Paul Auster: The novelist’s son died of an overdose

Daniel Auster, the novelist’s son Paul Austerwho was out on bail accused of an alleged involuntary manslaughter for the death of his daughter, died last Tuesday of an overdose, according to The New York Post on Thursday.

Auster, 44, was out on bail and facing involuntary manslaughter charges in the Nov. 1 death of his 10-month-old daughter, Ruby, the newspaper explains. The well-known writer’s son died of a drug overdose, police sources told the Post.

The overdose is believed to have been accidental because he was still on drugs when he was found and the dose was similar to what he normally took, according to the sources.

Auster had been caring for her 10-month-old daughter, Ruby, on the afternoon of Nov. 1 when emergency crews responded to a 911 call from her Brooklyn residence and found the baby unresponsive.

The little girl was rushed to New York Methodist Hospital where she was pronounced dead and an autopsy concluded Ruby died of an overdose of fentanyl and heroin, authorities said, though how she ingested the drugs could not be determined.

Auster was arrested on April 15 and charged with involuntary manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. The newspaper recalls that more than two decades ago the writer’s troublesome son pleaded guilty to stealing $3,000 from a drug dealer.

His father, Paul Auster, is a well-known novelist who has written works such as “A Man in the Dark”, “The Book of Illusions”, “The New York Trilogy” or “Leviathan”, and has received numerous awards, among them the Prince of Asturias Award for Letters in 2006. His mother is the author and translator Lydia Davis. Davis and Auster divorced in 1978, according to the newspaper.