Lower East Side fashion designer tied to Lady Gaga died of fentanyl overdose; NYPD investigating ties to deadly robbery crew

The fatal fentanyl overdose of a renowned fashion designer with ties to Lady Gaga was actually a homicide, with her shocking death last summer possibly linked to a string of lethal druggings by roving robbery crews, police and law enforcement sources said Friday.

Kathryn Marie Gallagher, whose A-list clients included Lady Gaga, model Chrissy Teigen and actress Laverne Cox, was found dead inside her Lower East Side apartment around 8:50 p.m. on July 24. 2022. Authorities now believe the 35-year-old was killed during the deadly spree.

An autopsy revealed Gallagher died of “acute intoxication” from a mix of fentanyl, cocaine, ethanol and other drugs, said the city Medical Examiner.

An NYPD source said Gallagher died “following an attempted drug-facilitated theft.” Details of the theft were not immediately disclosed.

Gallagher, a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, was found dead on a bed inside her apartment on Eldridge St. near Delancey St., officials said.

The Pennsylvania native was working on a Fall 2022 collection when she died, and was “an internationally-recognized fashion designer,” according to her online obituary.

NYPD detectives are now trying to link her death to several other incidents that occurred last year where robbery crews allegedly drugged their victims and then robbed them.

At least seven people had been killed in the incidents, police said at a news conference in November. Two of the overdose victims — Julio Ramirez, 25, and John Umberger, 33 — were targeted after leaving gay nightspots in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen, but not all of the victims have been from the LGBTQ community, cops said.

“This is based solely on monetary gain,” NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said in November.

The robberies were likely carried out by different crews, Essig said. Sometimes, the victims were offered cocaine and marijuana by strangers as they walk out of bars, police have said.

The victims are robbed of their cell phones, and in some cases, crooks have used cash apps to transfer money from the victims’ accounts.

Four suspects were arrested in the incidents by November, police said, though no arrests have been made in Gallagher’s death.

Gallagher started her own fashion line in 2010 and had already completed 26 collections that premiered during New York Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week, her obituary said.

“Katie was a talented and innovative pattern maker and seamstress. She handmade every piece in her collections and commissions using her industrial sewing machines as well as a household machine handed down to her from her paternal grandmother, Evelyn,” the obit said. “Katie dressed cultural icons from Daphne Guinness to Lady Gaga, Rita Ora, and Laverne Cox.”

She was also a model and a painter, according to the obituary, which indicated that she “died unexpectedly at her home.”

In an interview with Women’s Wear Daily, Gallagher’s family said they were working on ensuring that the fall collection she was working on before her death would be completed and shown.

“Her life was her work,” Gallagher’s sister Lara Gallagher told the fashion publication. “We really just want to honor that like it was a child left behind, because, in a way, it really was.”