Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra autopsy of Manhattan designer found dead says no evidence of violence with cause of death unknown pending further investigations as locals say she was partying the day before her death.
The body of a 33-year-old clothing designer from Manhattan who was found on a boat at an exclusive Hamptons yacht club earlier this week showed no evidence of violence at autopsy, authorities say, but her official cause and manner of death remain under investigation.
Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra, the founder of clothing company East x East, often spent time in Montauk and in recent weeks marked a big business success there, opening a summer pop-up store at the posh Gurneys resort.
Authorities haven’t said who found Nolan-O’Slatarra or how she died. A preliminary examination was inconclusive regarding her cause of death, officials said, but an autopsy did not show evidence of violence, NBC4 reports.
Manhattan designer’s homage to summer fun and lifestyle
Her official cause and manner of death will be determined by the medical examiner’s office. The Aug. 6 update noted, ‘Her final cause of death is pending further examination.’
According to the investigation, a man, believed to be her boyfriend and who owned the boat she was found, ‘Ripples’ called East Hampton police around midnight Tuesday to report an unconscious woman on a boat at Montauk Yacht Club, by Star Island Road.
At the time, the man who was observed without wearing any clothes had gone round banging on neighboring boats screaming and pleading for assistance.
Good Samaritans tried to perform CPR on Nolan-O’Slatarra, but to no avail. The deceased woman who hailed from Ireland and settled in the U.S ten years ago, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The designer’s East x East outlet—which sells swimsuits, resort wear and accessories—opened their summer-time pop-up location at Gurney’s Montauk Resort and Seawater Spa, which is six miles from the marina.
The line paid homage to the Irish woman’s love for the summer.
Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra double life
Nevertheless locals who knew the boyfriend reported degrees of discontent and a kind of double life the Manhattan designer who lived in a studio in NYC’s Upper East Side living.
A regular at the Yacht Club claimed Nolan-O’Slatarra’s boyfriend owning the boat where she was found deceased and that whenever she saw the boat owner he would be ‘drunk and always messed up.’
According to the local, the boat owner was seen running outside without any clothes screaming ‘that’s my girlfriend’ as he tried to get help from other boaters.
Speaking with Patch, witnesses claimed that Nolan-O’Slatarra was ‘partying’ the day before her death.
It remained unclear whether Nolan-O’Slatarra may have been using narcotics or prescriptions and possibly overdosed.
Speaking with the Irish Independent in 2024, Nolan-O’Slatarra said that she was a ‘small town girl who needed to get out to achieve her big dreams.’
Adding, ‘I always knew I wanted to be successful, that I was money-driven, business-driven — and that fashion is a tough industry and it would be a slow road.’
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. Of note the woman, a high ‘performing local realtor’ seemed to live a disorientated life and chose not to live a permanent address.
The Montauk Yacht club where the designer’s body was found on the moored boat, offers beach-goers luxurious accommodations, including spa services, a pool, beach, harbor cruises, biking and yoga.
Rooms at the famed club run for about $1,500 in the summertime and around $865 during other months.
Meanwhile, Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad detectives continue to investigate, with authorities asking anyone with information to contact the squad at 631.852.6392.
