The son of famed novelist Paul Auster has died, just 11 days after he was charged in his infant daughter’s overdose death, officials said.
Daniel Auster died Tuesday at 44, New York City police said. Officials did not disclose the cause of death.
Police officers found Auster unconscious on the subway platform of the northbound G train at the Washington Avenue/Clinton Street stop in New York City on April 20 — just five days after he was arrested in his daughter's death.
Officers administered CPR, and he was transported to Brooklyn Hospital in "stable condition," police said. He was pronounced dead at the hospital Tuesday, authorities said.
The chief medical examiner's office said the cause and manner of death are pending.
Auster's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Auster was arrested April 15. It's not clear when he was released from jail.
Auster was charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and endangering the welfare of a child relating to the death of his 10-month-old daughter, Ruby Auster.
Ruby died of acute intoxication from heroin and fentanyl in November while in the sole care of her father, according to the criminal complaint filed by the Kings County District Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn.
Auster told authorities that he had injected himself with heroin after his wife left for work the day his daughter died. He then lay in bed with Ruby to take a nap, and when he woke up, he saw she was “blue, lifeless, and unresponsive," according to the complaint.
He administered Narcan, an opioid antagonist used to reverse overdose effects, and called police, and his daughter was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. A toxicology report in her autopsy found the presence of heroin and fentanyl.
A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office said the criminal case will be abated by death at a future date.
Auster’s father is best known for such works as “City of Glass,” “The Brooklyn Follies” and “4 3 2 1,” according to The New York Times.
