NYC designer Martha Nolan’s friends sent haunting text message hours before her death at Montauk Yacht Club



Friends of the Manhattan fashion designer found dead at the Montauk Yacht Club sent her a haunting text message joking that “maybe she’s dead” hours before her body was discovered.

Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra, 33, was at the swanky yacht club on Long Island’s South Fork for a meeting with investor and boat owner Christopher Durnan to discuss the expansion of her swimwear fashion company East x East on August 4.

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“If you guys are looking for more money, let’s sit down and talk about it,” Durnan wrote in a text to Nolan-O’Slatarra and her business partner Dylan Grace, according to New York Magazine.

Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra was found dead on a boat at the Montauk Yacht Club on Aug. 5, 2025. Martha Nolan / Facebook

The 33-year-old, who went by Martha Nolan professionally, was scheduled to meet with Durnan — who owns a 13 percent stake in the brand — at 4 p.m., but was pushed back three hours.

Nolan and Durnan took a boat ride on one of his two vessels to watch the sunset and drink champagne while Grace skipped the meeting due to an overseas trip to Greece, according to the outlet.

During their trip out to sea, the fashion designer’s friends and boyfriend, Nicholas DiRubio, became concerned when she wasn’t answering any messages sent to her.

The panicked pals tracked Nolan’s location to somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean before listing possible reasons for her radio silence.

“lmao. I’m sure her phone died. Or maybe she’s dead,” read one message sent at 9:20 p.m.

Christopher Durnan, an investor in East x East, was with Nolan in the hours before her death. Obtained by the NY Post
Nolan was found dead on the “Ripple” docked at the yacht club on Aug. 5, 2025. Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post

Ten minutes later, Nolan confirmed that she was back at the yacht club.

“Lol I’m at the yacht club now, my phone is on,” she wrote to the group.

Nolan is believed to have died about an hour after sending the message, according to police. She was found unconscious on the docked vessel “Ripple” after residents nearby reported hearing screams late at night.

The New York Post front cover on Aug. 7, 2025 scalle

Durnan was found running around the yacht club naked, throwing sunscreen at other boats, attempting to get their attention.

“I think for me it’s like, ‘Why is the man naked, right?’” one unidentified friend told the outlet.

Nolan was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officials found no signs of violence on her body, deepening the mystery of the grim discovery.

An official cause of death has not been released. Investigators suspect she died from an accidental overdose influenced by “designer drugs,” after a powdery white substance was found near her body on the moored vessel.

Martha Nolan and her boyfriend Nick DiRubio. Martha Nolan/TikTok
Investigators suspect Nolan died from an accidental overdose influenced by “designer drugs.” Instagram/@marthanolan
Martha Nolan’s boyfriend Nicholas DiRubio and other pallbearer carry Nolan’s casket out of the Cathedral of the Assumption in Carlow, Ireland on Aug. 20, 2025. Padraig O’Reilly for NY Post

Cops still don’t definitively know if the powder discovered near the 33-year-old beauty is heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, or a deadly cocktail of all three.

Police had been searching for the dealers in the area who may have sold the drugs believed to have killed Nolan.

“[These dealers] may or may not have known [they were selling] poison to this girl, but that doesn’t matter,” a source told The Post in August.

“With higher profile cases like this poor girl in Montauk, you’re going to see more and more of these dealers getting locked up,” the source said.

Prosecutors could “seek manslaughter or [criminally negligent] homicide charges” against the drug peddlers, the same source said. “There’s a slew of possession and trafficking charges, and they could decide to get [federal authorities] involved, which would mean more time in prison if these bastards are convicted.”


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