Writer Paul Auster’s 44-year-old son has been found dead of a drug overdose while awaiting trial for the manslaughter of his 10-month-old daughter Ruby.
Daniel Auster was spotted surrounded by drug paraphernalia and the dosage was similar to what he normally took, the New York Post reported – suggesting his death was an accident.
His father, Paul Auster, has won numerous international awards for his books, including titles such as The New York Trilogy, The Book of Illusions and Moon Palace.
His mother is an author and translator Lydia Davis.
Davis and Auster divorced in 1978.
Daniel Auster, 44, was found dead on Tuesday. He admitted to using heroin and then fell asleep with his daughter in his care. When he woke up, she had taken enough drugs to “knock an adult unconscious.” He was charged with manslaughter, child endangerment and involuntary manslaughter and was awaiting trial when he died
Daniel Auster’s daughter Ruby (pictured above) was found dead at his home in Park Slope on November 1
Daniel’s father, Paul Auster, is probably America’s best-known postmodern novelist, best known for The New York Trilogy, The Book of Illusions, and Moon Palace. The couple’s relationship seemed estranged
Auster claimed in April his baby daughter died of a fentanyl overdose after he took heroin and then napped with the child by his side while his wife worked, a court heard.
The vivid report Auster allegedly gave to the NYPD was shared by Assistant District Attorney Tien Tran, he said at his manslaughter hearing.
The infant’s mother, Zuzan Smith, told police that her daughter Ruby was awake and alert when she left her in Auster’s care and went to work.
A criminal complaint obtained by says Auster told police that shortly after Smith left her home, he injected heroin and then went to bed with the child by his side for a nap.
When he awoke from his nap, she was “blue, lifeless and unresponsive,” according to the complaint.
The prosecutor said the girl had enough drugs in her system to “knock an adult unconscious.”
Auster, pictured here being taken to court on his charges, gave the 10-month-old girl Narcan to revive her after he woke to find her “blue, lifeless and unresponsive”.
Auster, 44, is refusing to face the cameras after being charged with manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child after his young daughter took his heroin while he was napping
It’s still unclear how the girl took the drugs, but Auster confessed he kept heroin in his bathroom.
His attorney, James Godfrey, told the New York Times that his client was recently sober and on drug treatment.
“This case is painfully tragic and Mr. Auster remains devastated at the loss of his beloved daughter Ruby,” the newspaper’s attorney said.
“Drug use disorders are a problem that affects countless families every year and we caution the public not to jump to conclusions.”
Auster can be seen in many photos posing or cuddling with his little girl
An autopsy performed a few days later by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner revealed that Ruby died of acute intoxication caused by the combined effects of fentanyl and heroin.
The case was ruled a homicide after police consulted with the Kings County District Attorney’s Office. It’s unclear why it took five and a half months to bring charges.
Auster, who works as a landscape gardener, posted photos of his child and mother Zuzan Smith to his Instagram page before jetting off to Mexico and Colombia in January, where he backpacked like a college kid and attended several raves.
A video by StreetEasy rental company shows the interior of the one-bedroom apartment, including the crisp white walls and hardwood floors of the bedroom where the child died. The bathroom, with a claw-foot tube and white tile floor, was where Auster said he kept his drugs.
The 600-square-foot unit is currently on the market for $2,130 per month.
Daniel Auster, 44, was arrested Friday night on manslaughter and manslaughter charges
Auster’s Instagram page is full of pictures of his daughter and her mother
Daniel Auster was caring for his 10-month-old daughter Ruby at his home in Park Slope when 911 was called
It’s not the first time Daniel Auster has come into contact with the law.
During his teenage years, Daniel began clubbing around New York City and became heavily involved with drugs, according to The New Yorker.
At the age of 18, in 1996, when he was eighteen, Daniel was present at the apartment when a drug dealer named Andre “Angel” Melendez was murdered by Club Kid Killer” Michael Alig, a former nightclub promoter, and his Roommate Robert Riggs.
Daniel received $3,000 of Melendez’s money in exchange for his silence.
He later pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property and received five years probation.
Club Kid Killer’ Michael Alig, who was a former nightclub promoter, is pictured. On Christmas Eve 2020, Alig died at the age of 54 from an accidental heroin overdose
Daniel Auster can be seen in a photo with his father Paul, in a shot from his youth
Daniel is pictured with his father as a young boy in a touching photo posted to his Instagram account, captioned “Me and Pops.”
New York author Paul Auster’s troubled son, Daniel, has been charged in connection with the death of his young daughter from a drug overdose
Daniel regularly posted photos of his wife and daughter Ruby before their deaths last year
The trio dressed up for Halloween in a scene from The Wizard of Oz, starring Daniel as the Heartless Tin Man and his wife as Dorothy
He also has a string of other arrests, including multiple drug possession charges in 2008 and 2010.
In 2009, he was charged with petty theft and possession of stolen property.
Daniel’s father, Paul Auster, is probably America’s best-known postmodern novelist, best known for The New York Trilogy, The Book of Illusions and Moon Palace, but the couple’s relationship seems estranged.
Daniel’s mother, Paul Auster’s first wife, is the writer Lydia Davis.
In Auster’s film Smoke (1995), starring Harvey Keitel and William Hurt, about the lives of people who frequented a Brooklyn tobacconist, Paul’s son Daniel played the role of a book thief.
Paul Auster’s second wife Siri Hustvedt, left, who is also a writer, never talks about her stepson Daniel. The couple is pictured in 2016
Although real contact between Daniel and his father does not seem to exist, Auster included Daniel in his work.
In his 2004 novel Oracle Night, the book is narrated by a writer named Trause, whose son is a drug addict and terrorizes his stepmother.
During a 2006 Guardian interview, Paul Auster’s second wife Siri Hustvedt, who is also a writer, refused to talk about her stepson.
‘Yes. You know, I’m not going to talk about that, no. No.’ she said and her eyes started to water.
“You know, I’m married to a writer, and that – writing – is a strange endeavor. We both support that very strongly. I was always behind Paul and he was always behind me. I have a very strong family.’
It appears that the family is grappling with Daniel’s troubled past and uncertain present by writing about him in their own fiction.