Lauren Pazienza shoved 87-year-old Barbara Maier Gustern to the sidewalk in Manhattan last year, and Gustern later died.
A woman who killed an 87-year-old Broadway vocal coach by pushing her to the ground in New York City pleaded guilty Wednesday and will be sentenced to eight years in prison, the district attorney said.
Lauren Pazienza, now 28, shoved Barbara Maier Gustern to the ground from behind in the Chelsea neighborhood on March 10, 2022, officials said at the time.
Lauren Pazienza is a 28-year-old Long Island resident who was accused of fatally shoving 87-year-old vocal coach Barbara Gustern in Chelsea, New York City in March 2022[1].
Pazienza pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and assault in the death of Gustern and was described by prosecutors as having a tantrum before pushing the voice coach[2]. In August 2023, Pazienza pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to 8 years in prison[3][4][5].
Pazienza grew up in an idyllic part of Long Island, where her dad Daniel runs a successful business in Holtsville that has previously been ranked the No. 1 cesspool company in Suffolk County for service and price[1]. She attended Ward Melville High School in nearby Setauket with her future fiancé, now a Microsoft employee[1].
Pazienza was seen gallivanting around town, attending swanky clubs and art gallery openings, but neighbors at the upscale Astoria condo where she lived with her boyfriend said she wasn’t all smiles at home[1]. Law enforcement sources say that Pazienza was a known nuisance in the Shore Towers, and had previously called the cops on her neighbors[1][6].
What does calling the cops on neighbors have to do with a manslaughter trial though. There can be people who have a legitimate reason to do that, and then there's those people who are calling the cops every other day, but it doesn't specify. It's just kind of comical that that would be used to somehow legitimate a completely unrelated manslaughter conviction.