Palm Springs man dies while still seeking answers on husband’s death
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) - A suspicious death in the desert is now reigniting questions tonight about another mysterious death and a man behind bars for targeting gay men.
Dan Mulcahey’s body was found near Palm Springs last week after being reported missing for days.
When News Channel 3 learned his identity, we recognized him as the man who spent years seeking justice for his husband, Darrin Tharp. That’s when we began digging again.
Mulcahey told News Channel 3 in 2023 he did not believe his husband’s death was an accidental overdose; he believed someone else was involved. At the time, his only evidence was a visitor sign-in sheet showing a name of "Issac” who arrived at Tharp’s home at 11:27 p.m. on April 15, 2023.
“I don't understand why I can't have a police report. I still have no idea who found him, what time, who called the police, who called the ambulance, who was here, and that's all I wanted to know,” Mulcahey said in 2023.
The coroner’s report obtained by News Channel 3 confirms the alias used was that of Hakan Isik.
The coroner's report states he was with Tharp and also called 9-1-1. Isik told investigators he found Tharp unresponsive in bed after the two had sexual relations. He also said they had used methamphetamine that morning. The coroner ruled Tharp died from acute methamphetamine intoxication, with heart disease as a contributing factor.
We never had the opportunity to discuss those findings with Mulcahey but continued asking why Tharp’s death had not resulted in charges against Isik.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Office said the case was submitted to the district attorney in December of 2023, eight months after Tharp died. The D.A.’s office told us it returned the case to the Sheriff’s department in January of 2025 for further investigation.
Prosecutors said Isik’s sex-crimes case is moving forward and a separate case could still be filed if investigators recommend additional charges.
The Sheriff’s Department now confirms the investigation remains ongoing-and now an investigation into the suspicious death of Dan Mulcahey, but is it connected or a coincidence?
This after years of heartbreak. Dan Mulcahey appeared to be turning the page. He'd moved into a new home in Palm Springs, neighbors telling News Channel 3 he was furnishing it, appeared to be settling in— and were shocked to learn of his death.
Isik remains jailed awaiting trial. His next court date is November 3 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. He faces eight felony sexual assault charges and four misdemeanor counts involving seven alleged victims — most of whom met him online for sex.
Darrin Tharp never had the opportunity to explain what happened that night. Dan Mulcahey spent the final years of his life fighting for answers.
We will continue pressing law enforcement for those answers.
