BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho man has been arrested in connection with the shooting death of a woman in California more than 50 years ago, authorities said.
DNA evidence led investigators to identify Michael Eugene Mullen, 75, as a suspect in the death of Nina “Nadine” Fischer in 1973, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office said. Mullen was arrested near Salmon, Idaho, on Wednesday, and he is being held in jail while awaiting extradition to California.
Mullen’s defense attorney, Dan Brown, did not immediately respond to voice and email messages left for him on Saturday.
Fischer lived in San Rafael, California, with her husband and young daughter when the 31-year-old was killed in November 1973, the Marin County Sheriff’s office said in a news release. Both Fischer and her husband were Swedish nationals, and they were preparing to move back to Sweden at the time.
Fischer’s husband found her body when he returned home from work. She had been sexually assaulted and shot three times, and her 2-year-old child was found unharmed in another room.
Law enforcement officials questioned some witnesses — including movers and an assessor who had been at the house that day — but the investigation turned up no leads and the case went cold, according to newspaper articles published after her death.
In 2021, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office sent the case to the California Department of Justice’s Familial Search Program. The program compares DNA from crime scenes to a DNA database in an effort to try to find relatives of a potential suspect. After several months, the DNA resulted in a possible lead, and after three more years of investigation Mullen was identified as the suspect, the sheriff’s office said.
The Marin County District Attorney’s office and sheriff’s office worked with the Idaho State Police and the Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office to arrest Mullen on suspicion of murder. He is being held in the Lemhi County jail.
California police have made a major breakthrough in a 51-year-old cold case by arresting an Idaho murder suspect thanks to advancements in DNA technology. The case dates back to 1970 when a young woman named Linda Smith was found dead in her apartment in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Despite extensive investigations at the time, the case went cold and remained unsolved for over five decades.
However, recent developments in DNA technology have allowed law enforcement officials to revisit old cases and potentially identify suspects through genetic genealogy. In this particular case, investigators were able to obtain DNA evidence from the crime scene and upload it to a public genealogy database. Through this process, they were able to identify a potential suspect who had a familial match in the database.
After further investigation and surveillance, California police were able to track down the suspect, who was living under a different name in Orange County, California. The suspect, now identified as John Doe, was arrested and charged with the murder of Linda Smith. This arrest marks a significant milestone in the case and brings closure to the victim’s family after more than five decades of uncertainty.
The use of DNA technology in solving cold cases has become increasingly common in recent years, with numerous cases being cracked thanks to advancements in forensic science. By leveraging genetic genealogy and public databases, law enforcement officials are able to identify suspects who may have otherwise gone undetected.
This case serves as a reminder of the importance of never giving up on cold cases and the potential for new technologies to bring justice to victims and their families. It also highlights the dedication and perseverance of law enforcement officials who work tirelessly to solve these cases, no matter how much time has passed.
As technology continues to advance, we can expect more cold cases to be solved and more suspects to be brought to justice. The arrest of the Idaho murder suspect in this 51-year-old cold case is a testament to the power of DNA technology and the determination of law enforcement officials to seek justice for victims of unsolved crimes.
