NYC fashion designer found dead on luxury Montauk yacht had complained she was being ‘harassed’ by boat owner just DAYS earlier — as newly revealed texts shed light on their final meeting

• Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra, 33, was found dead aboard a yacht at the Montauk Yacht Club
• Newly revealed messages show she complained about repeated texts from investor Chris Durnan days before her death
• Durnan had accused Nolan-O’Slatarra and her business partner of financial misconduct, according to the messages
• She initially had Durnan blocked before agreeing to meet him to discuss the dispute
• The designer died during the August 4 meeting, while the circumstances surrounding her death remain under investigation
• Durnan has not been accused of wrongdoing and has denied involvement in her death
• Nolan-O’Slatarra’s family has filed a $50million wrongful-death lawsuit against him

Newly revealed text messages have shed fresh light on the days leading up to the mysterious death of a 33-year-old New York fashion entrepreneur who was found aboard a yacht in the Hamptons.

Irish-born swimwear designer Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra was found unresponsive aboard the yacht Ripple at the Montauk Yacht Club on August 4, 2025.

Now, messages reportedly exchanged with her East x East business partner, Dylan Grace, reveal that Nolan-O’Slatarra had complained she was being ‘harassed’ by financier and investor Chris Durnan only days before the pair met aboard his boats.

The messages provide a striking new glimpse into what appeared to be mounting tension between Nolan-O’Slatarra and Durnan before a business meeting that would become their final encounter.

‘I’m getting harassed’

According to screenshots obtained by the New York Post, Durnan had invested approximately $250,000 in East x East in 2022, acquiring roughly a 13 percent stake in the company.

By August 2025, however, the relationship had apparently deteriorated.

On August 1, Durnan allegedly sent messages to Grace accusing the business partners of fraud. Nolan-O’Slatarra had already blocked Durnan on her phone, according to the report.

After Grace asked her to speak with him, Nolan-O’Slatarra agreed.

‘Oh god… I’ll meet him Monday,’ she reportedly wrote.

Grace then asked whether she could unblock Durnan for the weekend.

‘Did it,’ Nolan-O’Slatarra responded.

But by the following day, she was complaining about the volume of messages she was receiving.

‘I’m getting harassed,’ she wrote, claiming Durnan had texted her around 10 times.

She described him as repeatedly questioning why she had been ‘ghosting’ him and told Grace that he appeared to be looking for attention.

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

She would never return home.

A sunset boat trip — followed by tragedy

Nolan-O’Slatarra reportedly met Durnan aboard his boat Hell in a Bucket at around 7.30pm on August 4.

The pair took the vessel out and drank champagne around sunset before later returning to the yacht club and moving to another boat, Ripple, according to reports cited in the original account.

Exactly what happened afterward remains under investigation.

Emergency responders were called around midnight.

Nolan-O’Slatarra was found fully clothed and unresponsive on a bed aboard the vessel. An EMT report later described her as cold to the touch and noted blood on her body.

Durnan, meanwhile, was reportedly naked on the dock when another man was alerted and subsequently called 911 and attempted CPR.

Durnan’s lawyer has said his client removed his clothing because it had been soiled while he was trying to assist Nolan-O’Slatarra. The report cited in the article said those clothes were not recovered.

Authorities have not accused Durnan of wrongdoing in connection with Nolan-O’Slatarra’s death, and he has denied involvement.

Family files $50million lawsuit

The mystery surrounding Nolan-O’Slatarra’s final hours has since moved beyond the police investigation.

Her family has filed a $50million wrongful-death lawsuit against Durnan in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Their attorney has highlighted the newly revealed communications, arguing that Nolan-O’Slatarra had kept Durnan blocked for months before agreeing to reopen contact at her business partner’s request.

The family’s legal position is disputed and remains to be resolved through the courts.

Perhaps the most haunting element of the newly disclosed timeline is its simplicity: Nolan-O’Slatarra apparently agreed to the meeting because she wanted to address a business dispute.

Days after writing that she felt ‘harassed,’ she boarded Durnan’s boat.

She died during that meeting.

Her estate has since opened a tip line seeking information that could help investigators determine what happened during the final hours of her life.