Major update on puzzling death of Irish fashion designer Martha Nolan-O'Slatarra
Police in Long Island probing the death on Tuesday of Carlow-born Martha Nolan-O'Slatarra say the tests are required after a postmortem ruled out the possibility that she was murdered or died from any violence.
The tests will include toxicology to see if there was any substance in her system that could have caused her death in the Montauk area of Longs Island.
But, speaking to The Irish Mirror a spokesperson for Suffolk County Police Department in Long Island said it had no idea how long it would take for the tests to come back.
The spokesperson told us: 'We don't have information on that.'
Sources say that, depending on the local laboratory's workload, it could be several weeks before the blood tests are back.
"It could take quite some time," a source said.
The police department said the extra tests were ordered after the autopsy, or postmortem, on Ms Nolan-O'Slatarra, 33, yielded no sign of foul play.
The department said: 'An autopsy conducted on Martha Nolan-O'Slatarra, the woman found dead on a boat in Montauk on August 5, did not show evidence of violence and her final cause of death is pending further examination.'
Ms Nolan-O'Slatarra was discovered unconscious on the boat at Montauk Yacht Club in the early hours of Tuesday. She was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency services.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said it is aware of the case and is providing consular assistance.
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The 33-year-old, who is originally from Co Carlow but was living in Manhattan, graduated from University College Dublin (UCD) and later completed a masters degree in digital marketing in Smurfit Business School.
Police have confirmed that Ms Nolan O'Slatarra was found dead inside a docked boat at the Montauk Yacht Club, a 16-acre waterfront property located in the Hamptons, after a 911 call reported an 'unconscious woman' aboard the yacht.
Good Samaritans tried to perform CPR on the young Irishwoman to no avail and she was pronounced dead a short time later.
Meanwhile, a leading Irish-American lawyer said it was typical of the local police department that Ms Nolan O'Slatarra's mother Elma felt that she had no answers over her daughter's death.
Mrs Nolan told The Irish Independent on Thursday she did not know how her daughter died and US attorney Pete Gleason told The Irish Mirror that that was not a surprise.
Mr Gleason – himself a former NYPD cop – said: 'The mother was saying she is not getting answers from the police. That is typical. The police need to be held accountable. It is just terrible.'
A statement from Suffolk County Police Department said: 'East Hampton Town Police responded to a 911 call from a man reporting a woman unconscious on a boat docked at the Montauk Yacht Club, on Star Island Road, at approximately 12am.
'Good Samaritans attempted to perform CPR on the woman. Martha Nolan-O'Slatarra, 33, of Manhattan, was pronounced dead on the boat by first responders.
'The preliminary investigation and exam were inconclusive regarding the cause of death, which will be determined by an autopsy conducted by the Suffolk County Medical Examiner's Office.'
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