A decades-old Marin County cold case seems to be now edging toward closure. Michael Eugene Mullen, 75, was extradited from Idaho earlier this week and is facing charges in connection with the 1973 murder of 31-year-old Nina "Nadine" Fischer of San Rafael. According to a report by KTVU, Fischer was found sexually assaulted and killed in her home nearly half a century ago. The pursuit of justice seemed to wear thin dimly, but renewed efforts by the Marin County Sheriff's Office breathed new life into the investigation.
The California Department of Justice Familial Search Program played a critical role in identifying Mullen as a suspect, a break in the case the Marin County Sheriff's Office had desperately sought. The familial DNA search, a technique often regarded as controversial for its broad net, managed to track a lead that culminated in Mullen's arrest. As reported by Marin Independent Journal, Mullen was previously a resident of Sonoma County, which neighbors the scene of the long-unsolved crime.
The extradition brought Mullen back into Marin County jurisdiction, and he's currently held at Marin County Jail. Authorities have yet to establish or publicly suggest a connection between Mullen and Fischer, leaving the nature of their potential relationship, if any, a matter of speculation.
