Ex-JP Morgan analyst, 24, found dead at an award-winning bartender’s mansion

A promising young professional who’d recently quit her high-flying job at JP Morgan was found dead at the mansion of a Boston-area nightlife mogul once dubbed America’s “most imaginative bartender,” according to an investigation into her final night.

Julia Phan, 24, died after a night out partying with legendary Boston-area mixologist Ran Duan, 38, who was filmed on camera helping the heavily intoxicated woman into his home on New Year’s Day, the Boston Globe revealed on Tuesday.

Duan called 911 in a panic the next morning to breathlessly explain that Phan had “got really drunk” at a concert the night before, audio obtained by the outlet shows.

“I need an ambulance right now,” said the bartender, who was named GQ Magazine’s “Most Imaginative Bartender” in 2014. “I put her down on the couch last night, took her shoes off. She passed out on the couch. I just woke up. I came down here.”

Officials ruled in April that Phan had died from intoxication from MDMA, or molly. But that confused her friends and family, who insist she never took recreational drugs.

Phan, of Maine, had recently quit her job as an analyst with the banking giant when she was invited by Duan, a local bar-scene celebrity, to join a group for a New Year’s Eve concert at Roadrunner, a music venue in Brighton.

“Do you want any recreational enchantments?” Dan asked her over a text message. His spokesperson told the Globe he was referencing marijuana, and that Phan politely declined. 

Duan drove Phan to his home about 20 minutes away in Burlington after she became intoxicated at the show. Security footage showed him helping her inside — with her slumped over and groaning — at around 2 a.m.

He called 911 in an apparent panic nine hours later, saying that her body was warm but looked blue.

“What is going on? Baby, are you awake? Girl. Julia?” he could be heard asking her. “I’m just freaking out right now.”

EMS arrived quickly, and Phan was declared dead. Security footage reviewed by the Globe showed a responding police officer on the phone outside the house saying that there was no drug paraphernalia there.

The officer can be heard saying that Duan told him that he didn’t see her take anything — but another person had seen her put something in her mouth, but didn’t know what it was.

“It was like a light switch,” the cops said. At one point, the officer relayed, she told someone she was “really feeling the molly.”

Phan’s death was a shock to family and friends, who claim that she was never into drugs — and would even make up excuses not to use them. She typically also didn’t drink much, they said. 

They had ample questions for Duan, but never heard from him. 

Then just days after her death, he posted videos of him partying shirtless in Tulum, Mexico like nothing had happened, according to the Globe.

State officials ruled that Phan died of an overdose in April.

Duan, who operates multiple popular bars and restaurants in the area, declined to detail exsacly what happened, saying that “investigators asked that I not comment publicly on this matter.”

No charges have ever been filed.

“Julia was one of the kindest and sweetest people and I am devastated by her passing,” Duan told the Globe.

“I will continue to respect the process and — most importantly — Julia’s privacy; but I do want to express that she, her family, and all those who loved and cared for her are in my thoughts.”

Phan’s family has also declined to publicly comment on her death.