NYC woman pleads guilty to shoving 87-year-old Broadway vocal coach and killing her

NEW YORK (TCD) — A woman who was arrested last year for shoving an 87-year-old Broadway vocal coach onto the ground pleaded guilty to charges relating to the elderly woman’s death.

On Wednesday, Aug. 23, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Lauren Pazienza entered the plea for one count of first-degree manslaughter for killing Barbara Gustern. Pazienza will be sentenced in September to eight years in state prison with five years of post-release supervision. Pazienza was initially charged in May 2022 with first-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault.

According to the District Attorney’s Office, on March 10, 2022, Pazienza was walking on West 28th Street when she “crossed the street, shouted obscenities at Ms. Gustern and then intentionally shoved her to the ground.”

Pazienza walked away following the attack but remained in the area for about 20 minutes.

Gustern fell on her head, which resulted in a “massive hemorrhage.” She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she became unconscious and put on life support. She died five days later.

Following the push, Pazienza got into a physical fight with her fiancé, then watched the ambulance take Gustern away. Pazienza and her fiancé rode the subway to their apartment in Astoria, Queens, and she confessed to shoving Gustern. After getting rid of her social media profiles and wedding site, she went to Long Island to stay with family.

Pazienza later turned herself in to a New York Police Department precinct.

Bragg said in the press release, “Lauren Pazienza aggressively shoved Barbara Gustern to the ground and walked away as the beloved New Yorker lay there bleeding. Today’s plea holds Pazienza accountable for her deadly actions. We continue to mourn the loss of Barbara Gustern, a talented musical theater performer and vocal coach who touched so many in New York City and beyond.”

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