Joel Martin Aurnou, the attorney who defended Jean Harris in the 1980 murder of prominent doctor Herman Tarnower, died Wednesday at the age of 91, according to a notice from the Shalom Jewish Funeral Home in the Bronx.

Aurnou handled many prominent cases during his career but is best known for representing Harris, who was charged with killing her ex-lover in his Purchase home. Harris was convicted of second-degree murder and served 11 years in prison before Gov. Mario Cuomo commuted her sentence in 1992.

Aurnou is survived by three children and two grandchildren.