July 24, 2022. Sirens wail at the foot of a building in Manhattan, New York. A young woman has been found dead in her bed. Dispatched to the scene after a 911 call, the New York police found that the body had no injuries, not even a small scratch. The medical examiner in charge of determining the cause of death is categorical: the young woman, identified as one of the rising stars of American fashion, Kathryn Marie Gallagher, died from acute poisoning due to the combined effects of alcohol, fentanyl, ethanol and p-fluorofentanyl. She was 35 years old.
This fatal overdose is sadly famous in the United States, which is experiencing an explosion in the number of deaths linked to fentanyl at this time. According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention), the number of deaths by overdose due to this opioid increased from 52,404 in 2015 to 107,941 in 2022. However, Kathryn Marie Gallagher’s family refutes this theory. For them, it is neither a suicide nor an accident. They put forward the theory of homicide by poisoning.
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An Independent Fashion Designer on the Rise
Kathryn Marie Gallagher – nicknamed Katie by her friends – was born on August 15, 1986 in DuBois, Pennsylvania. As a young girl, she was passionate about clothing. She developed a taste for thrifting and then reworking her finds using her small Singer sewing machine. After high school, she attended the Rhode Island School of Design to specialize in fashion design. During her studies, she learned at the Anna Sui and threeASFOUR brands, an American fashion house known for its innovative techniques and experimental silhouettes. During her studies, her creations quickly attracted the attention of New York buyers and fashion magazines such as “Interview” and “Vogue Italia,” such as a dress made from metal springs that she made herself.
This craze led her to move to New York in 2009. In the process, she launched her brand “Katie Gallagher”. She was only 23 years old at the time. Her first collection was very well received. The fashion world saw her as the spearhead of the new American guard. A status that would be confirmed during New York Fashion Week in February 2010. The magazine “Refinery 29” described her collection as “dark, futuristic, elegant, and, as always, unique”.
Her creations will also attract the interest of celebrities, from Lady Gaga to Kourtney Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Laverne Cox and even the dancers of the New York City Ballet. When her death was announced, the American fashion world was moved. “She was always one step ahead. Everything she had imagined before has become trendy in the last two years,” Alexandra Plazas-Herrera, founder of the communications agency specializing in the luxury sector, The Good Six, told the “New York Post.”
Poisoning and serial killer
Eight months after the announcement of her death, the case will finally change. The overdose theory initially announced is called into question. For investigators, Kathryn Marie Gallagher was the victim of a homicide. A painful relief for her family, who were the first to be convinced. The authorities will make the connection with a series of violent attacks perpetrated in Lower Manhattan in 2022, always with the aim of robbing the victims. In the investigators’ sights: a 34-year-old man already charged with the overdose deaths of two partygoers. He had drugged them in a nightclub before stealing their bank cards and emptying their bank accounts. In this case, Kenwood Allen will be charged with second-degree murder, i.e. murder without premeditation. Kathryn Marie Gallagher is part of a list of 21 victims targeted by the man between March and December 2022. Among them, five are dead, including the fashion designer. While the exact circumstances and course of the crime remain a mystery, some suspect that the bad encounter took place in a city club. A big party girl and regular at New York nights, she simply found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. A theory that has never been confirmed by the police. In addition to the murder charges, Kenwood Allen faces a litany of other charges for crimes such as theft, assault, attempted theft, robbery and drug possession. He pleaded not guilty to all charges, but after a brief appearance before the judge in charge of his case, Felicia A. Mennin, he was ultimately found guilty and sent back to prison.
To honor Kathryn Gallagher and perpetuate her work, her family has since chosen to create the “Katie Gallagher Artist Archive” to preserve her work through a digital inventory. To date, more than 500 garments and accessories have been listed, as well as hundreds of patterns, sketches and paintings made by the brilliant Pennsylvanian who tragically passed away.
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