The One With Who Killed Ivan Darling (Gettysburg Cold Case)

Two girlfriends. One bottle. Zero qualifications.

In this week’s episode of Sip, Spill & Solve, we’re shaking up a Bee’s Knees cocktail 🐝 and diving into two wild stories:

🍷 Dumb Criminals: The man who got so drunk he literally joined the search party looking for himself. (Yes, really.)

🕵️ Uncorked Mysteries: The unsolved murder of Ivan Darling in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania — a decades-old cold case that still haunts the community and begs the question: Who killed Ivan Darling?

From hilarious to haunting, this one has it all. Pour a glass, press play, and join us as we sip, spill, and say: what the hell did we just listen to?

✨ Stay suspicious — and don’t get Burg-e-ler’d.

📲 Follow along:

• Instagram: @sip-spill-solve
  
  
• Facebook: facebook.com/sip-spill-solve
  
  
• Email: sipspillsolve@gmail.com
  
  

#SipSpillSolve #TrueCrimePodcast #DumbCriminals #UnsolvedMystery #StaySuspicious

We want to give a shout out to the podcast Unsolved In PA for their episode "Murder on York Street, The Christmas Death Of Ivan Darling."

As always, if you have any information please contact the local authorities, (or don't if you think they don't have their s*#t together, then DM us!)

For this particular episode it would be  717-334-1168, or after hours at 717-334-8101.” 

- 💀 Girlfriends by day, wildly unqualified detectives by night.
📲 Follow along on Instagram & Facebook: @sip-spill-solve
📬 Got tips, wine, or true crime theories? Email: sipspillsolve@gmail.com
🍷 New episodes every Wednesday—where the dumb meets the disturbing.

Producer Madylyn Zeiders

Transcript

Kiki Fackler (00:03)
Hi there, welcome back to Sip, Spill, and Solve, where two girlfriends, one bottle, and zero qualifications are doing this, but somehow we keep getting invited back into your earbuds. And this week's lineup is wild. First up, the man who got so drunk, he literally joined his search party looking for himself. And for our uncorked mysteries, we're taking a darker turn with the unsolved mystery, Murder.

of Ivan Darling, a cold case out of Gettysburg that has haunted investigators for decades.

It is time for Cocktail Confessions! I'm Kiki and I'm Jeannie and we're talking all things alcoholic. yes, like we usually do. As we are one to do and this time we're doing a cocktail. It's our farewell to fall cocktail.

as I should say not farewell to summer. It is farewell to summer. We haven't even been really drinking. No, we haven't. Nothing. Nothing. So we have no water. So this is a farewell to summer and the cocktail is called the Bees Knees. Yes, it's very good. Very and easy. It was easy. Like it was so easy that you thought there's no way that this can taste good. No. You know, so um.

Anyway, and it comes to us from my friend Kim. Yay, thank you Kim. One of our top listeners. Yeah, she's one of our top listeners. She's the one who bought the lovely allegedly t-shirt in Heather's mall. Yes. And she looks so good in it. Yes. It's such a nice fit for her. just looks, yeah, it's good. Good. So that's gonna be my next color. Okay, I think I'm gonna get that color too, because I got the, it will card it, oatmeal I believe it is, which is very nice sweatshirt. yes, yes.

Yes, and don't forget our merchandise. We digress. But anyway, back to the beast. So Kim sent me this and she did not really have a confession. can't believe. Well, see, here's the thing. no. no. You said here's the thing. All of her confessions that would be like true, true confessions involved me. ⁓ we we ever had that friend that you just get into so much trouble with. Yeah, that's Kim and I. Like we share a brain. OK.

when that brain is together is very scary. Yeah, yeah. Especially when it's been drinking. yes, yes. so we've, yeah, but maybe I'll share a confession later on. But I can't right now because it would involve me and it would... Can I ask how long have you and Kim been friends? Oh, goodness gracious. Since our kids were like little, little. So... That's great. Yeah, our kids grew up together. Yep, we started working together and then we just became really good friends. Yeah, we just, yeah. she's...

One of my faves. Oh, good. So let me tell you a little bit about the bee's knees because I didn't really, I've heard of it, but I have never really had it before. So it's the bee's knees. It's a prohibition era cocktail featuring gin, lemon juice, and honey. So the unique name is the convention of time. The phrase bee's knees was popular slang used to call something excellent or outstanding. Do you remember that? Like in the great Gatsby where it was the bee's knees. Yes, that's true. Yeah. it's something excellent or outstanding. So

The drink is credited to Frank Meyer, an Austrian-born bartender who plied his trade at the Hotel Ritz Paris during the 1920s. So it's a simple extension of the classic gin sour, gin, lemon, and sugar that features honey instead of sugar. Okay. Yeah. So the honey creates a richer drink and it may have been employed to mask the taste of the subpar gin at the time, which is prevalent because of prohibition. Yeah. So anyway,

using today's you can make it a lot of different ways with doing like a botanical gin or lavender gin, all that fun stuff. anyway, so let's see, how did I make this? I made like a honey syrup. So it was like two ounces of gin, three quarter ounces of lemon juice, freshly squeezed, half an ounce of honey syrup. And then you garnish with the lemon twist. So the honey syrup, no, I did use some sugar with the honey. So I'm no, I did not.

Nevermind, I lied. It was honey and water. So how did you make the honey syrup again? I just did, I just did like say, depending how much you're gonna make. Right. You can make like a stash of it, but I think I just did like a maybe a half a cup of honey and a half a cup of water. Okay. And then I just, you just melt that in the pan until it's just, you know, dissolved. Cause it's good. And then I just put it in the container and then, you know, pull out as much as you want.

Oh, yes. And with our nice anthropology cocktail glasses that you got when you were in Pittsburgh. Yes, did. With Kim. Yeah. Kim was the one that was. Thank you Kim for everything. So we'll put that recipe on up on our.

Facebook page and please join our Facebook page. I feel like we haven't gotten many new likes on that in while. Yeah it has been and even just like whether you like this cocktail or not. Yes. I would actually make this anytime. Yeah. It's just very good. good. Different variations I think you could do and then and share with your friends you know and comment for us you know what mean like we have

and you were asking from our last episode, do you think Garth Brooks is a serial killer? Yes. Nobody answered. What is wrong with you people? Come on, unless you all think he is. Your silence as a silent agreement. You're just afraid. You're just afraid that Garth's going to sue you. That's what it is. All right, so don't criminal. Yes. The wine wine. What the hell? Take it away, Jean. OK. This one I just.

Couldn't stop laughing at. I mean, because, okay, this guy from Turkey, it's, I'm gonna butcher it, Ingol? Ingol? It is, no wait, hold on one second. It was, yes. Ingol, Turkey. Yes, and Inigol. Inigol, okay. I don't know. Anyway, over in Turkey. Over in Turkey somewhere. But this was good. It was a 15 year old, so it wasn't even a young kid or a, anyway.

So him and his friends went out drinking and for the night and he wandered into the forest and he didn't come home. his friend... Can you just say, obviously he hasn't watched like all the murder mystery shows that we watched because even drunk, I would not wander in the forest. And then so he saw his friends could not find him. Right. And so they...

Did a search party right right now. This is the funny part is He joined the search party, but he saw the group and he had no idea that he was the missing person, right? Only realized it when they started shouting his name. Yeah. Yeah, and that's when I guess

I mean we cannot make this stuff up. No, no. It's like, you know, I drink wine and lose my phone, this guy drinks and he loses himself. I guess that makes me feel I'm not as bad as some other people when they're drunk. Right, no, no. And I'll let you know if we form a search party. Can you just text me? I'll just text you.

But I know for a fact you or I would not be wandering into the woods. We may be in our beds sleeping. Or I may be in your bed sleeping or your sofa sleeping. But I'm not going to be in the woods. No. No, no. I've watched too much Dateline for that. And we've investigated too many crimes. Yes. People are silly. You know, you see these things and you're thinking, why?

Why are you going by yourself? and into the woods and it just makes no sense. No. anyway, so that's our funny story. That's our dumb criminal. That's pretty dumb. So now on to... our uncorked Yes.

From 1986, it happened on Christmas Day, which was a

ago a 70 year old man named Ivan Darlene was found stabbed to death in his home. Now he was actually 79. Oh was it 79? My fault. No, had it written down. Okay. Because I had just listened to that recently. So I that's young. Yeah. Having, having right 60s, 70s now young. Yeah. So he was but he was yeah he was 79. So he was not a spring chicken. It doesn't matter. He was still found.

Yes, which is off York Street, On York Street. It is on York Street, yes. Yep, in Gettysburg. And then, and it happened in, again, 1986 on Christmas Day, they discovered his body. Yeah.

⁓ And this was a podcast we listened to besides some newspaper articles, but the family couldn't get in touch with him. They were coming to spend Christmas Day with him his stepson and granddaughter, granddaughter, to just their family.

And so they were coming to spend take him out to dinner at the holiday for a Christmas. Yeah, They couldn't get in touch with him. And so then they went to or they caught called the neighbor Yes, and the neighbor went over and discovered him and evidently he had been murdered several days before Yes. Yeah, so this is before like Ivan didn't have a cell phone. I don't think any of us really know pens in 86 now and so

They were having a hard time reaching him, but that wasn't unusual because they said that he didn't always answer his phone. I think, think, and he was, you know, he would go out, you know, in and out and that type of thing. So, you know, back in the day, but still, you know, they were concerned that they couldn't get ahold of him, but it was, I guess it wasn't unusual. Right. So, yeah. So then I guess the neighbor then called the family and said, you better come up here. And then the police will call.

and yes and it was and ⁓ there's i don't know sign of forced entry no no but back then they're saying that ⁓ remember back then the doors are kept unlocked yes that's true and yes i think he kept his doors sometimes unlocked but right everyone pretty much did yeah yeah it wasn't in the gettysburg area yeah you felt safe yeah safe and all that fun yeah and he was retired so just i mean it wasn't he

He was retired and he was living off of fixed income. he was saving his money to buy his wife who had passed away a tombstone. Yes. Yes. Yeah. He'd been married.

they've been married it's I can't remember but but um it was a long it was yeah it was a long time and she and she had a stroke I believe it was yeah yeah yeah so then that left her in a nursing home so yeah I think he would go visit her every day it's just like that sweet that you know that sweet story yeah just makes you it it's sickening you know as to why and because the stabbing you know is personal yes like if you're gonna

kill somebody in a robbery. Usually it would be like a gun or something like that. Yeah. I imagine, you know, stabbing someone. It just grosses me out. Right. I just can't imagine it. No. And then some things were robbed, taken from the house. Yeah. the police were not disclosing what they were. Yeah. Which is interesting. Very interesting. Yeah. And he had been robbed before. Yes. Just a few months.

Yeah, yeah, or it was a year wasn't it? I've been here. Yeah, he was he was Robbed and I guess some coins like some like Civil War coins Yes, and some papers were taken but but this man wasn't rich, you know So there was no reason unless he had something Super collectible that nobody really realized was collectible and but this person who broke in before Saw it and knew that it was yeah. I wonder about that. That's true. I didn't think about that or

Was it somebody that he knew somehow? He had started dating again. He did. Yeah. And so he was seeing... I couldn't find any information on... I tried to dig on who it was and whether she had children or anything like that that could have been antagonistic towards him or was she legit or was she like a money digger and she thought he had money and... I don't know. I know.

Funny thing was is that she was supposed to have like a lunch date with him and he never showed up for it. And she never went to check supposedly or never went to the police, never even contacted the stepson. Which that's weird. To me that's strange. That sends red flags to me. if he's an older gentleman. It sounds like he was very fastidious and that he would have...

Not been late or would have called her if he wasn't gonna come. so I would so that see I in my gut it I feel You know how I am with my gut. Yes. I feel like it has something to do with this woman. He was dating But we don't but we don't know, you know, no, no, and I think the Gettysburg police are

still calling this active. they reopened the case. It went cold for decades. Yes, of course. And then they reopened it in 2022. Wow. With new forensic testing, investigators hope for the DNA advancements may bring answers. That'll be good. And then he was seen a few days before the timeline at lunch, wasn't he, with a couple of that

Yes, that didn't recognize that people like the waitress never did not recognize it was a local place that he frequented right and yeah and She did not recognize the couple which to me again is where where's this couple? Where's right? Was it the girlfriend but I think I didn't sound like it. It's a younger couple Yeah, I think from what I remember, but I think that Yeah, it's like

The police have something, they have their stuff that when I listen to the podcast that the granddaughter app was actually on. And we will link that in notes. yeah, very good. That, you know, they were devastated by this because when they came on Christmas day, I mean, they had wonderful memories of their grandfather, you know, and then to have that, it would smell very bad. Like the windows were all open just to try to the smell out. And the poor granddaughter said that she...

can still kind of like smell that to this day. You know, it just like really, really traumatized. I mean, of course it would, but I don't think that the kids actually saw him, but the kids were teenagers at one point, they were little kids. So they were very well aware. Like, you how do you live with that your life knowing that your grandfather was murdered? Like that would just be a dark cloud over your life. Especially any day, but on Christmas day.

And especially with all the things they're saying is like his one grandson was doing the Campbell's soup collecting. Oh yeah. yeah, you know, here Ivan didn't have much money, but he ate or yeah, he's about to camp. It's so much amount of Campbell's soup just to provide those labels. Yeah. His, his

grandson and his grandson I guess won one of the prizes. Yeah, he was like one of the top trippi-dairs. then like the stepson had asked Ivan if he wanted him to pay for the tombstone and Ivan said no I want to pay for it. So to me what I'm picturing is a very gentle soul. know like who had enemies? wanted to me he wouldn't have had enemies. No, no.

kind of slight so he wasn't a big man. know that type of thing. 79. Easily overpowered. Yeah. I'm sure. So it just it's just it's you know it's what's gonna be lovely to be able to solve it just for the grandkids because I do believe the son and his wife are already passed on. Yes. If I'm not mistaken and so it's just like it'll be nice to be able to bring some closure to these kids to just know like just I would just want to know why. Why? And another thing too is

didn't they have papers that were discovered in the house that belonged to another like stepson or something and he was in the CIA? Yes, and I'm not sure, I'm not clear on which child that was. I don't know if there was another, was there another? I think there was another stepson, he said. So like what if it was a family? Yeah. Cause that makes more sense to me in a way because it's personal.

stabbing his person. yeah, you know, that's what I'm thinking too. But in CIA, you would think like he would be above that. Yeah. You know what I mean? Oh, okay. So here's a, this is just like a side offshoot, but because of where Gettysburg is, like we're not that far from DC, not that far from Camp David and all these things. So there's a lot of operatives that live in this area. Yes. But people don't really think about that. Right. You know, so

I know that my ex-husband, when he was doing insurance, insured this older woman who lived back in New York Springs. She lived on the farm and her husband had passed away. And he was evidently very high in the CIA, but nobody knew what he did. But she had the CIA taking care of her almost for the rest of her life, like bought her a dog. There's a lot in this area. So what if I was in the CIA? Yeah.

No, he could have been. He could have been, especially in 1986. really didn't know. You're undercover. Yes, yes. And I know even in this neighborhood too, because a lot of retirees, same thing, NIH, CIA. Yeah. So all the secrets we could find out. know. are block parties here. know. The thing is that they never talk. ⁓ I know.

I know, I would be afraid to open my mouth. That's why they wouldn't hire me because I'm a blabbermouth. But it is all in this area. You're right. mean a lot of retired government officials come to this area. Exactly, exactly. So it's like a bedroom community in a sense. So it's not beyond reasonable doubt that it could have been something government related, but I don't want to go down that rabbit hole. But I'm just saying. Yes.

So that's the thing. the police there's some things the police are not have not been very forthcoming with evidently So that always tends to make me suspicious me too. And why aren't they? Saying what exactly was taken right putting up pictures and writings, right? It's it's to me almost like the police have ideas or They have who it is and yeah why yeah, but this is how many years later? my gosh

person's gonna be gone be dead by the time we figure that you know I just want closure for these poor grandkids saying you and that's that's my thing so I mean Gettysburg's already spooky with you know battlefield ghosts but this one's different yeah somebody's grandfather it's just nice to meet gentle soul like I said yeah so the house the house was finally sold I forgot what year it was but I want my little

No, well and the granddaughter who did the podcast said that her father would not sell the house and why he was alive He just could not yeah. Yeah, which is again, you know that affected. I'm just a lot And so yeah, so You know the I think we can put pressure on anybody. Yeah, it was our little podcast. Yeah, that would be local So if you have any

Insight into this like I know this was how many years ago maybe something something something Triggered in your mind. Yeah, I don't know I play you trivia and everyone's small like a question I'll come up and I just know it and I don't know how I know it It's random knowledge, but maybe that's something to maybe like you know it you know something Yes, you don't know you know until we say hey Yes, let's talk about this case, you know, yeah

That is very good. so we'll put the, ⁓ I'll put the Gettysburg Police phone number and I'll put, ⁓ the, ⁓ reference that podcast. That would be great. You guys can listen because it's just, it's very, it's very fast. It's just fascinating. Yeah. You know, so, and if we could help somehow solve, would love it. Yeah. Especially since they reopened in 2022. So it's not that far. It's not open case right now. So, and, with the, you know, the advancements in science, you know, if they have, they have DNA, what did you believe they have?

you know, one of his DNA of a CIF is on again. Maybe that's why they're not saying anything. I don't know. You know, last he died. So anyway. So from a drunk man who lost himself in the forest to a man who lost his life in a crime and still waiting for justice, tonight's been a riot. It has been a riot. So pour one out. Stay suspicious.

And don't get burrowed!