Lauren Pazienza Shoving Update: A woman from New York has been charged with manslaughter and assault after allegedly shoving an 87-year-old Broadway vocal coach, resulting in her death. Prosecutors claim that Lauren Pazienza, 26, was angry about being expelled from a city park when she pushed Barbara Gustern to the ground, causing her to suffer brain damage when she hit her head on the sidewalk. Gustern passed away five days after the unprovoked attack.
If convicted, Pazienza, who hails from Long Island, could face a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. Due to concerns about her potential to flee, a judge has ordered her to be held without bail.
Prosecutors have presented a timeline of events leading up to the alleged assault on Gustern in March. According to court documents, Pazienza and her fiancé were celebrating the 100-day mark until their wedding by visiting art galleries in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. Her fiancé informed investigators that Pazienza had consumed multiple glasses of wine before the couple stopped at a food cart. The documents filed by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office state that they brought their food to Chelsea Park to eat, but a park employee informed them that they needed to leave before the park closed at 11 pm.
Prosecutors claim that Pazienza became angry, began shouting and cursing at the park employee, threw her food at her fiancé, and stormed out of the park. Her fiancé stated that he packed up their belongings and intended to return to their apartment in Queens, unaware of Pazienza’s whereabouts. Prosecutors allege that Pazienza angrily walked down the street, where she encountered Gustern. Gustern reportedly told a friend, who later relayed the information as her final words, that a woman with dark hair “ran across the street,” called her a derogatory term, and shoved her with great force.
According to prosecutors, Pazienza then turned and walked away, leaving Gustern lying on the sidewalk with a head injury. Court documents reveal that Pazienza weighs 175 pounds, while the victim weighed less than 100 pounds at the time of her death. A friend helped Gustern back to her apartment in the neighborhood before she was eventually taken to a hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries. The medical examiner determined that the fatal injury resulted from a significant application of force.
Pazienza is scheduled to appear in court again on July 26.
Continue to check our website (buggingquestions.com) for more articles of this kind. And, please use our comment section as well, we would love to hear from you.
