Christopher Durnan is an insurance executive whose name has emerged in connection with the death of fashion designer Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra on a boat in Montauk, NY.
To be clear, Durnan has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Nolan’s death, and her cause of death is not yet clear. However, he has emerged as a central figure in the case due to alerting fellow boaters that Nolan needed help.
Christopher Durnan Owns the Boat Where Martha Nolan Died, Reports Say
Nolan-O’Slatarra was found dead Aug. 5 “on the Ripple, a 32-foot pleasure boat docked at a Montauk marina,” The Long Island Daily reported. There were no signs of violence, according to that site.
Public records and sources “show the 22-year-old Ripple is owned by Christopher P. Durnan, 60, of Long Beach,” the site reported.
Nolan-O’Slatarra was identified by Suffolk County Police as the woman found dead on the boat at Montauk Yacht Club, and police noted that homicide squad detectives are investigating her death. However, it has not been determined whether she died of homicide.
According to her LinkedIn page, Nolan-O’Slatarra founded a fashion brand called East x East and was director of operations for K4 Capital Management. She also founded a company called Duper.
@martha_nolan Come Location Scouting in Mallorca for @East x East Campaign shoot #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #locationscouting #campiagnshoot #bts #swimwearbrand #mallorcashoot #eastxeast #bts #smallbusinessowner #smallbusinesscheck #resortwearbrand #branddirector #creativedirector
According to the New York Post, some members of the Montauk Yacht Club, including captains, heard screams coming from the docks on the evening of Aug. 4.
Greater Long Island described Durnan as “a guitar-playing 60-year-old widower who owns a multi-million dollar Montauk home overlooking the Long Island Sound.”
Daily Mail reported that Nolan-O’Slatarra “had a meeting with an American insurance tycoon on the evening of August 4,” identifying him as Durnan.
According to Daily Mail, Durnan “dashed down the dock naked around midnight screaming for help and indicating that Martha had passed out.” The possibility that the cause of death was a drug overdose is a possibility being investigated, the New York Post reported.
Durnan is “a familiar figure” at the Montauk Yacht Club where the boat was docked and “owns the Durnan Group in Rockville Center,” the Post reported.
NYC designer Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra’s tragic death on Montauk boat eyed as suspected accidental drug overdose: sources https://t.co/xBZf102IAK pic.twitter.com/XfhbmBzqUd
— New York Post (@nypost) August 12, 2025
Arthur Aidala, an attorney for Nolan’s family, told Daily Mail: “There is still a very intense investigation focused on why a young woman is dead. The autopsy report did show that there was no signs of a struggle, no defensive wounds on her hands, no obvious signs of trauma.”
He added, “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.”
Daily Mail also reported that Durnan is “believed to have invested more than $200,000 in the Irish beauty’s bikini boutique” and “founded Durnan Group in 1981, specialising in workers’ compensation insurance.”
Nolan-O’Slatarrawas divorced from husband Sam Ryan, the Post reported.
Christopher Durnan Is a Widower Who Owns a $2.2 Million Home
According to Greater Long Island, Durnan “purchased a home at 112 Soundview Avenue in Montauk in October 2020 for $2.2 million.” He has been “widowed since 2018” and has two kids and four siblings, “most of whom live in Nassau County,” Greater Long Island reported.
According to the New York Post, Michael Balfe, a first responder at Ground Zero, once accused Durnan, 60, of attacking him “during a show at Webster Hall on Sept. 11, 2021.” The accusations came to light in a civil suit.
However, Durnan denied the accusations and lodged his own, accusing Balfe of having started the fight and using force that “was reasonable under the circumstances,” the Post reported.
Durnan ended up pleading guilty to disorderly conduct in the case, according to court records, and, the Post says, the civil suit settled.
Related: Fashion Designer Martha Nolan O’Slatarra’s Cause of Death Is Under Investigation
