Troubled son of NYC author Paul Auster charged in infant’s drug death

The troubled son of New York author Paul Auster was arrested on manslaughter charges Friday night, after his infant girl died of a drug overdose back in November, police sources said.

Daniel Auster, 44, found his 10-month-old baby girl, Ruby, lifeless in a home on Bergen St. in Park Slope, just before 4:30 p.m. Nov. 1, cops said.

He told police he was watching Ruby while the girls mother was at work, and he fell asleep at noon, with the tot sleeping on top of him, according to police sources. When he woke up, she wasn’t moving.

He called 911 and performed CPR on Ruby before cops arrived, sources said.

Medics took the baby to Methodist Hospital, but she couldn’t be saved.

An initial autopsy showed no signs of physical or internal trauma, but toxicology tests later determined the infant died of an overdose of fentanyl and heroin, author said. A police spokesman couldn’t say Saturday how Ruby was exposed to the drugs, but she was in Daniel Auster’s care.

Cops charged Daniel Auster with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.

His father, Paul Auster, is the acclaimed author of “The New York Trilogy,” “The Book of Illusions,” “The Music of Chance” and “Moon Palace,” and wrote the screenplay for the 1995 Wayne Wang film “Smoke.”

A woman who answered the phone at Paul Auster’s house said, “I’m sorry, but we have no comment on this.”

Back in 1998, Daniel Auster was sentenced to five years probation after pleading guilty to stealing $3,000 from the body of Andre “Angel” Melendez, who was slain by “Club Kid Killer” Michael Alig in 1996.

The author’s son has a handful of arrests in the late 2000s — drug possession in 2008 and 2010 and petit larceny and possession of stolen property in 2009.

He awaits arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court.

With Janon Fisher