Paul Auster's Granddaughter Dies Of Overdose, Son Arrested: Police

Park Slope NY

18 April, 2022

10:03 AM

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PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — Brooklyn writer Paul Auster's 10-month-old granddaughter died with enough drugs in her system to "render an adult unconscious," according to police and reports. Daniel Auster, the writer's 44-year-old son, was arraigned on manslaughter charges last weekend, about five months after his daughter Ruby ingested fentanyl and heroin in her Bergen Street home, police said. Auster said he tried to give Ruby the overdose-reversing medication Narcan after he awoke on Nov. 1 to find her unconscious, according to police and multiple reports. A 911 call sent police rushing to the Park Slope home and on to Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where the baby girl later died, police said. Medical examiners later found Ruby died of an overdose, police said. Auster was arrested Friday and arraigned Sunday on charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, court records show. Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Tian Tran said at Auster's arraignment that Auster had admitted to having heroin in his bathroom, the New York Post reported. Auster's attorney John Godfrey, of the Legal Aid Society, noted at the hearing that his client has since gotten clean, goes to Narcotics Anonymous and turned himself into police, according to the Post. The Brooklyn father's bail was set at a $250,000 bond or $100,000 in cash, court records show. Auster's father is a prolific, Brooklyn-based writer whose works include "New York Trilogy," "Brooklyn Follies," and his most recent publication, "4 3 2 1."