Astor’s Longevity Was ‘Killing’ Son

Big news from the Astor trial, which is now offering daily tidbits about New York City society: Charlene Marshall—whose husband, Anthony, is accused of changing his senile mother’s will—was none too happy about Brooke Astor’s long life. Astor, who died in 2007, at 105, “is killing him. She’s f----- killing him,” Charlene said in 2001, according to testimony by Astor’s social secretary. The younger woman suspected that if her husband died before Astor, she would be left out of an inheritance of millions of dollars. According to the social secretary, Marshall was overheard saying “If [my husband] dies before I do, I get nothing.” At one point as the statement was read to the court, “a red-faced Charlene was seen mouthing, ‘It’s wrong!’” the Post reports. But the only damage may be to Charlene’s reputation: The judge ruled that the secretary’s statement was irrelevant.