'Numb With Shock': Mom Of NYC Designer Found Dead On Boat In Hamptons Mourns Daughter

MONTAUK, NY — As the world speculates on what might have happened to a young New York City designer whose body was found on a boat at the Montauk Yacht Club early Tuesday, an anguished mother is mourning the unthinkable loss of her beautiful daughter. Elma Nolan, mother of Martha Nolan O'Slattara, told the Irish Independent that she "numb with shock," left reeling after the news that her precious girl was gone. "I don't know what happened to my daughter." Her family, who lives in Ireland, was left searching for answers. According to BreakingNews.ie, Nolan O'Slattara, originally from Carlow in Ireland, had planned to visit her mother in Ireland this week — but, instead, her mother and aunt are making the sad journey to New York, the outlet said. Suffolk County police said Wednesday that an autopsy conducted on Nolan-O’Slatarra, the 33-year-old woman who was found dead, did not show evidence of violence and her final cause of death is pending further examination. Also on Wednesday, Dylan Grace, reportedly Nolan-O'Slattara's business partner in the East X East fashion brand, posted a heartfelt good-bye on Instagram. "We dreamed big together, laughed harder than anyone else could understand, and built so much from nothing. I'm truly blessed and grateful to have had you in my life." "She was such a beautiful person inside and out. She will be so, so missed," another person wrote on Instagram. According to Suffolk County police, East Hampton Town police responded to a 911 call from a man reporting a woman unconscious on a boat docked at the yacht club on Star Island Road at about 12 a.m. Monday. Good Samaritans attempted to perform CPR on the woman; Nolan-O’Slatarra was pronounced dead on the boat by first responders, police said. Boaters whose vessels were docked nearby described the experience. The boat, which had a Grateful Dead sticker affixed, was, according to eyewitness, named "The Ripple." According to the group, who were sitting on the dock Wednesday morning, the man and Nolan-O'Slattara had been seen having a good time and "partying" earlier on Monday. They headed out on the water on another boat docked in the next slip, then returned and boarded "The Ripple" Monday night. Around midnight, two men said, they heard screaming and banging on the doors of the boats in the area as the man reportedly tried to get help. "He woke us up," one man said. Another person said their boat was nicked after it was hit with something by the man, desperate to get help. "It was definitely disturbing," said Juan Stamos, who works on a nearby boat. "When we got to our boat the next morning, a pole was missing, and we were told that the man had used that pole to make a ruckus, banging on doors, in need of help." "He was trying to wake people up," another person confirmed. 27East reported that the man was naked but neighboring boaters on the dock Wednesday did not confirm that information. All who experienced the tragedy were left visibly shaken. "We were up since that midnight; we finally slept a few hours last night," one man said. "These things don't happen out here." Another witness added: "I know these things happen, but not here." On Tuesday, the entire area was cordoned off with yellow police tape as officials conducted an investigation, boaters said. "This is a family place," said one employee, who asked not to be identified. "This has never happened here before." Another man, hosing off his deck, said he hadn't heard anything on the night Nolan-O’Slatarra died, but added, "It's crazy." One boater said Nolan-O’Slatarra was known for her designs; a friend had recently bought one of her shirts a few days before. Nolan-O’Slatarra was reportedly originally from Ireland. According to her LinkedIn profile, she graduated from University College Dublin and had a master's in digital marketing from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School. Breakingnews.ie said that as a young girl, she was "keen footballer." Posts on her TikTok account featured photos of a vibrant young woman focused on launching her brand. One post featured Nolan flying over New York City, writing: "New York or Nowhere." According to a TikTok post by Nolan-O’Slatarra, she was the founder and creative director of East X East, a fashion brand offering crocheted dresses, bikinis, sunglasses and other items. On July 1, she posted on TikTok and showed the East X East brand featured at Gurney's in Montauk, saying: "POV: The brand you started 3 years ago has a pop up in the Hamptons. . . Goals achieved." Representatives at Gurney's Wednesday declined to comment. (Martha Nolan's Facebook page) In a previous TikTok post, she described her journey with East X East, which she said meant "New York, by the Hamptons," with the tagline, "Built in the city, made for the sun. . . I feel at some point, everyone in their lives are, you know, grinding city life — but everyone's just destined for the sun." "We are aware of the incident currently under investigation by law enforcement," a statement by the Montauk Yacht Club read. "The safety and privacy of our guests and staff remain a top priority. We are unable to share any additional information at this time." The Montauk Yacht Club was created on Star Island in 1928 by Carl Fisher. Fisher even built a replica of the Montauk Lighthouse, 60-feet-tall, which still stands at the property. On Wednesday, the scene was tranquil, with some mariners stating that they hadn't known about the tragedy just a day before. People were seen on their phone and laptops, eating, laughing, and enjoying the summer day. The incident was not the first death to rock the Hamptons this summer: In June: A female pedestrian who was struck and killed in a hit-and-run crash in Hampton Bays was identified as Sara Burack, 40, police said. Burack, of Southampton, was a well-known Hamptons real estate agent who had worked, in past years, for Nest Seekers International and appeared in the 2020 Netflix series "Million Dollar Beach House." Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact homicide squad detectives at 631-852-6392.