NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is “overcharging” the 26-year-old woman arrested in the alleged shoving death of a beloved 87-year-old singing coach, her attorney reportedly said in court.
High-profile defense attorney Arthur Aidala, who has represented the likes of Harvey Weinstein, told a judge Tuesday that his client Lauren Pazienza is being targeted for her “socioeconomic status,” the New York Post reported.
Pazienza turned herself in at the 10th Precinct stationhouse earlier in the day to face charges of first-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault in the death of Barbara Maier Gustern, a famed vocal coach who'd been known in the theater world for decades and who'd worked with performers like Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry.
Aidala reportedly told the judge that “pushing someone who’s on the sidewalk” isn’t the same as “pushing someone in front of a cliff” or “pushing someone in front of a moving train.”
“The D.A. goes out of their way to undercharge a case, and in this particular case they’re overcharging,” Aidala said in court, apparently referring to controversial progressive policies by new Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg.
Gustern hit her head and was critically injured after being shoved at W. 28th Street and Eighth Avenue in Chelsea following a rehearsal on the night of March 10 in what police called “an unprovoked, senseless attack.”
Prosecutors said Pazienza is the woman who crossed the street, came up behind Gustern, called her a “b****” and pushed her to the ground, causing her to fall and hit her head. She suffered brain injuries and died at a hospital five days later on March 15.
Pazienza allegedly spent over 20 minutes in the area after the attack, fighting with a man believed to be her fiancé and later looked on as an ambulance approached the scene.
“Whether it was a push, or whether it was a shove, or whether it was as kick, or whether someone tripped—the evidence is not very solid on that at all,” Aidala told reporters Tuesday.
Aidala said his client was stressed out and is a good person.
“She was crying. You know, she’s being accused of a horrible act,” he said. “And she’s a very moral, right, just person who went to high school, went to college, has a job, has a fiancé, has a family.”
Prosecutors disagree, saying Pazienza tried to avoid being captured by deleting her social media accounts and wedding registry and fleeing to her parents' home on Long Island on March 16.
Police initially went to her family’s home in Port Jefferson on Monday but got no cooperation. Pazienza, who lived in Astoria, turned herself in the next day to the NYPD and was charged.
Pazienza hid her face with her hair and said nothing as she led out of the police stationhouse on Tuesday.
A judge ordered a psychological evaluation for her. She faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
Gustern’s funeral is set for Saturday.
Gustern’s grandson, AJ Gustern, wonders what prompted the attack.
“If she did do this, I would like answers, but this woman deserves her day in court. I want to stress that to everybody in the city and in the community,” Gustern said Tuesday.
Gustern said his family is “entering a new phase of grief, of course, and seeing how the trial plays out.”
“But yeah, there is a sense of closure,” Gustern said following news of the arrest.
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