Just days after being accused of the death of his baby by overdose, Daniel Auster, son of the famous novelist Paul Auster, died on Tuesday from the same cause at the age of 44 years in Brooklyn (NYC).
Daniel was out on bail and facing manslaughter charges arising from the death in the fall of his daughter of months, Ruby. Both cases are believed to be “accidental” overdoses, according to New York Post.
When Daniel was arrested on 15 in April, a Brooklyn prosecutor said the baby had died in her care, after ingesting enough heroin and fentanyl to “render an adult unconscious”.
The prosecution had asked Judge John Hecht to detain the defendant at arraignment. But the defense attorney, John Godfrey of the Legal Aid Society, requested that a “reasonable bond” be set, telling the judge that his client had “cleansed” himself of his addiction.
In the end, the judge issued an order for psychiatric treatment for him and set bail. Daniel was released and while at home he suffered a fatal overdose on Tuesday 26 in April .
According to Daniel, when he woke up in his Park Slope apartment on the afternoon of November 1, he found her newborn daughter with “blue lips and stiff eyes,” and tried to save her with Narcan to no avail, Assistant District Attorney Tien Tran said at an arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court.
Ruby was alert and awake when her mother, Zuzan Smith, went to work, leaving her with her father that day. The woman called the house around 1 pm and heard the baby in the background. Daniel reported the emergency to 911 less than four hours later, at 4: 26 pm, said the prosecutor.
As was his habit for years, Daniel had been using heroin that day. Upon arrival, paramedics found the baby unconscious. She was later pronounced dead at nearby Methodist Hospital, New York police said.
City medical examiners determined that baby Ruby died of an overdose of fentanyl and heroin, with enough drugs in his body to “render an adult unconscious,” the prosecutor said. The autopsy revealed no signs of bruising or trauma to the baby.
Police had yet to determine how Ruby had ingested the fatal drugs. Her father was charged with second degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and endangering the welfare of a minor. He had “heroin crystal packets” that he kept in the bathroom, according to the prosecution.
Author Paul Auster and his wife Siri Hustvedt have written fiction that appears to be inspired by Daniel’s addictive problems, reported The Guardian at 2006.
In recent months, several cases of children who died due to negligence and/or alleged domestic violence have been reported in New York. If you are a victim or suspect that someone is being mistreated, especially if they are a minor or elderly: