US novelist Paul Auster’s son Daniel dies of drug overdose while awaiting trial for killing baby daughter with heroin and fentanyl
The 44-year-old son of novelist Paul Auster has been found dead of a drug overdose, nine days after his arrest for the manslaughter of his 10-month-old daughter Ruby.
Daniel Auster was discovered surrounded by drug paraphernalia, and the dosage was similar to what he usually took, The New York Post reported – suggesting his death was accidental.
He had been arrested on Easter Sunday for the November 1 death of Ruby. She died of a fentanyl overdose after he took heroin then went to take a nap with the child by his side.
His father, Paul Auster, 75, has won numerous international awards for his books, which include titles such as The New York Trilogy,’ ‘The Book of Illusions,’ and ‘Moon Palace.’ In 2017, he was nominated for the Booker Prize for his novel ‘4, 3, 2, 1’, and his work has been translated into more than forty languages.
In Auster’s 1995 film about the lives of people who frequented a Brooklyn tobacco shop, Smoke – which starred Harvey Keitel and William Hurt – Daniel played the role of a book thief.
His mother is author and translator Lydia Davis, 74.