Swimwear entrepreneur found dead on yacht at Montauk club

MONTAUK, N.Y. — Montauk authorities say a luxury summer getaway turned into a mysterious tragedy when 33-year-old swimwear entrepreneur Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra was found dead aboard a docked yacht at the exclusive Montauk Yacht Club early Tuesday morning.

Suffolk County Police detectives launched a homicide investigation shortly after Nolan was discovered unresponsive on the vessel Ripple just after midnight. Despite frantic CPR attempts by good Samaritans and first responders, she was pronounced dead on the yacht.

Nolan, an Ireland-born businesswoman who ran a popular Manhattan-based bikini label, had recently celebrated a successful pop-up event in the Hamptons and was days away from flying home to Ireland to visit family. 

While an initial autopsy found no signs of trauma, investigators are awaiting toxicology results to determine her cause of death. Here is a timeline of what we know so far:

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Early Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025

Shortly after midnight: East Hampton Town officers responded to a 911 call from a man who discovered a woman unresponsive aboard a docked vessel at the Montauk Yacht Club. Good Samaritans attempted CPR before first responders arrived, but she was pronounced dead. 

People aboard other boats at the Montauk Yacht Club told 27East a man who owns two boats docked next to each other at the marina came crying for help from others on the dock at about midnight, throwing items at neighboring boats to wake up their crews.

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One witness, who declined to give his name, told the local outlet the man was naked and was shouting, “Do something, do something,” as he ran along the dock trying to awaken others. In his haste, the outlet reported, he threw a tube of sunscreen at a neighboring vessel.

4 a.m. – Suffolk County Homicide Squad detectives were notified and took over the investigation. The cause and manner of death remained undetermined.

Crime scene investigators conducted a detailed forensic sweep of the yacht, wearing gloves, photographing surfaces and locating fingerprint powder residue.

Wednesday, Aug. 6

An initial autopsy revealed no evidence of violence, though officials described the findings as preliminary and “inconclusive.”

Police identified the deceased as Nolan‑O’Slatarra. 

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Originally from Ireland, the 33-year-old was a Manhattan fashion entrepreneur known for her high-end bikini brand, East X East, and infectious social media presence.

According to her LinkedIn profile, Nolan received her bachelor’s degree in commerce and master’s degree in digital marketing from the University College Dublin before moving to the Big Apple at age 26.

Thursday, Aug. 7 

Nolan’s relatives, who live in Ireland, told The Irish Independent they were “numb with shock” after hearing the news.

“I don’t know what happened to my daughter,” her mother, Elma Nolan, said.

She recalled how her youngest daughter, Jacqui, arrived at their home in Carlow, Ireland, Tuesday night “crying and shaking” to deliver the news no parent wanted to hear.

Elma said she later spoke with a detective in Montauk but was told no further information could be released due to the early stage of the investigation.

“We weren’t told anything about the circumstances,” she said, adding Martha had planned to return to Ireland this week and had called just days earlier to ask about a ride from the airport. 

“That was the last time we spoke.”

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.