A woman who pleaded guilty to shoving a beloved 87-year-old vocal coach to the ground and causing a fatal brain bleed said she was “profoundly sorry” in a Manhattan courtroom Friday.
Judge Felicia Mennin sentenced Lauren Pazienza, 28, to eight-and-a-half years in prison and five years of post-release supervision on a first-degree manslaughter charge. It was a longer sentence than she had originally promised, because she said Pazienza had tried to minimize her behavior.
“I am really concerned about your apparent inability to take responsibility for your actions,” Mennin said.
Pazienza, dressed in a khaki jacket and pants, sat beside her attorney with her hands cuffed behind her back, her waist-length auburn hair swept to the side. She admitted in court that she pushed vocal coach Barbara Maier Gustern, heard her fall back, heard her moan and did not help her.
More than a dozen of Gustern’s loved ones filled the gallery in raincoats and rain boots, occasionally gasping or sniffling.
On March 10, 2022, Pazienza and her fiance were celebrating their upcoming wedding when the festivities took a violent turn that ended in Gustern’s death. The couple visited a few art galleries in Chelsea, where Pazienza drank several glasses of wine, according to court papers. Then, prosecutors say, they got food from a street cart and began to eat it in Chelsea Park.
But when a park employee told Pazienza the park was closing soon and she needed to leave, according to prosecutors, she cursed, shouted, threw her food at her fiancé and left the park. Pazienza continued onto 28th Street, where prosecutors say she spotted Barbara Gustern. According to court papers, she ran toward the 4’11” octogenarian who weighed less than 100 pounds, called her a “bitch” and pushed her.
Gustern fell to the ground and hit her head. Prosecutors say Pazienza left her lying on the ground, bleeding, just steps from her apartment. A witness called 911, according to court records, and Gustern…
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