77-year old man convicted of Bay Area cold case murder gets life sentence

A former Sonoma County man convicted of murdering a San Rafael woman in 1973 was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday.

Michael Eugene Mullen, 77, displayed no reaction as the judge denounced him for the crime against Nina Fischer, who was bound and shot to death in her home.

“You lived the life of a coward knowing what you have done, but representing yourself to your family and friends as a good, decent man,” Judge Geoffrey Howard said.

The homicide happened on Nov. 15, 1973. Fischer was a 31-year-old Swedish national who lived on Point San Pedro Road.

Fischer’s 2-year-old daughter, who was in the home when her mother was killed, was not injured. Fischer’s husband Gunnar came home to discover the homicide.

Detectives did not identify the killer at the time and could not find the murder weapon, and the investigation went cold for decades. But investigators got a breakthrough several years ago when DNA evidence from semen at the crime scene was ultimately linked to Mullen’s DNA through a California Department of Justice database.

Mullen was arrested in 2024 near his home in Idaho, where he had moved after leaving California. He initially denied knowing Fischer, but said in a follow-up interview that they had consensual sex at her house soon after they met.

Mullen went on trial in April in Marin County Superior Court. The trial included about three days of testimony and evidence review, but no testimony from Mullen.

Defense attorneys conceded that Mullen had sexual contact with Fischer, but they said prosecutors did not present evidence proving he raped and killed her.

The jury convicted Mullen on May 1 after deliberating for approximately two and a half days.

During the sentencing on Wednesday, Howard said many questions remain unanswered about the homicide.

“Why did you stop at that house that day and choose her?” Howard said. “What deranged motive did you have to not just rape her, but to murder her?”

Fischer’s daughter traveled from Sweden to attend the hearings. Prosecutor Rachel Minarovich read a message from the daughter to Mullen.

The woman wrote that she long suffered from a chronic illness that she believes is connected to the trauma of losing her mother. The daughter reminded Mullen that she was left home alone after Fischer died.

“I probably wondered why my mother did not pick me up when I cried,” she wrote.

The daughter also described how her mother’s death had devastated her father and grandparents. She said she hoped Mullen would spend the rest of his life in prison.

Defense attorney Peter Kuykendall declined to comment after the sentencing.

Marin County District Attorney Lori Frugoli complimented the prosecutors as well as the county, California and Idaho law enforcement officers who worked on the case.

“I sincerely hope this result brings some degree of consolation for the victim’s family who not only suffered an unimaginable tragedy but has lived with its mystery for half a century,” she said Wednesday. “It is truly heartbreaking that the victim’s daughter never got the chance to know her mother.”