Lauren Pazienza told a judge she is “profoundly sorry” for what she did.
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2023.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.
Pazienza, dressed in a khaki jacket and pants, sat beside her attorney with her hands cuffed behind her back and 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. 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 “b---h” and pushed her.
When the New York Post published an article about Gustern, court records say, Pazienza got “really scared,” confessed to a cousin and then hid out at her parents’ house on Long Island. She also deleted her social media and wedding website and left her cellphone at her aunt’s house, according to the DA’s office.
But Gustern was perhaps best known for her years as a voice teacher, training both professional entertainers and amateur music lovers. A friend described Gustern as an “87-year-old teenager,” according to her obituary.
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