NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The Queens woman accused of fatally shoving a beloved Broadway singing coach in March will go on trial this fall, a judge announced Tuesday.
listen to 1010 wins
The 27-year-old, Lauren Pazienza, appeared at Manhattan Supreme Court where Judge Felicia Mennin set a trial date of Oct. 6.
Pazienza previously pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges for the March 10 killing of 87-year-old Barbara Maier Gustern.
Gustern was a well-known voice coach whose students included Debbie Harry of Blondie and the Broadway cast of “Oklahoma.”
According to prosecutors, Pazienza’s evening began with a tour of art galleries before she went to eat at a park with her fiance. She stormed out of the Chelsea Park picnic and encountered Gustern on W. 28th Street near Eighth Avenue before the random attack.
A cyclist who was passing by when the incident happened said Pazienza allegedly pushed Gustern “so forcefully that Ms. Gustern fell in an arc, falling directly on her head,” court documents show.
At the scene, Gustern told a friend that Pazienza ran across the street, called her a “b---h” and shoved her to the concrete harder than she’d “ever been hit in her life,” before she died.
Five days after the attack, Gustern died at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue of blunt force trauma to the head.
Prosecutors added that Pazienza confessed to pushing Gustern to her fiance after returning to their Astoria condo. She said she thought Gustern “might have said something” to her to prompt the assault but could not recall what.
For 11 days, Pazienza hid out at her parent’s Long Island home and deleted her social media accounts as well as her wedding website.
Pazienza is currently being held at Rikers Island. If convicted, she faces up to 25 years in prison.
Related
Related
Related
