NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The 26-year-old woman facing manslaughter and assault charges in the fatal shoving of an 87-year-old voice coach Barbara Maier Gustern in Manhattan in March was denied bail Tuesday.
Lawyers for Lauren Pazienza told a Manhattan judge that her therapy sessions showed she was remorseful for the fatal shoving as they again requested bail, the Daily News reported.
However, state Supreme Court Justice Ellen Biben declined to overturn the ruling of another judge, who revoked Pazienza’s $500,000 bail earlier this month after finding the one-time event planner was a “serious flight risk.”
Biben noted that Pazienza made “significant efforts” to avoid arrest for nearly two weeks after the deadly shoving in Chelsea on March 10.
Pazienza’s lawyers had contended last week that a new hearing should be held as state Supreme Court Justice Felicia Mennin hadn't considered alternatives like electronic monitoring or home confinement before remanding their client to jail, the New York Post reported.
Biben said Tuesday that Mennin's ruling had a "rational basis."
At Pazienza’s arraignment earlier this month, Mennin also pointed to the apparent "random" nature of the crime.
“It appears that [the shove] was for a random reason. The victim in this case was apparently left lying on the sidewalk. The defendant walked away. She faces significant prison time if convicted. Although that may not seem a reality at this time, as the case proceeds, I have serious concerns it may affect her desire to return to court,” Mennin said.
Pazienza pleaded not guilty to first-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault.
During the court appearance, assistant D.A. Justin McNabney said Pazienza had “several glasses of wine” with her fiancé on the night of March 10 as the two toured art galleries in Chelsea and celebrated their upcoming wedding.
The couple was eating at Chelsea Park when a city Parks Department employee asked them to leave, according to McNabney.
“The defendant became angry, started cursing at the park employee, threw her food on to her fiancé,” McNabney said.
According to prosecutors, Pazienza then crossed W. 28th Street, near Eighth Avenue, around 8:30 p.m. and shouted obscenities at Gustern before shoving her to the ground. The two did not know each other.
Gustern fell and hit her head, causing massive hemorrhage to the left side of her brain. Pazienza walked away, leaving the octogenarian on the ground bleeding, prosecutors allege.
Gustern, whose clients included celebrities like Debbie Harry of Blondie, died at a hospital five days later on March 15 after she was removed from life support.
Prosecutors allege Pazienza stayed in the area of the attack for 20 minutes and that video footage shows her in a “physical altercation” with her fiancé as the ambulance arrived.
Pazienza then took the subway back to the couple’s apartment in Astoria and admitted to her fiancé later that night that she pushed Gustern, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors allege Pazienza tried to avoid being captured by deleting her social media accounts and wedding registry. She went to her parents' home in Suffolk County on March 16 but ultimately surrendered to the NYPD on March 22.
Pazienza faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
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