"A Marin County Superior Court judge set a trial date Thursday for the suspect in a 1973 homicide case. Michael Eugene Mullen, 77, is scheduled to start trial proceedings on April 20. He is charged with murdering Nina Fischer at her home in San Rafael. In a two-day trial last month, a jury concluded that Mullen is mentally competen t to be tried in the slaying. Mullen has pleaded not guilty."
"Fischer, a 31-year-old Swedish national, lived on Point San Pedro Road. Her husband returned home from work and found her dead with gunshot wounds, authorities said. Their 2-year-old child was left unharmed at the house. The investigation reached a breakthrough in 2021 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."
"In a preliminary hearing last year, an investigator testified that Mullen initially denied knowing Fischer but then changed his recollection in a follow-up interview. Mullen said they had consensual sex, sheriff's Sgt. Kevin Gunn testified. Mullen's defense attorney, Peter Kuykendall, argued that memory can become inconsistent with age. He also said there was no evidence that linked Mullen to the gun used in the homicide."
A trial date of April 20 was set for Michael Eugene Mullen, 77, who is charged with murdering Nina Fischer in San Rafael in 1973. Fischer was found dead with gunshot wounds; her 2-year-old child was unharmed. Investigators linked Mullen to DNA evidence in 2021 after he had moved to Idaho. Mullen is held without bail and has pleaded not guilty. A preliminary hearing included testimony that Mullen first denied knowing Fischer but later said they had consensual sex. The defense raised competency concerns; a defense psychologist reported cognitive decline during testing, and the prosecution’s psychiatrist also evaluated him.
Read at The Mercury News
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