A woman wanted in connection with a deadly shooting at a Lebanon marina was tracked down more than 80 miles away and taken into custody in Coffee County last week. Jeaneen Boyas, 55, now faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of 64-year-old Robert Mallen, who investigators say died from a likely gunshot wound during a domestic incident at Cherokee Marina.
The Wilson County Sheriff's Office announced that detectives with its Criminal Investigations Division took Boyas into custody on August 20, according to Thunder Radio. She was located in Tullahoma, in Coffee County, more than 80 miles southeast of Cherokee Marina in Lebanon, where the shooting occurred. Boyas was booked into the Wilson County Jail and remained there as of August 21, unable to post the $500,000 bond set in her case.
A Deadly Incident at a Lakeside Landmark
Mallen died from what investigators describe as a likely gunshot wound during a deadly domestic incident at Cherokee Marina, located at 450 Cherokee Dock Road off Highway 109 in Lebanon, according to the same report. The marina sits on Old Hickory Lake, a 22,500-acre reservoir formed by the Old Hickory Lock and Dam on the Cumberland River, per the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The lakeside property offers covered boat slips, an RV campground, and a private clubhouse, according to Cherokee Marina & Campground.
The site has drawn local attention before for reasons far removed from crime. Hoodline previously reported on Cherokee Steakhouse's lakeside comeback after the restaurant reopened under new ownership on the marina grounds this spring.
A Multi-County Manhunt Ends in Coffee County
Bringing Boyas into custody required cooperation across county lines. The Coffee County Sheriff's Office and the Tullahoma Police Department both assisted Wilson County detectives in locating and detaining her, the outlet's report notes. Tullahoma, where the arrest took place, sits in Coffee and Franklin counties and had a population of 20,339 as of the 2020 U.S. Census, per the U.S. Census Bureau.
Because the arrest happened outside Wilson County, the arresting agencies held Boyas until Wilson County detectives could transport her back for formal booking, a standard inter-agency procedure under Tennessee law described by N. Cate Law. Wilson County Sheriff Robert Bryan, who was sworn in for his fourth full term in August after running unopposed, praised investigators and the assisting agencies for their work in the case. The sheriff's office said the investigation remains active, and authorities have said no additional information will be released at this time.
What Comes Next
Boyas is charged with first-degree murder, an allegation, and she is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. Under Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-13-202, a first-degree murder conviction requires proof of premeditation and carries one of three possible penalties: death, life without parole, or life imprisonment with parole eligibility after 51 years, according to Patton & Pittman.
The case adds to a grim statewide pattern. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation recorded 60,635 domestic violence victims across the state in 2024, according to the agency's December 2025 report. Separately, the Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence documented 37 confirmed domestic violence-related deaths statewide during the first ten months of 2025. Specific details about the motive, the relationship between Boyas and Mallen, and the exact timeline leading up to the shooting have not been released as the investigation continues.
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