By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2026-08-15 12:39:53 | Updated at 2026-08-15 13:23:33
53 minutes ago
Hamptons fashion entrepreneur Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra said she was being “harassed” and accused of fraud by financier Chris Durnan just days before she was found dead on his boat, texts obtained by The Post reveal.
The 33-year-old Irish-born swimwear designer had Durnan blocked on her phone on Aug. 1, 2025, when he unleashed fiery text messages at her East x East business partner Dylan Grace accusing the pair of fraud.
Nolan-O’Slattara promised Grace she would meet with Durnan — who had bought roughly 13% of their company in 2022 for $250,000 — to address the claims of financial misbehavior.
around the time he first invested in her company East x East. Obtained by the NY Post
“Oh god . . . I’ll meet him Monday,” Nolan-O’Slatarra assured Grace, according to screen shots of the exchange provided to The Post.
“Can you unblock him for the weekend,” Grace requested. Martha replied, “Did it.”
The next day, Nolan-O’Slatarra, who had blocked Durnan from calling her months earlier, complained that Durnan was aggressively messaging her.
“I’m getting harassed,” Nolan-O’Slatarra wrote to Grace on Aug. 2. “He won’t stop texting me like 10 times.”
The Irish-born beauty wrote that Durnan was saying “shite like you ghosting me” and that Durnan was “looking for attention such a kid.”
Two days later, on Aug. 4, Nolan-O’Slatarra met Durnan for a business meeting. It would end in her death.
by investor Chris Durnan just three days before she was found dead
on his boat. dylanpgrace/instagram
Nolan-O’Slatarra met Durnan on his boat “Hell in a Bucket” at about 7:30 p.m. at the Montauk Yacht Club and the two took the boat out for a tour and drank champagne at sunset, which was at 8:08 p.m. that night, according to a New York Magazine report.
The pair then returned at an unknown time to the yacht club and moved to Durnan’s other boat, “Ripple,” the magazine reported.
What transpired is still the subject of a police investigation.
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EMTs who responded to the boat at midnight found Nolan-O’Slattara dead — cold to the touch, covered in blood, and purpling under her nailbeds.
She was completely clothed on a bed on the boat, while Durnan was stark naked on the dock, where he had hailed another man, who called 911 and performed CPR, according to an EMT report obtained by The Post.
Durnan has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with her death and he has also denied any involvement.
His lawyer claimed to New York Magazine that Durnan ditched his clothes because they were covered in Nolan-O’Slattara’s vomit, but the EMT report made no mention of vomit. His clothes were never recovered.
A photo obtained by The Post showed the pair on apparently good terms on Nov. 11, 2022.
In the image, snapped at roughly the time when he was investing, Nolan-O’Slatarra and Durnan sit smiling at a table covered in drinks, including champagne flutes and empty glasses of Guinness.
Nolan-O’Slatarra’s family filed a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against Durnan in Manhattan Supreme Court.
“For months prior to that meeting, Martha had him blocked from messaging and only unblocked him at the request of her business partner to try to assuage Durnan’s complaints about the business,” said Mike Bowe, lawyer for Brithem LLP, which is representing Nolan-O’Slatarra’s family in their suit against Durnan.
“She agreed to meet him. She died at that meeting.”
The estate of Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra opened up a tip line on Thursday seeking information that may help the investigation into her death.
Dylan Grace did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The Post also reached out to Chris Durnan and his attorney, Robert Holdman. Neither responded to requests for comment.
