Sunday, May 24, 2009

Astor in the News

The Brooke Astor Case / Anthony Marshall Trial

Brooke Astor, who wore beautiful clothes and expensive jewels into her 100s, walked around with nothing on in her mansion at Cove End, Maine, one afternoon, as her mental state worsened, said a maid of the late doyenne.
Astor Walked Naked, Offered Paintings as Gift, NY Court Hears

Philip Marshall, the grandson of New York doyenne Brooke Astor, choked up recalling the last years of her life when she couldn’t recognize her family.
Astor Forgot Family, Lived in ‘Dirty’ Apartment in Final Years

The witness stand in Room 1536 of the Manhattan Criminal Courts building has at times been a pulpit for the rich and the famous over the past several weeks.
At Astor Trial, Famous Faces Turn Heads, and Testify

See also:
Marshall Goes to Trial

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for following the Brooke Astor trial.

I think of how much she would hate all the attention - the reporters focus on her, as if she were on trial rather than her son.

It's all too sensational.

We will likely not ever know the full truth.

belicoso said...

Terrible that such a caring and generous woman could have been taken advantage of and swindled by her own family. Am I imagining things or do people seem more greedy in this day and age than in the past? It seems like wealthy people have to constantly guard their assets even from their own family who could all just waste the fortune on legal bills in fights over who is supposed to get the biggest piece while having little or no regard for the deceased's wishes. It's easy to cite exampled like Mrs. Astor and her current situation or the case between Anna Nicole Smith and the family of her late husband, but the truth is that these scenarios often play out on smaller stages and with far more modest estates. Lets hope that both the Anna Nicole matter and the Astor matter are put to rest with justice being served and the unadulterated wishes of the deceased being honored....and not setting precedent that people can get away with coercing their relatives or battling in the courts for a share of an estate to which they were never entitled.