings potato field.
As Deller awaits trial from jail, the victim’s daughter says she is outraged by a website post featuring Deller and seeking new relationships.
Holli Mullen has been grieving for two years after learning her father, Chad Mullen, was found dead in 2024. While Deller faces murder charges, Mullen believes Deller is using her inmate status to make money and potentially connect with new people.
“I mean she’s an awful person,” Mullen said.
That’s how Mullen describes Deller, who is accused of killing her father.
Mullen said she was disturbed to find a post featuring Deller on a website called Caged Ladies.
The website allows people to pay to communicate with female inmates. A post featuring Deller includes a photo of her in a provocative pose and a description that reads, “I’m currently facing trial so I don’t have a release date yet,” before describing her as passionate, intellectual, and outgoing.
“She shouldn’t be able to experience any more life because of what she did to my dad,” Mullen said.
Mullen said the page fuels her frustration and shows no remorse for what happened to her father.
Deller is charged with first-degree murder with a firearm, tampering with evidence, and failure to report a death after Chad Mullen’s body was discovered buried in a shallow grave in a Hastings potato field.
“We hope, obviously, that she gets what she deserves. She needs to pay for what she did,” Mullen said.
Mullen questioned how someone facing a murder charge could be featured on a website like Caged Ladies.
Action News Jax reached out to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, which said Deller was not responsible for creating the profile.
In a statement, the agency said:
“I spoke with corrections about our inmates’ access to websites. Inmates do not have access to this type of website. This appears to be a private company that monetizes pen pals with female inmates. Caylen Deller did not have access to this site; someone outside the jail entered her information onto the site and from there people can send her an email per our normal policies.
We do not limit emails for inmates that fall within our guidelines and procedures. In fact, you can reach out and email her yourself through the system.” Said Allison Waters, Merritt County Public Information Officer.
Mullens reaction:
“I believe that our family is already dealing with so much. The fact that she is able to have such a thing like that out there while my dad can’t even have a life is disturbing. She is going to trial for murder; in what world makes this ok for ANY inmate to have? Clearly she has zero remorse, and I feel this shows her character perfectly. Especially the part where she says “I don’t have a release date yet” enrages me because she’s acting as if she’s in for petty theft and not capital murder. What type of image is she trying to portray not only for herself and to the public but for her young daughter? It’s absolutely disgusting, and we feel so defeated as the victim’s family,” said Holli Mullen.
Mullen is hoping her father will get the justice he deserves as opening statements start Tuesday. “We hope, obviously, that she gets what she deserves,” Mullen said. “She needs to pay for what she did.”
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