A New York lady has pled responsible to fatally pushing a famend Broadway vocal coach to the bottom final yr in what was described as a random act of violence.
Lauren Pazienza, 28, entered her plea to first-degree manslaughter Wednesday in Manhattan as a part of an settlement that can see her serve eight years in jail and 5 years of post-release supervision.
She is scheduled to be formally sentenced on Sept. 29.
Pazienza admitted to shouting obscenities at Barbara Maier Gustern, 87, and shoving her to the bottom after crossing a road to method her on the night of March 10, 2022. Gustern hit her head and died in a hospital 5 days later.
“In the present day’s plea holds Pazienza accountable for her lethal actions,” Manhattan District Legal professional Bragg mentioned Wednesday in a press release. “We proceed to mourn the lack of Barbara Gustern, a gifted musical theater performer and vocal coach who touched so many in New York Metropolis and past.”
Pazienza left Gustern bleeding on the pavement with out help. She stayed within the surrounding space for about 20 minutes earlier than returning to her house in Queens together with her then-fiancé, authorities mentioned.
Later that evening, authorities mentioned, she advised her fiancé that she had pushed somebody. She subsequently deleted her social media accounts, eliminated her marriage ceremony web site and fled to Lengthy Island to stick with household.
Pazienza confronted as much as 25 years in jail if the case had gone to trial, in line with The New York Instances.
Prosecutors had mentioned that the violence adopted a unstable night between Pazienza and her fiancé.
The 2 had been celebrating their upcoming nuptials with an impromptu meal in a Manhattan park once they had been advised that the park was closing and so they wanted to depart. Pazienza allegedly threw her meal onto her fiancé and stormed away earlier than encountering Gustern.
“She had had medication, she had perhaps two bottles of wine, and a ton of marijuana [at the time],” Pazienza’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, advised the New York Put up final yr, arguing that she didn’t know what she was doing when she accosted Gustern. “We have now very viable defenses about whether or not somebody in her state was capable of possess the intent, the intent to commit crimes.”
Gustern was well-known within the theater world. She was a vocal coach for solid members of the 2019 Broadway revival of “Oklahoma,” which received a Tony for finest musical revival. She additionally provided personal classes, together with for Blondie singer Debbie Harry.
Need assistance with substance use dysfunction or psychological well being points? Within the U.S., name 800-662-HELP (4357) for the SAMHSA Nationwide Helpline.