Man accused of 1973 Bay Area slaying paused for another mental exam

Criminal court proceedings have been suspended a second time for the defendant in a 1973 San Rafael homicide case.

Michael Eugene Mullen, 76, was scheduled to enter a plea to the murder charge Tuesday in Marin County Superior Court, but his defense attorney declared doubt about Mullen’s mental competency to stand trial.

Judge Geoffrey Howard postponed proceedings to allow Mullen to undergo an evaluation. Mullen’s next hearing is Aug. 27.

The defense raised similar concerns in January. After that evaluation, Howard ruled that Mullen was fit to stand trial.

The case involves the death of 31-year-old Nina Fischer at her home on Point San Pedro Road. Her husband discovered her bound and dead with gunshot wounds, authorities reported. The couple’s 2-year-old child was found unharmed in another room.

Investigators were unable to identify a suspect at the time, but DNA evidence that had been collected at the crime scene was linked to Mullen recently. In October, authorities arrested Mullen in Idaho, where he had been living, and brought him to Marin to face charges.

During a preliminary hearing in March, investigators testified that Mullen initially denied knowing Fischer. They said he changed his recollection later and said he had consensual sex with her soon after they met outside her home.

The prosecution believes that Fischer was killed on the same day she had sexual contact with Mullen.

His lawyer, Peter, Kuykendall, declined to comment after the hearing Tuesday.