Idaho man arrested in 51-year-old cold case murder of woman in California
SUMMARY
Michael Eugene Mullen, 75, of Idaho, has been arrested for the 1973 murder of Nina “Nadine” Fischer in San Rafael, California. Fischer, 31, was found dead in her home, sexually assaulted, and shot three times. Her husband, a Swedish national, discovered her body upon returning from work. The case went cold after initial investigations yielded no leads. In 2021, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office submitted DNA evidence to California’s Familial Search Program, which eventually identified Mullen as a suspect. After three years of investigation following this lead, Mullen was arrested near Salmon, Idaho. He is now held in Lemhi County jail, awaiting extradition to California. The breakthrough came from a DNA match that connected Mullen to the cold case, leading to his arrest.
