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Newly disclosed details suggest that Irish fashion designer Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra, 33, died after a business meeting with a Long Island insurance executive aboard a boat he owns while it was docked at the Montauk Yacht Club, the Daily Mail has reported.
Sources told the publication that Christopher Durnan — a guitar-playing 60-year-old widower who owns a multi-million dollar Montauk home overlooking the Long Island Sound — ran down the dock just after midnight on Aug. 5, seeking help after discovering Nolan-O’Slatarra unconscious on his SeaRay vessel named Ripple.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene as good Samaritans attempted CPR aboard the craft, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Daily Mail reported that unnamed sources told the publication they believed she may have died from a drug overdose. Suffolk County Police have not confirmed the cause of death and are awaiting autopsy results, expected to become available in the coming months.
Who is Chris Durnan?
Durnan is reported by the Daily Mail and U.S. Sun to have invested more than $200,000 in Nolan-O’Slatarra’s swimwear brand East x East. An executive and the son of the founders of Durnan Group Inc. in Rockville Centre, he has been a notable figure in Montauk business and social circles.
He owns Ripple and another Grateful Dead–themed vessel, Hell in a Bucket, both of which have been docked at the Montauk Yacht Club. Last month, he participated in the annual Montauk Canyon Challenge fishing event.
He lives in a multi-million dollar home in Long Beach, splitting time with a residence near Palm Beach, Florida, according to multiple reports.
Greater Long Island has learned that he purchased a home at 112 Soundview Avenue in Montauk in October 2020 for $2.2 million. Widowed since 2018, Durnan has two children and four siblings, most of whom live in Nassau County.
Durnan did not reply to several phone calls and text messages from Greater Long Island.
A life in transition
Originally from Carlow, Ireland, Nolan-O’Slatarra moved to New York City and soon launched such fashion-label ventures as Duper and East x East, the latter of which recently held a pop-up at Gurney’s Montauk Resort. It was an event she celebrated proudly on TikTok.
Her personal life was in transition. In April, Nolan-O’Slatarra finalized an uncontested divorce from Sam Ryan and she was dating Nicholas DiRubio — a 34-year-old sales executive and former college football player — according to The Irish Independent and The Daily Mail.
On the day she died, she reportedly told DiRubio that she would be home by 1 a.m.
Investigation and family reaction
Suffolk police have confirmed that there were no signs of physical trauma during the preliminary autopsy.
However, the final cause of death is pending based on further tests. Nolan-O’Slatarra’s family in Ireland in multiple reports have expressed frustration over the delay in receiving information and are considering hiring a private detective to ensure the investigation is thorough.
Relatives have also rejected portrayals of her as a “party animal,” describing her as hardworking and principled.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story included material about a separate incident that has since been removed.
