The family of Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra, the 33-year-old Manhattan-based swimwear designer found dead on a yacht in the Hamptons, is now grappling with another unsettling turn in the investigation into her death. Detectives have reportedly asked her mother whether Nolan-O’Slatarra had brain cancer, a suggestion that relatives insist is not only unfounded but cruel in its implication.
The question came up during a call between the authroties and Nolan-O’Slatarra’s mother, Elma. A source close to the family says that they were stunned at the question and see it as another painful rumor during a difficult time. According to the Irish Independent, no one knows how detectives received the information that informed their theory.
Nolan-O’Slatarra, originally from Carlow, Ireland, was the founder of the East x East swimwear label. On the night of August 5, she had been aboard Ripple, a yacht docked at Montauk Yacht Club and owned by 60-year-old insurance executive Christopher Durnan. Just after midnight, witnesses said Durnan, naked and panicked, ran along the dock shouting for help. Despite CPR efforts from bystanders, Nolan-O’Slatarra was pronounced dead at the scene.
A first autopsy found no signs of violence—no defensive wounds, no evidence of trauma. Arthur Aidala, the family’s attorney, confirmed that homicide detectives remain in contact with relatives and are continuing to question witnesses. “There is still a very intense investigation focused on why a young woman is dead,” he told reporters. Toxicology tests are now the central focus, with medical examiners examining her blood and other fluids for possible explanations. Those results may take weeks or even months.
Still, speculation has already begun to swirl. The Daily Mail reported Thursday that a white powder substance appeared in photos taken aboard the 50-foot cruiser the morning after Nolan-O’Slatarra’s death. Sources have noted it’s possible she died from a drug overdose, but family members have asked for a second opinion before her body is transported to Ireland.
Meanwhile, both of Durnan’s vessels—Ripple and another boat named Hell in a Bucket, each after Grateful Dead songs—have since left their slips at Montauk Yacht Club. Durnan has not spoken publicly about the case. Suffolk County Police declined to comment on whether their detectives pursued the brain cancer rumor or why the boats departed.
