New York City fashion designer Martha Nolan-O'Slatarra was found dead with blood on her head and purpling skin aboard a yacht in Montauk, according to a newly released emergency report. Paramedics found the 33-year-old Irish-born founder of East x East cold to the touch aboard a vessel docked at the Montauk Yacht Club in the Hamptons last August.
An EMT report obtained by the New York Post detailed that Nolan-O'Slatarra had dried blood in her oral, head, and chest areas, along with purpling on her mouth, chest, back of head, lips, and under her nailbeds. Blood was found on the floor near her body, though officials documented no active bleeding or obvious sources of trauma. Paramedics attempted resuscitation at the scene before pronouncing her dead, and her cause of death remains pending.
The report stated that an unidentified additional male was present at the time of cardiac arrest and told EMTs he was in bed with the victim before he could not wake her up and called 911. Yacht owner Christopher Durnan, 60, was previously confirmed as the only person present at the scene and the last person to see her alive.
Emergency Response and Yacht Scene Details
Durnan, an investor who had put more than $200,000 into Nolan-O'Slatarra's fashion boutique, met up with her on August 4 aboard his yacht, Ripple, to discuss her swimwear fashion company, according to a preliminary filing reviewed by the Daily Mail. Around midnight on August 5, he was spotted sprinting naked down the dock screaming for help for her. Law enforcement sources initially thought she might have died of a possible drug overdose.
Durnan's attorney, Robert Holdman, claimed his client was naked because his clothing was "soaked" in the victim's vomit. Holdman said Nolan-O'Slatarra went limp between 10:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on August 4, leading Durnan to fear she was having a heart attack and attempt CPR. Holdman told New York Magazine last year, "She was gone almost immediately," adding, "She was non-responsive." Holdman maintained that his client was not responsible for her death.
Family Lawsuit and Suspicious Behavior Claims
Nolan-O'Slatarra's heartbroken family is unconvinced and believes Durnan presented suspicious behavior that night. The family presented a three-page preliminary filing on Tuesday as they prepare to file a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against Durnan in the New York Supreme Court, accusing him of causing her death through assault and negligence.
Family attorney Michael Bowe told the Daily Mail, "Durnan was found naked on the dock and claimed he had stripped because Martha had vomited on him, but no soiled clothes or signs of vomit were found at the scene or in the autopsy." Bowe added that EMT reports left the family alarmed, especially because "law enforcement told the family the scene had been cleaned before responders arrived."
Fashion Career and Early Life in Ireland
Nolan-O'Slatarra arrived in the United States about a decade ago and established several companies, including fashion accessories brand Duper and luxury swimwear label East x East. In a 2024 interview with The Irish Independent, she said she "loved" living on the Upper East Side. Her social media pages showed her living it up on private jets, sipping champagne, attending concerts, and cozying up to her sales executive boyfriend Nicholas DiRubio during a helicopter ride.
She grew up in the small town of Carlow, Ireland, roughly 55 miles outside Dublin. She left home at 16 after she "forced" her parents to send her to the Institute of Education, a private secondary school in Dublin where tuition costs up to €11,850 (approximately $13,785) per year under its 2025/26 fee schedule. Her funeral service was held at the Cathedral of the Assumption in Carlow on August 20, 2025.
