Woman killed 87-year-old grandmother after pushing her to ground on busy street

24 August 2023 , 13:53

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Panzienza, 28, who fatally shoved 87-year-old Broadway singing coach Barbara Gustern in Manhattan last year (Image: AP)

The woman who fatally pushed an 87-year-old grandma down to the ground on a New York City street last year has pleaded guilty in court.

Lauren Pazienza, 27, pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter in the first degree after it was determined that her 'unprovoked' attack killed Barbara Gustern, 87.

Pazlenza will be sentenced to eight years in prison followed by five years of 'post-release supervision' as stipulated by the plea deal she received. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 29. This is significantly less time than she would have received had she gone to trial.

"Lauren Pazienza aggressively shoved Barbara Gustern to the ground and walked away as the beloved New Yorker lay there bleeding. Today's plea holds Pazienza accountable for her deadly actions," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.

"We continue to mourn the loss of Barbara Gustern, a talented musical theatre performer and vocal coach who touched so many in New York City and beyond."

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Barbara Maier Gustern was a beloved member of the community (Barbara Maier Gustern/Facebook)

Video footage of the young woman after she attacked an elderly woman on the street and left her there (NYPD)

Prosecutors said that Pazlenza brutally attacked Gustern on the evening of March 10, 2022. Surveillance footage caught Pazlenza crossing the street and shouting obscenities at the elderly woman, who was a well-known member of the city's cabaret scene. The 87-year-old was then "intentionally shoved her to the ground" by Pazlenza, said the prosecutor.

When the old woman fell she hit her head and began bleeding out. Pazlenza left the scene. The fall caused a haemorrhage to the left side of the brain. She died five days later in the hospital after being removed from life support.

Evidence shows that Pazlenza left the old woman on the street but was in the area for about 20 minutes, before heading back to her Astoria, Queens, apartment with her fiance. She then deleted her social media accounts and website after the incident as police released video footage of the event.

Gustern was a member of New York's cabaret scene and a beloved vocal coach before she died (Barbara Maier Gustern/Facebook)

Pazlenza then 'fled to Long Island' where her family's home is located before finally turning herself in nearly two weeks later. She was initially charged with one count of first-degree manslaughter and two counts of second-degree assault.

Gustern’s relatives, some of whom were in court, said they were disappointed with Pazienza’s plea deal and agreed-upon prison sentence — a fraction of the maximum 25 years she would’ve faced if convicted at trial.

Her grandson, AJ Gustern, told reporters following the hearing that he has "little to no forgiveness or sympathy for Lauren or her family. This is what happens when you don't raise a child right, and you let them get away with whatever they want their entire lives," he said.

Yelena Mandenberg