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24 Mar

Designer Katie Gallagher’s Death Is Deemed a Homicide

The death of the independent Latest York-based designer Kathryn “Katie” Gallagher has been ruled a homicide.

No arrests have been made and the investigation stays ongoing, in accordance with officials on the Latest York Police Department.

The Latest York City chief medical expert’s office determined that the cause was because of “acute intoxication by the combined effects of fentanyl, p-fluorofentanyl, and ethanol.”

The 35-year-old had been found on July 24 in her Lower East Side apartment on Eldridge Street. Shortly before 9 p.m. on July 24, NYPD responded to a 911 call and located the designer unconscious and unresponsive on a bed in a bedroom, in accordance with the police report that was filed last summer. There have been no signs of trauma. EMS responded and pronounced Gallagher deceased.

Asked if Gallagher’s death was being investigated as a drug-facilitated theft, as had been reported by one news outlet Friday, a NYPD spokesperson said, “The investigation stays ongoing.”

Gallagher’s sister Lara said via email, “If people have info, they need to contact the NYPD.”

In an announcement issued Friday, the Gallagher family said they’ve been “proactively” working with the NYPD, NYC Office of Chief Medical Examiner, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for the past eight months “to get answers about Katie’s sudden death. We realize that the news released today, while difficult, is a essential next step toward in search of justice for Katie, which is our primary goal.”

Her relatives acknowledged how the homicide determination “affirms what we knew: Katie was the victim of against the law. Now we have been holding this information while awaiting the official ruling. Sharing this news helps us set the record straight, demand accountability, and grieve more openly.”

The statement continued, “We’re grateful for any developments that help us move forward, concentrate on Katie’s life and legacy, and produce more awareness to fentanyl and similar drugs getting used as weapons against innocent people.”

Born in DuBois, Pennsylvania, Gallagher and her three sisters later moved with their parents — a history teacher father and a registered nurse mother — to State College. The imaginative siblings enjoyed running across the woods together and storytelling. Additionally they learned to stay up for themselves, and had been encouraged by their parents to seek out what they like to do and to never surrender. For Katie Gallagher, that meant forging into fashion.

After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2009, she decamped for Manhattan, interning with Anna Sui at one point and modeling here and there for Gap Japan, Ray-Ban and other brands. Prior to her death last summer, Gallagher was crafting her latest signature collection.

The designer’s family is planning a celebration of life memorial service for her in May that can feature pieces from previous collections. Without access yet to her laptop, tablet and digital accounts, they haven’t “been capable of determine Katie’s exact plans for her latest collection yet,” Lara Gallagher said. “We do know that she was in the course of a photography project with William Eadon. The finished photos were featured in a Vogue article last summer. They were doing street casting (not models), which was a recent direction for her.”

A GoFundMe page was launched last summer to create a legacy fund within the designer’s honor. As of Friday afternoon, $30,200 had been raised toward the goal of $50,000.

While Gallagher never ascended to international stardom or national fame, she created her own storyline and maintained a certain ingenuity. There also were occasional sparks of non-public triumph akin to suiting up Lady Gaga, Laverne Cox and Daphne Guinness occasionally.

Following her death, Prabal Gurung’s chief operating officer Shan Reddy, who met Gallagher during her interning days, said, “She’s the story of so many Latest Yorkers that come to the town with nothing, and provides it every little thing, making it the place the world looks to for creativity, inspiration and most significantly, grit.”

The Gallagher family noted Friday, “Katie was an incredibly loved, talented, and impressive person, who we miss on a regular basis. She was a self-made clothier and artist. To know her was to know her strength and tenacity. When we expect concerning the callous disregard for her life and all that she would have done or could have done had this not happened, our hearts break all once again.”

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