California Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with Marin County Sheriff Jamie Scardina and Marin County District Attorney Lori Frugoli, announced that the California Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Familial Search Program has led to the arrest of Michael Eugene Mullen in connection with a 1973 cold case homicide. The 75-year-old suspect was apprehended for the rape and murder of Nina Fischer, a young woman who resided in San Rafael with her husband and two-year-old daughter.
“I am incredibly proud of the endless hours of behind-the-scenes work our Bureau of Forensic Services put into this case,” said Attorney General Bonta. “We are hopeful that this arrest will bring justice and closure to this devastating case. Thank you to our partners at Marin County Sheriff’s Office and the Marin County District Attorney’s Office. This arrest proves that when we work together, we get results.”
In 2021, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office sought assistance from DOJ's Familial Search Program to generate new leads in Fischer's case. She had been sexually assaulted and murdered in her home in November 1973 while her husband was at work. After several months of investigation by the Familial Search Program, a lead emerged that eventually identified Michael Eugene Mullen from Idaho as the suspect. On August 14, 2024, Mullen was arrested by Marin County investigators with assistance from the Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office and Idaho State Police. He is currently held at Lemhi County Jail awaiting extradition to California for prosecution by the Marin County District Attorney’s Office.
The DOJ's Familial Search Program compares DNA from unsolved serious crimes against California’s Convicted Offender DNA Database to identify potential relatives of perpetrators. If a potential relative is identified, further investigation by DOJ's Bureau of Investigation can provide an investigative lead to law enforcement. Since its inception in 2008, the program has provided investigative leads in 30 different cases using technology distinct from Forensic Investigated Genetic Genealogy.
The Familial Search Program is part of DOJ's Bureau of Forensic Services (BFS), which operates ten regional crime laboratories across California serving 46 counties. These labs collect, analyze, interpret, and compare physical evidence from suspected crimes at no cost to law enforcement agencies within these counties.
A fact sheet outlining BFS services can be found here.