The family of a Manhattan-based swimwear founder discovered dead on a yacht in the Hamptons has been hit with a grim new curveball—as detectives reportedly explore a rumor the fashion entrepreneur had brain cancer.
Cops investigating the mysterious death of Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra have asked her mother whether the 33-year-old Irishwoman has been suffering from a serious illness, according to the Irish Independent.
The paper reported Nolan-O’Slatarra’s relatives were “stunned” by the new line of inquiry, which they insist is nonsense.
The cancer rumor was put to her mother, Elma, during a call with investigators. She replied that her daughter was “perfectly healthy,” per the outlet.
“She told them there was nothing of the sort [affecting her],” a source said. It is not known who shared the rumor with the detectives.
The unsettling question comes as part of a fast-moving active probe. It is the latest twist in the case after a first autopsy found no signs of violence in Nolan-O’Slatarra’s death aboard a yacht at Montauk Yacht Club just after midnight on August 5.
The fashionista, who is originally from Carlow, Ireland, ran the East x East swimwear label.
She spent her final evening meeting 60-year-old insurance executive Christopher Durnan on his yacht, Ripple, docked at the marina, the Irish paper said.
Witnesses said a naked Durnan ran along the dock yelling for help around midnight before Good Samaritans tried CPR, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Arthur Aidala, the family’s attorney, said relatives have met Suffolk County homicide detectives and that witnesses are still being questioned.
“There is still a very intense investigation focused on why a young woman is dead,” he said via the Irish outlet.
“The autopsy report did show that there was no signs of a struggle, no defensive wounds on her hands, no obvious signs of trauma.
“The medical examiner is really focusing now on her blood and the other fluids that are being sent to toxicology to see what’s going on.
“There were rumours that she possibly had some form of brain cancer and that is being investigated as well.”
However, it was reported Thursday that images taken the following morning appeared to show a dusting of white powder on a seat aboard the 50-foot cabin cruiser. Sources told the Daily Mail they believed Nolan-O’Slatarra died of a drugs overdose—possibly cocaine.
The family pressed for a second-opinion autopsy before repatriation, with a final cause pending toxicology and other tests.
Results can take weeks or months, and police have not announced any charges. Once the autopsy has concluded, the Mail reports that her body will be repatriated to Ireland.
The Ripple yacht left its slip earlier this week. So, too, did Durnan’s second vessel—Hell in a Bucket—which had been moored nearby. Both boats are reportedly named after Grateful Dead tracks.
The Daily Beast contacted Durnan, Suffolk County Police, the Suffolk County Medical Examiner, and Montauk Yacht Club for comment.
Suffolk County Police declined to comment on whether its detectives asked the family about a brain-cancer claim, or if Ripple and or Hell in a Bucket had left Montauk Yacht Club.
Durnan has not commented publicly since the incident.
