A sobbing Long Island event planner was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years for the unprovoked deadly attack on a veteran Broadway singing coach.
Lauren Pazienza, 27, admitted to drinking two bottles of wine and consuming “a ton of marijuana” on the day she unprovokedly pushed 87-year-old Barbara Maier Gustern to her death on a Chelsea sidewalk in March 2022.
The suspect was being held on Rikers Island since her arrest. She accepted a plea deal and had a lesser time compared to the 25-year term she was risking to serve had she been tried.
Gustern, who did not know the assailant, died five days from fatal head injuries sustained in the shoving attack.
“Barbara Gustern’s sudden, violent death at the hands of Lauren Pazienza left a family and community in mourning,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.
“There is nothing that can bring her back, but I hope that the resolution of these proceedings can provide some sense of closure amid her loved ones.”
