Man arrested near Salmon for 50-year-old cold case murder
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SALMON — A 50-year-old cold case murder was solved, police say, after DNA evidence led them to a suspect in eastern Idaho.
Michael Eugene Mullen, 75, was arrested in Lemhi County Wednesday for the murder of a Swedish woman in 1973.
According to a news release from the Marin County Sheriff’s Office in California, Nina “Nadine” Fischer, a Swedish national, was sexually assaulted and murdered in her unincorporated San Rafael home while her husband was away at work in November of that year.
The case was investigated but went cold due to a lack of leads.
In 2021, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Division sent the case to the California Department of Justice’s Familial Search Program for assistance in finding investigative leads.
Several months later, the Familial Search Program provided the Marin County Sheriff’s Office with a lead.
An investigation was conducted over the next three years, and the suspect was identified as Michael Eugene Mullen, an Idaho resident.
On August 14, 2024, investigators from the Marin County Sheriff’s Office and Marin County District Attorney’s Office assisted the Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office and Idaho State Police with the arrest of Mullen for the murder of Fischer.
Local law enforcement says Mullen was arrested without incident near Salmon.
Mullen was transported to Lemhi County Jail and booked pending court proceedings for his extradition to California.
“The Marin County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Idaho State Police, Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office, Marin County District Attorney’s Office, California Department of Justice, and Federal Bureau of Investigation for the countless investigative hours and perseverance to bring closure to this case,” states the release.