“I’m Getting Harassed”: Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra’s Final Texts Surface Before Her Mysterious Death on a Montauk Yacht

**Content warning: This article discusses a mysterious death, allegations of assault and possible drug involvement.

Two days before Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra attended a business meeting from which she would never return, the 33-year-old fashion entrepreneur sent a message to her business partner that now seems impossible to ignore.

“I’m getting harassed.”

The Irish-born founder of luxury swimwear company East x East was referring to Christopher “Chris” Durnan, an investor who had reportedly put $250,000 into the business and acquired approximately a 13% stake.

According to newly revealed text messages, tensions between Nolan-O’Slatarra and Durnan had been escalating. Durnan was accusing her and business partner Dylan Grace of financial misconduct, while Nolan-O’Slatarra complained that the investor was repeatedly messaging her even after she had previously blocked him.

She eventually agreed to sit down with Durnan and discuss the business.

That meeting happened on the evening of August 4, 2025, aboard his boat in Montauk.

By midnight, Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra was dead.

Now, more than a year later, the texts have emerged as her family pursues a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against Durnan, alleging that his actions caused her death through assault, gross negligence and reckless conduct.

Durnan has not been criminally charged, has denied causing Nolan-O’Slatarra’s death, and the allegations in the family’s civil lawsuit have not been proven in court. Suffolk County Police also said after the initial autopsy in 2025 that Nolan-O’Slatarra’s body showed no evidence of violence, while her final cause of death remained pending further examination.

Those competing accounts are what make the Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra Montauk yacht death one of the Hamptons’ most perplexing ongoing mysteries.

The Messages Began With Accusations of Fraud

The newly surfaced texts reportedly date to just days before Nolan-O’Slatarra’s death.

According to reporting by the New York Post, Nolan-O’Slatarra had blocked Durnan on her phone by August 1, 2025. He then began sending messages to her East x East business partner, Dylan Grace, accusing the pair of fraudulent or improper business behavior.

Durnan had invested approximately $250,000 in East x East in 2022, according to reporting about the company’s history. New York Magazine reported that Grace had introduced Durnan to Nolan-O’Slatarra through mutual Irish connections and that the two entrepreneurs formally pitched him on investing during a lunch at the Montauk Yacht Club.

By the summer of 2025, however, that relationship had apparently deteriorated.

Grace reportedly told Nolan-O’Slatarra about Durnan’s complaints, prompting her to agree to meet with him the following Monday.

When Grace asked whether she could unblock the investor for the weekend, Nolan-O’Slatarra did.

It did not take long before she regretted it.

On August 2, she complained to Grace that Durnan was messaging her aggressively and would not stop.

She described herself as being “harassed” and reportedly complained that he had texted her repeatedly while accusing her of ghosting him.

Two days later, she kept her promise to meet with him.

Martha Arrived at the Montauk Yacht Club Around 7:30 P.M.

The business meeting was scheduled for Monday, August 4.

According to New York Magazine’s detailed reconstruction of Nolan-O’Slatarra’s final evening, she arrived at the Montauk Yacht Club on Star Island Road at approximately 7:30 p.m.

Durnan owned two boats at the marina.

One was a fishing vessel called Hell in a Bucket.

The other was a roughly 54-foot Sea Ray named Ripple.

Both names were references to Grateful Dead songs.

Nolan-O’Slatarra and Durnan reportedly began the evening aboard Hell in a Bucket and took the boat out while drinking champagne around sunset. By approximately 9:30 p.m., they had returned to the marina and moved to Ripple, where they continued talking about the company.

There was nothing inherently unusual about Nolan-O’Slatarra meeting an investor to discuss business.

But friends were beginning to wonder why she had stopped responding.

Her Friends Became Worried When Her Phone Appeared Offshore

Nolan-O’Slatarra had told her boyfriend, Nick DiRubio, that she intended to take an Uber home later that night.

As the evening continued, however, friends noticed that she was not responding to a group chat.

Her location through Apple’s Find My feature also apparently appeared to show her phone somewhere offshore, likely because she and Durnan had taken Hell in a Bucket out on the water.

At approximately 9:20 p.m., one person in the chat jokingly wondered whether Nolan-O’Slatarra’s phone had died.

Minutes later, she responded and reassured everyone that she was back at the yacht club and that her phone was working.

It would reportedly be one of the last communications her friends received from her.

What happened over roughly the next two hours remains the central mystery.

Around Midnight, Someone Called 911

Suffolk County Police say East Hampton Town Police received a 911 call at approximately midnight reporting that a woman was unconscious aboard a boat docked at the Montauk Yacht Club.

Good Samaritans attempted CPR.

Nolan-O’Slatarra, a Manhattan resident, was pronounced dead aboard the vessel by first responders.

Police initially called the circumstances inconclusive and assigned the investigation to the Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad.

The word “homicide” in the unit’s name did not itself mean police had determined she was murdered. Homicide detectives routinely investigate unexplained deaths when the circumstances require additional scrutiny.

The preliminary autopsy soon produced an important finding.

Police announced on August 5, 2025, that the examination “did not show evidence of violence.”

The agency said Nolan-O’Slatarra’s final cause of death would require additional examination.

As of August 2026, Suffolk County authorities still had not publicly released a final cause and manner of death, according to multiple recent reports.

That absence of a public answer has become one of the family’s greatest frustrations.

Durnan Was Reportedly Naked When He Sought Help

Perhaps no detail surrounding the Montauk yacht mystery has generated more speculation than what witnesses reportedly saw shortly before police arrived.

According to New York Magazine, Durnan was unclothed when he ran along the marina seeking assistance.

Witnesses said someone was shouting and attempting to wake neighboring boaters. One nearby boater eventually called 911.

Durnan’s attorney, Robert Holdman, offered an explanation.

Holdman said Nolan-O’Slatarra suddenly became unresponsive sometime around 10:30 or 11 p.m. and that Durnan believed she might be suffering a heart attack.

The attorney said Durnan attempted CPR.

Holdman also said his client removed his clothes because they had become soaked with Nolan-O’Slatarra’s vomit while he tried to save her.

That explanation has since drawn additional scrutiny because recently obtained emergency medical records reportedly did not mention vomit at the scene.

However, the absence of vomit from an EMT report does not by itself prove Durnan’s account was false.

EMT Records Describe Blood and a Body Cold to the Touch

New details emerged in August 2026 when medical and EMT records describing what emergency responders encountered became public.

According to reports based on those records, Nolan-O’Slatarra was fully clothed and lying on a bed when responders examined her.

She was reportedly cold to the touch.

Responders also documented discoloration around her lips and beneath her fingernails and dried blood around her mouth, chest and head. No active source of bleeding was immediately identified in the report.

Those details understandably alarmed Nolan-O’Slatarra’s family.

But they should be considered alongside the official finding announced by Suffolk County Police after the original autopsy: the medical examination did not reveal evidence of violence.

That apparent contradiction has become a major part of the dispute.

The family believes the evidence points toward foul play.

Durnan denies responsibility.

Police have not announced a homicide finding.

And the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s final conclusions have not been publicly released.

Martha’s Family Says an Independent Examination Told a Different Story

Nolan-O’Slatarra’s relatives arranged for their own examination after raising concerns about the official investigation.

Sources close to the family have claimed that an independent autopsy found only trace amounts of cocaine in her system and led relatives to reject speculation that she simply died from a drug overdose.

The family’s attorneys have gone further, publicly alleging that evidence suggested some form of assault.

Those claims have not been independently confirmed by Suffolk County Police or the Suffolk County Medical Examiner, and the government’s final autopsy and toxicology findings remain undisclosed.

That distinction is essential.

A privately commissioned examination can become significant evidence in civil litigation, but it does not automatically replace an official medical examiner’s determination.

The public currently has two sharply different narratives.

The official preliminary autopsy found no evidence of violence.

The family believes subsequent evidence points in another direction.

Police Were Also Looking Into Possible Drug Involvement

In the weeks after Nolan-O’Slatarra’s death, authorities also explored whether drugs could have played a role.

The East End Drug Task Force became involved in a separate review, while media reports cited unnamed sources suggesting investigators were considering an accidental overdose involving cocaine or another substance.

Photographs taken aboard Ripple after the death reportedly showed a white powder-like substance on seating surfaces.

Durnan’s attorney said the substance was residue left by police while processing the boat for fingerprints rather than illegal drugs.

Again, no publicly released toxicology finding has established that an overdose caused Nolan-O’Slatarra’s death.

Her family strongly disputes that theory.

The Family Filed a $50 Million Wrongful Death Lawsuit

One year after Nolan-O’Slatarra died, her estate took an extraordinary step.

Her mother and representatives filed a wrongful death action against Christopher Durnan in New York Supreme Court.

The family is seeking approximately $50 million in damages.

The civil filing accuses Durnan of intentionally assaulting Nolan-O’Slatarra and alleges that gross negligence, reckless behavior and wanton conduct caused her injuries and death.

The lawsuit also seeks damages for what the estate alleges was conscious pain and suffering before she died, along with punitive damages and legal costs.

Those are allegations in a lawsuit.

They have not been proven.

Durnan has not been convicted or charged with assaulting Nolan-O’Slatarra, and Suffolk County Police recently confirmed that no assault charges have been filed in connection with her death.

His attorneys have previously described him as devastated by Nolan-O’Slatarra’s death and maintained that he attempted to help after she suddenly became unconscious.

The Newly Revealed Texts Could Become Important Evidence

The discovery of Nolan-O’Slatarra’s messages adds a new element to the civil case.

On their own, messages complaining of harassment do not establish that Durnan harmed her physically.

They do, however, provide evidence that their relationship was strained immediately before their final meeting.

According to the messages, Nolan-O’Slatarra had already blocked Durnan before reluctantly restoring communication at Grace’s request.

She then complained that Durnan would not stop contacting her.

Durnan’s complaints apparently centered on East x East and his investment in the company.

Nolan-O’Slatarra agreed to meet him to address those concerns.

Two days after telling Grace that she felt harassed, she arrived at Durnan’s boat.

She never left the marina alive.

The family’s attorneys are now likely to scrutinize every available message, call record and business document surrounding that meeting.

What Was Happening at East x East?

Understanding the business relationship may be critical to understanding why Nolan-O’Slatarra was at the yacht club that night.

East x East was an ambitious luxury swimwear and lifestyle brand Nolan-O’Slatarra built with Dylan Grace.

The pair had successfully placed products in high-profile Hamptons locations and created pop-up stores in Montauk. By 2024, the brand had also expanded into shops in St. Barts.

Behind the glamorous social media images, however, the company was reportedly under significant financial pressure.

Grace told New York Magazine that he and Nolan-O’Slatarra sometimes worried the business was not generating enough money to sustain itself.

Nolan-O’Slatarra remained determined to keep the company alive, believing longevity would ultimately establish the brand.

By 2025, she hoped to expand beyond the seasonal Hamptons market and enter Miami.

Durnan’s investment therefore mattered.

So did his accusations concerning how the business was being handled.

Exactly what Durnan believed had happened to his $250,000 investment and whether the dispute had become more serious than ordinary disagreements between investors and founders, may now become a major issue in the wrongful death litigation.

Durnan’s Account Has Drawn Questions About the Timeline

Durnan’s attorney previously said Nolan-O’Slatarra became unresponsive somewhere around 10:30 to 11 p.m.

Police say the 911 call arrived at approximately midnight.

New York Magazine questioned whether those two points created a potentially significant gap in the timeline.

Holdman rejected that suggestion, telling the publication that events occurred one after another as Durnan attempted CPR and then ran for help.

Durnan reportedly could not say exactly how long he performed CPR.

The recently reported EMT observation that Nolan-O’Slatarra was cold when responders arrived has led the family and outside experts to question whether she may have been dead longer than initially believed.

That interpretation has not been formally adopted by the medical examiner.

Body temperature after death can be influenced by numerous factors, so determining a precise time of death requires more than a responder noting that someone felt cold.

Still, the timeline is likely to receive close scrutiny in both the police investigation and the civil lawsuit.

His Missing Clothing Has Also Become Part of the Mystery

The clothing Durnan was allegedly wearing earlier that evening has reportedly never been recovered.

His attorney has maintained that Durnan removed it because Nolan-O’Slatarra vomited on him while he attempted to assist her.

The EMT report later made no mention of finding vomit, according to reporting on the newly obtained records.

That discrepancy does not establish wrongdoing.

But from an investigative standpoint, clothing worn by the last known person with an unexplained-death victim could potentially contain DNA, bodily fluids or other evidence capable of helping reconstruct what happened.

The family’s lawyers have seized on the missing clothes as one more unanswered question.

Durnan Has Not Been Charged With a Crime

The most important fact in the Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra investigation is also one that can easily get lost amid the disturbing allegations.

Christopher Durnan has not been arrested or criminally charged in connection with Nolan-O’Slatarra’s death.

The $50 million case against him is a civil lawsuit.

Civil cases operate under a lower burden of proof than criminal prosecutions. Nolan-O’Slatarra’s estate will attempt to establish that Durnan’s conduct caused her death or injuries, while Durnan will have an opportunity to challenge those allegations and present evidence of his own.

The lawsuit itself is not proof of guilt.

At the same time, a lack of criminal charges does not automatically determine the outcome of a civil wrongful death case.

The investigation remains open.

One Year Later, Her Family Has Opened a Tip Line

Nolan-O’Slatarra’s estate is now asking members of the public to help fill in the gaps.

On August 13, 2026, the family’s legal team announced the creation of a dedicated Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra tip lineseeking information about the events surrounding her death.

The estate is particularly interested in anyone who may have been at the Montauk marina on the night of August 4 into the early hours of August 5.

Attorneys say the family has waited more than a year for answers.

The tip line is part of the estate’s independent investigation and is separate from the official Suffolk County Police investigation.

Police have also continued asking anyone with information to contact the Suffolk County Homicide Squad.

Who Was Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra?

Behind the increasingly complicated Montauk yacht death investigation was a young woman who had traveled thousands of miles to build the life she wanted.

Nolan-O’Slatarra grew up in County Carlow, Ireland, before moving to the United States in her 20s.

She studied business and worked in finance and marketing before becoming an entrepreneur. She eventually launched fashion ventures including East x East, building relationships throughout the highly competitive Hamptons social and fashion scene.

Her brand appeared at prestigious summer locations, including high-end Montauk resorts.

Friends described her as ambitious, social and intensely driven.

At her funeral in Ireland, relatives remembered her as loving, loyal and full of life. Her boyfriend described her as someone whose presence could light up a room.

Her sister, Jacqui, spoke about the bond they shared and promised that Martha would remain in her heart.

Those are the details her family does not want buried beneath the mystery of how she died.

The Official Cause of Death Is Still the Missing Piece

More than a year after Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra was pronounced dead aboard Ripple, the public still does not have the single piece of information that could dramatically reshape the entire case:

Her final official cause and manner of death.

Suffolk County Police initially said the autopsy showed no evidence of violence.

Her family disputes an accidental overdose explanation.

Their attorneys now allege assault.

Emergency medical records reportedly describe dried blood and a body cold to the touch.

Durnan says, through his attorney, that Nolan-O’Slatarra suddenly became unresponsive and that he desperately attempted to save her.

No criminal charges have been filed.

And authorities have not publicly announced whether they consider her death accidental, natural, drug-related or the result of another person’s actions.

Until that changes, every new detail will be examined against the same question:

What happened aboard Ripple during the final hours of Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra’s life?

“She Agreed to Meet Him. She Died at That Meeting.”

Perhaps the most haunting development is how ordinary the evening originally appeared.

This was not supposed to be a secret rendezvous with a stranger.

It was a business meeting with an investor.

Nolan-O’Slatarra knew Durnan.

He had been involved with East x East for years.

But newly revealed communications indicate she had grown uncomfortable enough with his messages that she blocked him.

She unblocked him because her business partner wanted the dispute addressed.

She complained that she felt harassed.

Then she agreed to meet.

Hours later, emergency workers were attempting to revive her aboard one of Durnan’s boats.

Her estate’s attorney Michael Bowe has distilled the family’s position into a devastatingly simple timeline: Nolan-O’Slatarra agreed to the meeting, and she died during that meeting.

That chronology is indisputable.

What caused her death is not.

And that distinction may ultimately decide everything.

The Suffolk County investigation, the family’s $50 million wrongful death lawsuit and whatever evidence emerges through discovery could finally reveal what happened between approximately 9:30 p.m., when Nolan-O’Slatarra said she was back at the yacht club, and midnight, when police were called.

Until then, the mystery remains unresolved.

What stands out most to you about the Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra case: the texts saying she felt harassed, the unanswered questions surrounding the timeline, the EMT report, or the fact that her official cause of death still has not been publicly disclosed more than a year later? Do you believe the civil lawsuit will finally uncover information that the public has not yet seen? Share your thoughts in the comments.