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Longtime Friend Testifies to Astor's Senility

Author Auchincloss told her son's lawyer she didn't recognize him

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted May 1, 2009 12:24 PM CDT
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(Newser) – A longtime friend of philanthropist Brooke Astor testified yesterday that her faculties were so deteriorated the last time he saw her that she did not recognize him, the New York Daily News reports. Author Louis Auchincloss said the encounter took place 2 years before Astor allegedly changed her will, awarding $60 million earmarked for charities to her son, Anthony Marshall—who’s currently on trial for fraud.

Auchincloss said he told Francis Morrissey, the lawyer accused along with Marshall, that Astor didn’t recognize him. “It was impossible for her to be clear in testamentary capacity if she didn’t know who I was when we’d been intimate for many, many decades,” said Auchincloss, 91, himself a retired lawyer.

Anthony Marshall, son of late philanthropist Brooke Astor, is accused of stealing from his mother's $198 million estate; he's seen in court Monday in New York.
Anthony Marshall, son of late philanthropist Brooke Astor, is accused of stealing from his mother's $198 million estate; he's seen in court Monday in New York.   (AP Photo)
Anthony Marshall, son of late philanthropist Brooke Astor, appears in state Supreme Court where he is accused of stealing from his mother's $198 million estate, Monday, April 27, 2009, in New York.
Anthony Marshall, son of late philanthropist Brooke Astor, appears in state Supreme Court where he is accused of stealing from his mother's $198 million estate, Monday, April 27, 2009, in New York.   (AP Photo/Marc A. Hermann, Pool)
Philanthropist Brooke Astor stands in front of a portrait of her late husband, Vinicent Astor, in her Park Avenue apartment in this March 15, 1992 file photo.
Philanthropist Brooke Astor stands in front of a portrait of her late husband, Vinicent Astor, in her Park Avenue apartment in this March 15, 1992 file photo.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Philanthropist Brooke Astor stands in front of a portrait of her late husband, Vinicent Astor, in her Park Avenue apartment in this 1992 file photo.
Philanthropist Brooke Astor stands in front of a portrait of her late husband, Vinicent Astor, in her Park Avenue apartment in this 1992 file photo.   (AP Photo)
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Lord Astor testifies in inheritance trial
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fraud • trial • will • charity • inheritance • Brooke Astor • Anthony Marshall • Francis Morrissey • Louis Auchincloss

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