UPDATE:  Why NO Answers in the Martha Nolan Investigation, 5 Months After Her Unexplained Death on a Montauk Yacht

Summary

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Podcast Summary

Episode Overview

Podcast: Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes Present (iHeartPodcasts)
Episode: UPDATE: Why NO Answers in the Martha Nolan Investigation, 5 Months After Her Unexplained Death on a Montauk Yacht
Date: January 6, 2026

Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes revisit the still-unsolved case of Martha Nolan, the 33-year-old entrepreneur found dead on a Montauk yacht in August 2025. Five months later, questions outnumber answers, and official updates from law enforcement are nonexistent. The episode explores the timeline of events, the persistent mystery, and the impact on Nolan's family and community while highlighting the collective frustration over the lack of closure.

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. No Progress in the Investigation

• Lack of Official Updates:
  • The police’s last statement was released on August 5th, immediately following Martha's death.
  • The initial autopsy did not indicate violence, and the medical examiner reported the cause of death as “pending further examination” ([01:07]).
• Unusually Long Delay:
  • Despite expectations that toxicology results would take three months, it’s been over five months with no new public information ([02:55]).
• Growing Suspicion Among the Hosts:
  • T.J.: “The mystery has become more of a mystery… it starts to feel like something else is going on when a police department won’t say a word.” ([02:59]).

2. Why Was This Case So High Profile?

• Martha Nolan’s Background:
  • Young, healthy 33-year-old; ran a high-end resort/swimwear line (“East by East”).
  • Well-connected socially in Montauk and originally from Ireland, sparking international interest, especially after her photo went viral in both the U.S. and Ireland ([02:14], [03:22]).
• Media & Family Pressure:
  • Extensive media coverage [03:22].
  • Martha’s family hired private investigators, attorneys, and conducted their own autopsy.

3. The Night in Question: What Happened on the Yacht?

• Timeline According to the Only Witness (Christopher Durnan):

  • Martha met with Durnan, a 60-year-old business investor, for a business meeting that became social ([05:05]).
  • Switched from one of Durnan’s boats to another ("the Ripple") around 9:30pm.
  • Durnan claims Martha suddenly “went limp” between 10:30–11:00pm, and was non-responsive despite attempted CPR ([06:59]).
  • Durnan did not call 911; instead, was later seen running naked along the dock, attracting attention from others who ultimately called emergency services ([07:22]).
  • The attorney’s explanation for Durnan’s nudity: his clothes were allegedly soaked in Martha’s vomit ([07:22]).

• Gaps in the Story:

  • At least a one-hour discrepancy between the time Martha reportedly “went limp” and when anyone else was alerted ([07:22]).
  • Durnan’s own actions (delay in getting help, being naked, and not calling 911 himself) raise skepticism among the hosts ([08:28]).
  • Amy: “It doesn’t make a lot of sense… There are a lot of holes in the story.” ([09:04])
  • T.J.: “The longer it goes, the more suspicious I get, not just of the circumstances, but of the community… is somebody being protected?” ([11:52])

4. Conflicting Accounts About the Relationship

• Alleged Romantic Link:
  • Durnan’s attorney claims he dated Martha and met her family in Ireland.
  • Nolan’s family categorically denies ever meeting Durnan ([12:26]).
  • Attorney later walks back these claims, calls Martha “a friend,” avoids clarifying the exact relationship, citing respect for her memory ([13:53], [14:24]).
  • T.J.: “That is an awful answer… not an absolute yes or no to a direct question about whether there was a… relationship of any kind.” ([13:53])

5. Family’s Fight for Truth & Pain of Distance

• Efforts to Find Answers:
  • The Nolan family, based in Ireland, struggle with the U.S. legal process and hired a New York attorney (pro bono) to navigate the investigation ([16:28]).
  • Family autopsy and toxicology found no lethal substances; only traces of cocaine, insufficient for cause of death ([10:37]).
  • Ongoing frustration and heartbreak, especially as the holiday season marks their first without Martha ([20:00]).
  • Amy: “My heart breaks for them… Not having any answers is very, very frustrating and upsetting… this was their first Christmas without Martha.” ([19:08])

6. Impact on Community & Continuing Mystery

• Montauk Community Response:
  • The case has left Montauk's residents unsettled, with rumors and anxiety (“Everybody was buzzing and whispering about that thing and wondering if anybody else was in danger.”) ([21:11])
• Host Reflections:
  • Amy and T.J. express a personal connection to the case, having been in Montauk when the news broke, and pledge to continue following the investigation ([21:41]).
  • T.J.: “Every single morning we check in about Martha Nolan… waiting for some answers.” ([20:09])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Lack of Information:
  • T.J.: “The mystery has become more of a mystery. The mystery, Robes, for me at least, it starts to feel like something else is going on…” ([02:59])
  • Amy: “Can you imagine being her mother, her father, her brother, her boyfriend, her sister… and they don’t know how or why Martha died. And they don’t know who to be angry at or with… Because we don’t even know if police are considering any suspects at this point. Officially, we do not know that.” ([03:22])
• On Suspicious Circumstances:
  • T.J.: “So she went limp and died and was gone and then she vomited. So she, if she vomited ahead of time, you knew… something was wrong… I do not want to pretend that I would know how I would react… I just suspect I wouldn’t behave in that manner. The first and foremost—get her help… I don’t understand it.” ([08:28])
• Host Frustration:
  • Amy: “There are a lot of holes in the story and we can only go by… what his attorney told New York magazine… once that article was put out, I think a lot of people were even more confused.” ([09:04])
• On Community Suspicions:
  • T.J.: “The longer it goes, the more suspicious I get, not just of the circumstances, but of the community… is somebody being protected? Is something else happening?” ([11:52])
• On Family’s Pain:
  • Amy: “There is a family grieving… they're from another country… Not having any answers is very, very frustrating and upsetting… their first Christmas without Martha." ([19:08])
• On Continued Coverage:
  • Amy: “We did feel connected, and I think we always will feel connected to this case just because of where we were at the time it happened. And we will continue to follow the story.” ([21:41])

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• [01:07] – Last official police update on the case
• [03:22] – Martha Nolan’s background and international interest
• [05:05] – The only witness’s account and timeline of events
• [07:22] – Delay and strange behavior from the witness, gaps in his story
• [09:04] – Discussion of holes in the narrative, family’s separate investigation
• [10:37] – Private autopsy and toxicology findings
• [13:53] – Unclear relationship between Nolan and witness, conflicting accounts
• [16:28] – Family’s challenge navigating the process from abroad
• [19:08] – Emotional impact on the family during the holiday season
• [21:11] – Community impact, hosts’ personal connection and commitment to updates

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Summary Tone

The episode balances curiosity, skepticism, and empathy. Amy and T.J. express frustration with the lack of progress and transparency, suspicion at official and witness behavior, and compassion for Martha Nolan’s grieving family. Their ongoing personal and journalistic commitment underscores the case’s persistent sense of mystery and community impact.

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Transcript

[A]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

[B]

Reggie, I just sold my car online. Let's go, Grandpa. Wait, you did? Yep, on Carvana. Just put in the license plate, answered a few questions, got an offer in minutes. Easier than setting up that new digital picture frame. You don't say. Yeah, they're even picking it up tomorrow. Talk about fast. Wow. Way to go. So, about that picture frame. Ah, forget about it. Until Carvana makes one, I'm not interested.

[A]

Car selling made. Easy on pick up. These may apply.

[C]

Hey there, folks. It is Tuesday, January 6th. We have an update on the murder mystery in Montauk. The update is. Well, we still really don't know if it's a murder or not. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ Robes. We calling it a, right? It goes with alliteration, right? Good headline. Murder mystery and Montauk robes. We're talking about a death that took place last August. Do we know much more now about Martha Nolan's death than we did last August?

[A]

The short answer is no. And when I follow up with this next bit of information, it actually is shocking even as I say it. She was found just after midnight on August 5th. August 5th is the last official update we've gotten from police. That is when they announced at the end of that day that the autopsy did not show any evidence, or at least their initial findings did not show any evidence of violence and that her final cause of death is pending further examination. That is what they said. The review of the body did not show evidence of violence and her final cause of death is pending further examination. So after that, there has been no official information coming from the police department.

[C]

And let's. Let's not. Let's be clear why this was such a story, certainly in this area, but also a national story. This is a young woman, 33, Martha Nolan, who ran in certain circles in Montauk. She had a high end. What. What kind of line do you call it?

[A]

Swimwear. It's like a resort wear. She had swimwear. Resort wear, sunglasses. It was called east by East.

[C]

So we're talking about Montauk as hoity and toity as you can get, Right. It's a nice area out. The end of the happens. This 33 year old woman just doesn't drop dead, generally speaking. So she dies, some weird circumstances about who she's with and all this. Fine, we're going to rehash some of that. But Robes, what we're saying, they told us August 5th during that update that they kind of gave themselves some Time. You know what? We gotta wait for the official autopsy toxicology to come back. Should be three months. How many has it been?

[A]

Five.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

And five months and one day.

[C]

And when. What update do they give us about when that's coming?

[A]

Zero.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

Nothing. Nada.

[C]

So the mystery has become more of a mystery. The mystery robes, for me at least it start to feel like something else is going on. When a police department won't say a word and all. I don't want to say their bearing. No, but Rose, this is a high profile case of a woman who just does the answers. Somebody needs answers.

[A]

Yes. And her photo, you remember in those first few days and weeks were everywhere from and internationally speaking because she is from Ireland, so her family is there. There was obviously a lot of interest here in New York and in the United States, but also across the pond. And so there has been a tremendous amount of media pressure on the police department to give some answers. In fact, so much so that Martha Nolan's own family has conducted their own autopsy. They have their own attorneys, they have a private investigator looking into what may have happened. Can you imagine being her mother, her father, her brother, her boyfriend, her sister. They all spoke at her funeral. And they don't know how or why Martha died. And they don't know who to be angry at or with, who to even blame or point the finger at. Because we don't even know if police are considering any suspects at this point. Officially, we do not know that.

[C]

I haven't heard them say suspicious death. I haven't heard anything. And so, Robes, now let's go back to that night. August. The night of August 5th.

[A]

It was the night of August 4th, going into August 5th.

[C]

We just happen to be in Montauk at the time. We were taking some time with the kids. We were there hanging out. Of course, we get up and this news is everywhere that day. But Robes, the first thing was the concern of, wait a minute, is there a killer on the loose? They didn't. They never said they had a suspect. But now Robes go into what we now know about what her evening was. And this is where it just gets weirder and weirder.

[A]

Yes, because we actually got a very specific account from the attorney representing the man who was with Martha Nolan. We heard when we were in Montauk and in the weeks following, all of these rumors and whispers about the boat she was on, the man she was with, there was a naked man running up and down the dock. All of these rumors and talk and speculation, but when his attorney actually sat down and spoke with a media outlet. He named him 60 year old Christopher Durnan. He was on the boat with her that night. And truly, he is the only one who really knows or is the only one who could possibly know what happened to her. And so when we heard from his attorney, he kind of set the timeline about what happened. He said that they met for a business meeting. He was her investor, one of her big investors in her company. They were looking to expand, they needed some money. And he said, his client said, hey, yeah, let's meet and have a business meeting. Supposed to be at 4pm it got pushed back to 7.30pm they started out on one of his boats and took a spin around. He said they were talking business, but they were enjoying themselves as well. And some people who recalled seeing them said they had some champagne and they seemed to just be having some fun out on the boat. They came back and switched over to his second boat, the Ripple, around 9:30pm and this is what the attorney said happened about one hour or an hour and a half later between 10:30 or 11. He said his client looked at Martha and she just suddenly went limp. Those were his words. And he said that his client thought Martha was having a heart attack, that he tried to perform cpr, but that, quote, she was gone almost immediately. She was non responsive, end quote.

[C]

I guess that's possible. Unlikely, but possible. This could be one of those instances. Robes. Okay, fine. If I accept all that, take me to the next part of this story. How did he get, from seeing her go limp, gone to him running down the dock naked, throwing items, trying to get other people's attention?

[A]

Correct. That is a big question mark, isn't it? And so here are the two issues with that. According to the attorney's timeline, there is an hour that we don't know what happened. Because if she went limp between 10:30 and 11, it wasn't until midnight that he was seen running up and down the dock. And it wasn't until two people who were in a neighboring boat came over. They saw him running naked and they said they performed CPR on her and they were the ones who called 911, not Mr. Durnan. Mr. Durnan, in terms of him being naked, his attorney says that he had been soaked with Martha's vomit and that's why he stripped off his clothes before running from the boat, because they had been soaked with Martha's vomit. Are you buying that?

[C]

But okay, yes. What I'm gonna say is, I'm gonna take you at your word. But now I need to piece this together. So tell me, how do I understand? So she went limp and died and was gone and then she vomited.

[A]

Unclear.

[C]

So she, if she vomited ahead of time, you knew that something was wrong and she was ill. So that wasn't just a falling limp situation. I do not want to pretend that I would know how I would react in an emergency situation. If somebody right in front of you is having a medical emergency, I just suspect I wouldn't behave in that manner. The first and foremost, get her help. Nine, one one. I got a problem. I'm screaming. Anybody please help me. I don't get what his story. I don't understand it.

[A]

It doesn't make a lot of sense.

[C]

Doesn't make a lot of good way to put it. A lot versus any.

[A]

It doesn't make a lot of sense. There are a lot of holes in the story and we can only go by. The only thing we can go by is what his attorney told New York magazine and that is. Is it? And so once that article was put out, I think a lot of people were even more confused. And here is. This is just my two cents. We were told, and we know from experience that it does take a couple months for toxicology reports to come back, for an autopsy to come back, especially in a suspicious or potentially suspicious death, when you have a 33 year old who's otherwise healthy, who drops dead, it's suspicious. Correct. And you just have to figure out what may be the cause. The fact that more than five months have gone by now and we don't even know cause of death, we haven't heard any word about the autopsy or toxicology reports. If they came back conclusive with something, you would think we would have been told that. And it would put the story to rest, it would put the speculation to rest. It would give some peace to the family to say, hey, there were drugs in her system, there was something lethal in her system, there was something to explain what happened. It would seem to me that by not having any information, they're still looking to put something together to figure out what happened.

[C]

Okay, so are we in agreement that. Because they haven't confirmed whether or not we have toxicology results, have they? So the one they told us we were waiting three months on, we're still waiting on that one.

[A]

Correct. And we know that the family had their own actual toxicology and autopsy done. And there are reports, these are reports that they said there were, there was nothing in her system that would have killed her. There might have been trace amounts of cocaine that could have been left over from a couple days, but nothing that would have suggested it was a lethal dose, a fatal amount. So anything that their findings showed did not answer the question as to how she.

[C]

Violence, no finding a.

[A]

Violence, no violence.

[C]

How did this woman die? How did she just drop dead? And again, every one of these we find a way. I get this Brian Walsh trial, but sudden unexplained death was his defense in that case. Is it possible? I mean, what.

[A]

It's possible, but then I just have a hard time with the naked man, the hour gap, the vomit. The vomit, the. He didn't call 911. There are a lot of questions. Look, it could have been that something else happened. He got scared. Scared. He was afraid to call 911. There are plenty of plausible explanations that didn't mean or don't mean he did anything to her.

[C]

Yes, yes, yes.

[A]

But what the story is right now, with the information we have right now, it really doesn't add up.

[C]

I just knew we'd have answers before now on such a high profile case. I, I keep saying to you, the longer it goes, the more suspicious I get, not just of the circumstances, but of the community and what's going on there to where it seems like is somebody being protected? Is something else happening? I'm sorry to say that out loud, but when you're not giving any information, you leave us all to fill in the blanks. A perfectly good press release is to say we have no further findings. Nothing to say at this time. We are still waiting on toxicology.

[A]

Correct. Just an update of some kind of the other big question mark. And really attorneys tell their clients not to speak. But an attorney who speaks for his client also can be, I would imagine, equally problematic. And he got caught in a little. Didn't know what to say when the reporter he was speaking to asked him and followed up when the attorney told the reporter that his client, Mr. Durnan, and Martha actually dated. He said that he had met her family in Ireland. The family denies ever meeting this man. So that's concerning that his attorney told a reporter, yeah, he's even met her family in Ireland. When the reporter started pushing back, they said that he walked back his comments and then basically just left it with oh, well, Mr. Durnan loved her as a friend. They kept pushing. Did he have a romantic relationship with Martha? Did he have a sexual relationship with Martha? And that's when he said he wasn't interested in sharing anything like that. Whether it's an absolute no or an Absolute yes. I don't think he thinks it's fair to her memory. Now, Martha was in a committed relationship with a boyfriend at the time who she was texting in the, like an hour before she was found dead. Her friends were actually teasing her because she wasn't answering this group text. She was texting her boyfriend. She said, lol, I'm still here. I just had my phone turned off. That was her last text.

[C]

Okay, you all see our point now. The, the attorney added to the mystery, but added to the frustration of this story that that is an awful answer. I, I don't know the guy at all. Maybe wonderful and had a bad moment, but to say that, well, it's not an absolute yes or an absolute no to a direct question about whether or not there was a sexual, a physical, a romantic relationship of any kind. Rose, what is that answer? Is it just I don't know. And he wasn't.

[A]

I don't know. He was suggesting there was, but he didn't want to say it because Martha was in a committed relationship. Exactly.

[C]

Okay. All right, folks, well stay here. The story continues, but when we come back, we'll hear or we'll talk more about Martha's family, her side, what they're going through, what they have said and what they are doing now to try to get answers.

[A]

Welcome back everyone to this edition of Amy and TJ where we are going through trying to update some of the mysteries of last year. We're now in 2026 and it is remarkable to us that we don't have answers to several pressing mysterious crime stories, I should say potential crime stories when it comes to Martha Nolan. Because we don't know that a crime has been committed. But certainly it has been suggested that that is among the possibilities of how a 33 year old healthy woman who was fine one moment and dead the next, how did that happen? And police have had this case for five months and one day as of this recording and still we know nothing more. Our only fill in the blanks with information is some of the information we got from her friends, from her boyfriend, from the man's attorney who she was on a boat with and some of the folks who were at the marina at the yacht club that evening. But it's, none of it adds up and none of it makes sense.

[C]

You know, it would have helped probably. How much is it hurting the investigation that her family isn't in the United States? Because we have seen families demand answers. They will get in front of any camera and scream and yell and hoot and holler and demand that the police say something. They're at a distance. They're not answering. They don't. They're not. The family isn't in the police department's face every day kind of a thing.

[A]

And yes, to your point, they don't even really know American law. And that is why an attorney, he said he's representing them and he's doing it pro bono because literally almost to guide them through the US I don't want to say justice system, but at least the process by which police conduct their investigation. So he's been trying to guide them. But when, when Mr. Durnan's attorney spoke, their attorney then also spoke afterwards because they were then all being asked to comment on Christopher Durnan's attorney's comments. So after that article, New York, the New York criminal defense attorney who's representing the Nolan family said this about Mr. Durnan. Obviously, he is a primary person that's being looked at because that's just common sense. He said no one is positive right now about this one hour gap in his account. So he did note that. He also said, as far as we know, he was the only one there. So primarily the police are trying to look at what he was doing. And five months. Months, yes, five months. Now, this is another interesting thing. He followed up with this. And I do think maybe this is just to make sure you don't piss off the investigators or piss off the police department. He said, I will tell you, we are very pleased with the Suffolk County District Attorney's office. They are very focused on this.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

So that gave me a little hope that maybe they know more about where this investigation is headed than we know. I would hope that they would know more than we know. But that's not necessarily the way police departments or DA departments work. They don't necessarily fill in the victim's family. In fact, that's a complaint that comes up all the time, that they're left out, they don't know and they're left in the dark. And like you said, on the other.

[C]

Side of the ocean, you know, the five months. To think, I don't think they're sitting around right, and waiting for the toxicology before there's other investigative things that have gone on. But this is a five month investigation now and there's one witness and that's it.

[A]

Which is just. I just got chills thinking about that because what do you do? How do you prove something that might be not provable or not knowable? If the person who does Know. Doesn't want to speak. Or if the person who could know doesn't know. I mean, we don't know what.

[C]

That's true. He's not a criminal. No, he is not a.

[A]

He might be just as baffled.

[C]

Yep, that is true. But it's just one of those cases robes that until we get answers.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Theories are going to run wild.

[A]

Absolutely true. And this is the thing I wanted to leave everyone with because we talk about these stories and they are fascinating and we do want answers, but it's always good to just remember that there is a family grieving. And the Nolan's family attorney said this and this really hit me. My heart breaks for them. They're from another country. This is the Christmas time of year. This is the time when Martha would be going home and celebrating in Ireland with all of her family. And, you know, they're devastated about this. And not having any answers is very, very frustrating and upsetting. And I just. That hit me because we're baffled, but we don't have the emotional connection. These, these folks are devastated. And this was their first Christmas without Martha. This was the time of year she came home and she was with her family in Ireland. And it. It didn't happen this year and it's never going to happen again. And they deserve answers.

[C]

Well, folks, yesterday we were talking about the other big story from last year that's still a mystery. David Singer. David body found in the trunk of his car. Still waiting on answers from that. This was one road we've been following. This is one every single morning we check in about Martha Nolan. We think about this woman every day and we Google her every single day waiting for some answers. Anna Kepner. We will be doing a podcast, an episode giving the very latest there. Young lady died on that carnival cruise. And then Travis Turner, still missing. Coach disappeared. Undefeated team was playing football in Virginia. Right. Still has not been heard from after he's become a wanted man on some child porn charges. Robe. This is. These are fascinating cases that we thought we would. I didn't. I thought they find the coach for sure. This is not this episode. I'm just saying. I'm just thinking about it.

[A]

But yeah, yeah.

[C]

Martha Nolan. It is something about it, too. We were there and we saw how that community. Community was suffering and nervous and scared and. And kids and up and down the street and parents. Everybody was buzzing and whispering about that thing and wondering if anybody else was in danger. And to think, here we are. People still don't know, but it was. It was good to remind everybody about that family and what they're going through. This is not just a, a hot headline. Yeah. Right. We talk. Everybody likes true crime and watches true crime. But, yeah, there's a family at the center of this.

[A]

Yeah. And I, we, we did feel connected, and I think we always will feel connected to this case just because of where we were at the time it happened. And we will continue to follow the story and follow up with the story and definitely keep you all updated. We're not going to let this one go. And so we appreciate you listening to us, as always. Thank you. I'm Amy Robach alongside T.J. holmes. We will talk to you soon. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.