Jury Convicts Sonoma County Man In 1973 Murder: Report

SONOMA COUNTY, CA —A jury on Friday convicted 77-year-old Michael Eugene Mullen of first-degree murder in the 1973 killing of a San Rafael woman, closing a case that had sat unresolved for more than five decades.

Jurors found Mullen guilty in the death of 31-year-old Swedish national Nina Fischer, who was killed inside her Point San Pedro Road home while her 2-year-old daughter remained unharmed nearby,the Marin Independent Journal reported.

Mullen, who has been held in the Marin County Jail for nearly two years, showed little reaction as the verdict was read. Marin County Superior Court Judge Geoffrey Howard scheduled sentencing for June 10, where Mullen could face the rest of his life in prison, according to reports.

The conviction marks a turning point in a case that stalled for decades after Fischer’s husband discovered her bound and fatally shot on Nov. 15, 1973. Investigators at the time could not identify a suspect or locate the weapon, and the case went cold, according to the Marin IJ.

The investigation reached a breakthrough roughly five years ago when local and state investigators linked Mullen to DNA evidence from the crime. Mullen is a former Sonoma County resident who had moved to Idaho.Investigators arrested him near his Idaho home in 2024, the Marin IJ reported.

Prosecutors argued at trial that Mullen raped Fischer, struck her with a wine bottle and shot her at close range. They pointed to shifting statements Mullen gave investigators—initially denying he knew Fischer, then later claiming the two had consensual sex, the Marin IJ reported.

Defense attorneys countered that the DNA evidence proved only sexual contact, not murder, and stressed the absence of fingerprints, eyewitnesses or a weapon tying Mullen to the killing, according to reports.

Jurors deliberated for about two and a half days following roughly three days of testimony. After the verdict, jury foreman Neil Moran said the panel carefully weighed the evidence. “It was a profound experience for all of us,” Moran said. “We are all honored to be a part of the justice system," the Marin IJ reported.

Fischer’s daughter, who traveled from Sweden to attend the trial, embraced prosecutors after the verdict. Family members declined to comment publicly.