Arrest made 50 years after unsolved murder in San Rafael

SAN RAFAEL, California. – It took more than half a century, but Marin County officials say they have used DNA to name and arrest a suspect in an unsolved 1973 case.

Authorities arrested 75-year-old Michael Eugene Mullen on Wednesday for the murder of Nina “Nadine” Fischer in Idaho.

Swedish citizen Nina “Nadine” Fischer was killed in her San Rafael home during the day in November 1973. Her husband was at work when Mullen allegedly came in, sexually assaulted her and then killed her.

The case was investigated but did not progress due to a lack of clues.

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In 2021, the Marin County Sheriff's Office Investigations Division referred the case to the state Department of Justice's Family Tracing Program to help find investigative leads. A few months later, the division provided the Sheriff's Office with a lead.

With their help, the sheriff's office was able to confirm the lead and identify a suspect three years later.

Lemhi County Sheriff's officials and Idaho State Police arrested the 75-year-old for Fischer's murder. He was taken to the Lemhi County Jail, where he awaits extradition to California.

It is unclear whether Mullen was a resident of Marin County at the time of the murder or whether he knew the victim.