Daniel Auster — novelist Paul Auster’s 44-year-old troubled son — died of a drug overdose on Tuesday, it was reported.
Mr Auster was out on bail — he was arrested on Easter Sunday — and was facing charges of manslaughter over the death of his 10-month-old baby, Ruby.
Law enforcement officials said that he was found with drug paraphernalia and that it was possibly an “accidental” overdose. Police said that the dose was similar to what he would usually take.
Last year, on 1 November, paramedics found Ruby unconscious and unresponsive at Auster’s residence on Bergen Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
She was taken to the Methodist hospital where she was pronounced dead.
The autopsy revealed that the baby died of an overdose of fentanyl and heroin. It was, however, unclear how the baby ingested the drugs.
The mother of the baby and Auster’s wife, Zuzan Smith, told the police that the baby was awake and seemed fine before she left for work that morning.
Auster told the police that he injected himself with heroin when his wife left for work and when he woke up he found Ruby “blue, lifeless and unresponsive.”
Auster was charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and endangering the welfare of a child, according to a criminal complaint filed in court.
His bail was set at $100,000 cash or $250,000 bond.
Daniel Auster’s father, Paul Auster, 75, is an internationally acclaimed author and novelist and has also won several awards for his work. His work includes books like “The New York Trilogy,” “The Book of Illusions,” and “Moon Palace.”
His mother, Lydia Davis, 74, is also an author and translator. Paul Auster and Ms Davis have been divorced since 1978.
John Godfrey, an attorney for Auster, had said at the time of his bail hearing that “this case is painfully tragic, and Mr Auster remains devastated over the loss of his beloved daughter Ruby. Substance use disorder is an issue that countless families reel from each year, and we caution the public to refrain from making any rush to judgment and to respect the family’s privacy at this difficult time.”
