MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: On Tuesday, July 19, Lauren Pazienza, a 26-year-old Long Island woman accused of pushing a cherished 87-year-old voice instructor to death on a Manhattan street, rejected a plea deal offered by the prosecution that might have resulted in a second sentence of 15 years in prison. Pazienza showed up handcuffed in court on Tuesday, rejecting the plea bargain.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office allegedly twice made Pazienza an offer to accept a guilty plea to first-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of Barbara Maier Gustern on March 10 in exchange for the suggested sentence. According to the New York Post, she also failed to have her manslaughter conviction dropped. She might spend up to 25 years behind bars.
In an unprovoked assault on Chelsea’s West 28th Street on March 10, Pazienza, a former event planner and heir to a Long Island cesspool empire, is accused of calling the elderly woman a “bitch” and shoving her to the ground. Gustern, a voice trainer for artists including Blondie frontwoman and New York legend Debbie Harry, passed away on March 15 from her wounds five days later.
Naveen Pereira, who is he?
Pazienza was with her fiancee Naveen Pereira, a consultant at Microsoft, on the night of the event. Pereira disclosed to the prosecutors that they were preparing for their nuptials at Chelsea Park nearby. Pazienza had “many glasses of wine,” he added. After consuming a few glasses of wine, according to assistant district attorney Justin McNabney, Pazienza lost his cool and demanded that the pair leave because it was closing time. And even before the incident, they got into a fight.
Pazienza’s neighbor, who is 38 years old, called her “a really furious person” and “someone who truly does not process the notion that other people have feelings and consideration and doesn’t process the concept that there’s a world outside herself.” The neighbor also mentioned Pazienza and Pereira’s altercations. You hear her and her fiancé yelling at each other, he said. “The fiance would never speak to you. You would only be able to hear her screaming, according to The New York Post.
When the event happened, Pazienza and her fiancé went out with friends to mark the 100-day countdown to their June 18 wedding (Zola/Lauren Pazienza).
Following news of her arrest, Pazienza’s former Fashion Institute of Technology classmates claimed to DailyMail that she had repeatedly abused her then-boyfriend Naveen Pereira. They continued, “She cheated on him numerous times.” When I first met him, he was shy and friendly, but he also appeared irritated by and afraid of her. They said that Pazienza was “a highly manipulative person” in their description.
In court, Lauren Pazienza pushed her case
According to the prosecution, after finding out about Gustern’s passing, Pazienza left New York for her parents’ house on Long Island, erased all of her social media accounts, including her wedding website, stopped using her cellphone, and stored it at her aunt’s house. Despite the considerable resources used to track her down, McNabney said that she managed to avoid capture for almost two weeks.
Pazienza was apprehended roughly two weeks after the incident and released on $500,000 bail, but on May 10 she was returned to custody after Justice Felicia Menin declared her to be a “severe flight risk.” According to The Post, the 26-year-old native of Long Island rejected her first plea in April on two charges of second-degree assault and a first-degree manslaughter charge stemming from the murder of Gustern.
On May 10, Lauren Pazienza showed up in court in Manhattan. She rejected responsibility for the death
At the time, Mennin declared, “I’m worried that Ms. Pazienza is a flight risk, and is a major flight risk.” “It seems like [the shove] was done for no apparent purpose. In this incident, the victim was reportedly left laying on the sidewalk. The defendant left the scene,” Mennin said. She might spend a lot of time in prison if found guilty. Although it might not seem like it now, as the case develops, I have major worries that it might have an impact on her desire to appear in court again.
Arthur Aidala, Pazeienza’s lawyer, made an effort to have the primary manslaughter accusation against his client dropped. However, citing the transcript of the grand jury session that led to Pazienza’s indictment, acting Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Felicia Mennin upheld the accusation. “Obviously, we are saddened by the judge’s verdict,” Aidala told The Post. “We believe that shoving someone once while not taking into account their age or any disabilities gets to the level to meet the requirements for manslaughter in the first degree. We’ll keep working as hard as we can to pursue justice. During the brief court hearing on Tuesday, July 19, McNabney stated that the prosecution is still awaiting the results of Gustern’s final autopsy.
How did Barbara Gustern fare?
Pazienza, 26, is accused of calling Gustern a “bitch” and pushing her to the pavement as she was traveling down West 28th Street on March 10. Gustern, a Broadway actress and former singer-turned-teacher whose students included Debbie Harry, passed away on March 15. Hundreds of mourning had gathered outside the Church of the Holy Apostles, where Gustern was violently attacked. A bell rang 87 times, one for each year of Gustern’s life.
The program for the service said, “Eight decades of unmatched integrity and love, lost to a random act of senseless brutality,” noting Gustern was attacked “within window view of her Chelsea home,” according to The Post. The church rector, the Rev. Anna Pearson, reported that Gustern lately discussed the difficulties of a performing arts profession and how, if she wasn’t employed, she would feel herself becoming depressed.