“We will provide appropriate updates to the public when our investigation reaches its conclusion.”
MONTAUK, NY — More than six weeks after a young fashion designer was found lifeless on a boat in Montauk, an investigation into her death continues as questions swirl.
Martha Nolan-O’Slattara, 33, was found unresponsive on August 5 on a boat off the Montauk Yacht Club, sending shock waves into the tony community during the height of the summer season.
But despite rumors and speculation, no cause of death has been confirmed. Suffolk County police previously said that an autopsy conducted on Nolan-O’Slatarra did not show evidence of violence..
“The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office is committed to conducting a thorough, professional investigation into the death of Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra,” a representative for Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney told Patch this week. “Out of respect for the victim, her family, and the integrity of our ongoing investigation, we will not be commenting on specific details, evidence, or investigative theories until our review is complete. Our office remains focused on ensuring all aspects of this matter are examined comprehensively and professionally. We will provide appropriate updates to the public when our investigation reaches its conclusion.”
Meanwhile, the many who loved Nolan-O’Slattara gathered in her tiny hometown in Ireland last month to say a heartbreaking farewell during a funeral service.
According to a published death notice, a funeral mass was held in The Cathedral of the Assumption in Carlow, followed by burial afterward in St Mary’s Cemetery in Carlow.
The funeral was marked by heartbreak, according to the Irish Mirror, with her partner and sister speaking about a young woman who touched many lives. Nicholas DiRubio, who was reportedly dating Nolan-O’Slattara and who she was seen with in many photos on social media, helped to carry her coffin, according to the Irish Mirror.
“Martha had a special way of lighting up every room she walked into, whether it was her signature ‘Hi’ or her famous hand gestures. One couldn’t help feel her positive presence in every space she entered,” the outlet reported DiRubio saying.
Also, according to the Irish Mirror, Nolan O’Slattara’s sister Jacqui spoke from the heart. “The shining light that Martha brought into this world is a reflection of everybody in this room. For friends, family, loved ones, both past and present, we’ve all been lucky to have known Martha and we must live every day forward with her in our hearts. May she rest in peace.”
Her death notice was first posted last week by Carpenter Brothers Funeral Directors in Carlow, Ireland, stating that Nolan-O’Slattara “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.”
In addition, Nolan-O’Slattara”s family has hired a lawyer as they search for answers about how she died.
Attorney Arthur Aidala, managing partner of Aidala, Bertuna & Kamins, which has offices in New York City and Southampton, spoke with members of the media last month. Any reports prematurely listing the cause of death of Martha Nolan-O’Slattara “are irresponsible. They’re just not accurate,” said Aidala, who is now representing Nolan’s family, according to Fox News.
At the press conference, posted on Fox News, Aidala said he had been in touch with Tierney’s office, and that Nolan-O’Slattara’s family has “had a sit down” with Suffolk County Police homicide detectives. He added that a “deep, deep” investigation was ongoing, with “technological analysis still being done.”
Aidala also said that her family “respectfully requests privacy. At this point, they have a lot of questions they want answered — and they want to honor Martha’s legacy.”
Aidala did not immediately respond to multiple calls and emails for additional comment by Patch.
Last month, the New York Post reported that, in an interview, Tierney said officials were waiting on additional toxicology results from an autopsy.
In recent days, the Irish Independent 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.
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, called Ripple, when she called her boyfriend she told him she’d been at a business meeting, had called an Uber and would be home soon.
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 of 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 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 recently — but, instead, her mother and aunt were making the sad journey to New York, the outlet said.
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.”
“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.
Nolan-O’Slatarra was 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.”