Astor's Dementia Pronounced in Years Prior to Will Changes, Friends Say

Annette de la Renta, the late Brooke Astor’s court-appointed guardian, had been expected to provide explosive testimony in a New York courtroom Wednesday, bolstering charges that Astor’s son exploited her Alzheimer’s disease to bilk her estate of tens of millions of dollars.

But the bombshell witness in this high-profile trial was greatly diffused when New York State Supreme Court Judge A. Kirke Bartley Jr. barred prosecutors from disclosing that in 2006 de la Renta had been named guardian to the 104-year-old Astor, ruling that such information could prejudice the jury against Astor’s son, defendant Anthony Marshall, 84.

The pre-testimony ruling surprised the prosecution team, which had been set to question de la Renta extensively about her role as guardian, says Elizabeth Loewy, lead prosecutor and head of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Elder Abuse Unit. 

Bartley also ruled that de la Renta—wife of fashion designer Oscar de la Renta—could not testify that Astor told her that Marshall claimed she was going broke when, in fact, Astor was still worth between $160 million and $180 million. This, prosecutors said, was done to trick Astor into selling a valuable painting that her son took a secret $2 million commission on.

Bartley’s rulings limited the longtime confidante’s testimony to more anecdotal evidence that Astor was no longer of sound mind when Marshall and his lawyer friend Francis Morrissey allegedly coerced the philanthropist to change her will, rerouting $60 million from charity to her son in January 2004. The defense contends that Astor "had her good days and bad days," but that she was lucid on the days when she knowingly and willingly amended her wills.

After protracted cross-examination of de la Renta that extended through most of Thursday, the jury got a glimpse into a world of rarefied affluence through a video of Astor’s lavish party celebrating her 100th birthday.  The video, commissioned by banker and statesman David Rockefeller, who also organized the 2002 celebration, was the first opportunity for the jury to see an event described in testimony by de la Renta and other witnesses called by the prosecution.

Marshall’s attorney, Kenneth Warner, said the video bolstered the defense’s position. He described a speech Astor delivers in the video as illustrative of her clarity of mind and her composure. Though she repeated herself, and despite the fact the video was produced by people who were trying to show the socialite in the best possible light, Astor was able at 100 to speak coherently after a long night of entertaining.

“That speech is it for me,” Warner said. “There’s no doubt in my mind. It shows the awareness, the competence, the stamina.”

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