New Details Emerge About Night Designer, Whose Body Was Found On Boat In Montauk, Died

MONTAUK, NY – One week after a young New York City designer's body was found on a boat at the Montauk Yacht Club, details of the night are beginning to emerge as the world seeks to answer the question: How did Martha Nolan O'Slattara die?

Suffolk County Police told Patch on Monday that there was "no update" in the case involving the death of Nolan O'Slattara, 33. On Wednesday, Suffolk County police said there has been no final update from those investigating the case, and that authorities are waiting for the final medical examiner's report.

Suffolk County officials, when asked for an update from the Medical Examiner's Office, said autopsy results are not released by that office.

In recent days, the Irish Independent reported that funeral arrangements for the Nolan-O'Slattara would be released this week; the outlet also reported that Nolan-O'Slattara's family was told that the final autopsy findings, including "toxicological, histological and other testing," could take at least three months to complete.

A death notice was posted this week by Carpenter Brothers Funeral Directors in Carlow, Ireland stating that Nolan "passed away unexpectedly, on August 5."

"Beloved daughter of Elma, much loved sister of Jacqui, treasured granddaughter of Betty and Liam, cherished niece of John, Michelle, Barry and Mona and adored partner of Nick. She will be sadly missed by her loving mother and her mother's partner Patrick, sister, aunts, uncles, partner, her father Seamus and her siblings, her grandfather Jimmy Slattery, extended family, relatives and her large circle of friends in Ireland and the U.S. May Martha’s gentle soul rest in peace."

Funeral arrangements will be published later in the week, the notice said.

Despite the murky details of the night she died out on the waters of Montauk, Nolan-O'Slattara was on the precipice of a bright new future.

A successful entrepreneur with a burgeoning fashion brand that had a pop-up at Gurney's this season, Nolan-O'Slattara was, according to Irish website Extra.ie, not with her boyfriend on the night she died. She called him moments before she was found unconscious, the outlet said.

Extra.ie reported that a source said that Nolan-O'Slattara and her boyfriend went to Ireland at Christmas, where he'd met her family and that "getting married would have been the next step."

According to multiple media reports, including Women's Wear Daily, Nolan was close to a divorce from her husband; an attorney familiar with the case told Patch that the divorce had not yet been finalized.

Also, according to Extra.ie, Nolan-O'Slattara and the boat owner were alone on the vessel when she called her boyfriend she told him she'd been at a business meeting, had called an Uber and would be home soon.

According to some media reports, including one report by the New York Post, the owner of the boat is a 60-year-old Long Island businessman. The boat "Ripple" was registered in Long Beach. Registration numbers for the vessels were not immediately visible to a Patch reporter at the scene last week.

Neighboring boaters told Patch that the owner actually had two boats, side by side, and that both were named after Grateful Dead songs; he also had a Grateful Dead sticker on the boat. One woman posted on Instagram that she'd made a Grateful Dead inspired guitar trap to match the Head Count guitar collection the boat's owner has.

Beyond the speculation over how Nolan O'Slattara died, there is a blanket of heavy grief, as those who loved her mourn the cold reality her loss.

"We were deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of our former student Martha Nolan O’Slatarra. Our heartfelt condolences to her mother Elma, her sister Jacqui, her extended family and wide circle of school friends. Martha was a bright and talented student. May her gentle soul rest in eternal peace," St. Leo's College, located in Carlow, Ireland, wrote on Instagram.

And beyond the headlines and ongoing investigation, the stark and simple grief remains: An anguished mother is mourning the unthinkable loss of her beautiful daughter.

Elma Nolan, mother of Nolan O'Slattara, told the Irish Independent that she "numb with shock," left reeling after the news that her precious girl was gone. "I don't know what happened to my daughter."

Her family, who lives in Ireland, was left searching for answers.

According to BreakingNews.ie, Nolan O'Slattara had planned to visit her mother in Ireland last week — but, instead, her mother and aunt were making the sad journey to New York, the outlet said.

Suffolk County police said Wednesday that an autopsy conducted on Nolan-O’Slatarra did not show evidence of violence, and her final cause of death is pending further examination.

Also on Wednesday, Dylan Grace, reportedly Nolan-O'Slattara's business partner in the East X East fashion brand, posted a heartfelt good-bye on Instagram. "We dreamed big together, laughed harder than anyone else could understand, and built so much from nothing. I'm truly blessed and grateful to have had you in my life."

(From Martha Nolan's Facebook page)

"She was such a beautiful person inside and out. She will be so, so missed," another person wrote on Instagram.

According to Suffolk County police, East Hampton Town police responded to a 911 call from a man reporting a woman unconscious on a boat docked at the yacht club on Star Island Road at about 12 a.m. on August 5.

Good Samaritans attempted to perform CPR on the woman; Nolan-O’Slatarra was pronounced dead on the boat by first responders, police said.

Boaters whose vessels were docked nearby described the experience. According to witnesses, the boat's owner and someone they thought was Nolan O'Slattara had been seen having a good time and "partying" earlier on Monday.

They headed out on the water on another boat docked in the next slip, then returned and boarded "The Ripple" Monday night, witnesses said.

Around midnight, two men said, they heard screaming and banging on the doors of the boats in the area as the man reportedly tried to get help.

"He woke us up," one man said.

Another person said their boat was nicked after it was hit with something by the man, desperate to get help.

"It was definitely disturbing," said Juan Stamos, who works on a nearby boat. "When we got to our boat the next morning, a pole was missing, and we were told that the man had used that pole to make a ruckus, banging on doors, in need of help."

"He was trying to wake people up," another person confirmed.

All who experienced the tragedy were left visibly shaken. "We were up since that midnight; we finally slept a few hours last night," one man said. "These things don't happen out here."

Another witness added: "I know these things happen, but not here."

The entire area was cordoned off with yellow police tape as officials conducted an investigation, boaters said.

"This is a family place," said one employee, who asked not to be identified. "This has never happened here before."

Another man, hosing off his deck, said he hadn't heard anything on the night Nolan-O’Slatarra died, but added, "It's crazy."

One boater said Nolan-O’Slatarra was known for her designs; a friend had recently bought one of her shirts a few days before.

(From Martha Nolan's Facebook page)

Nolan-O’Slatarra was reportedly originally from Ireland. According to her LinkedIn profile, she graduated from University College Dublin and had a master's in digital marketing from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School. Breakingnews.ie said that as a young girl, she was "keen footballer."

Posts on her TikTok account featured photos of a vibrant young woman focused on launching her brand. One post featured Nolan flying over New York City, writing: "New York or Nowhere."

According to a TikTok post by Nolan-O’Slatarra, she was the founder and creative director of East X East, a fashion brand offering crocheted dresses, bikinis, sunglasses and other items. On July 1, she posted on TikTok and showed the East X East brand featured at Gurney's in Montauk, saying: "POV: The brand you started 3 years ago has a pop up in the Hamptons. . . Goals achieved."

Representatives at Gurney's Wednesday declined to comment.

In a previous TikTok post, she described her journey with East X East, which she said meant "New York, by the Hamptons," with the tagline, "Built in the city, made for the sun. . . I feel at some point, everyone in their lives are, you know, grinding city life — but everyone's just destined for the sun."

"We are aware of the incident currently under investigation by law enforcement," a statement by the Montauk Yacht Club read. "The safety and privacy of our guests and staff remain a top priority. We are unable to share any additional information at this time."

The incident was not the first death to rock the Hamptons this summer: In June: A female pedestrian who was struck and killed in a hit-and-run crash in Hampton Bays was identified as Sara Burack, 40, police said.

Burack, of Southampton, was a well-known Hamptons real estate agent who had worked, in past years, for Nest Seekers International and appeared in the 2020 Netflix series "Million Dollar Beach House."

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact homicide squad detectives at 631-852-6392