According to several publications, including the New York Post and Newsday, Lauren Pazienza was sentenced to 812 years in state prison on Friday for pushing 87-year-old singing instructor Barbara Gustern to death last year.
On August 23, the lady from New York City pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree manslaughter and consented to an eight-year state prison sentence, followed by five years of supervised release.
When asked a question by Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Justin McNabney during the hearing on Friday, the event planner changed her story. Justice Felicia Mennin later increased Pazienza’s sentence by six months, citing her “inability to take responsibility for her actions,” according to the New York Post.
According to the Post, Pazienza spoke briefly, first apologizing before her lawyer, Arthur Aidala, encouraged her to speak more.
“I should never have pushed anybody, and I’m so sorry,” Pazienza told the Post. “I wish I could turn back the clock, but God does not. “I’m very sorry.”
Pazienza and her fiancé were visiting Chelsea art galleries in March when they decided to visit Chelsea Park after consuming several glasses of wine. The inmate raged, shouted, tossed her food at her fiancé, and fled the park after a park staffer informed them that it was closing.
She then proceeded to 28th Street, where prosecutors claim she saw Barbara Gustern, according to Gothamist.
According to prosecutors, Gustern was casually strolling down the sidewalk last March when Pazienza called her a “b—-” and assaulted the octogenarian. When McNabney questioned Paziena on Friday, she denied calling Gusternthat.
Gustern was shoved and fell, sustaining many injuries. She went into a coma and passed away five days later.
“Pazienza walked away as the beloved New Yorker lay there bleeding,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Brigg said last month after announcing Paziena’s plea agreement. “[The] event planner stayed in the area for approximately 20 minutes before taking the subway back to her apartment in Astoria, Queens.”
When the New York native went home, she informed her fiancé that she had shoved someone. According to the district attorney, she subsequently erased her social media accounts and removed her wedding webpage. People have reported that she finally went to Long Island to live with her parents.
Pazienza surrendered to authorities on March 15, 2022, the day Gustern died.
During a news conference to announce Gustern’s death from her injuries, NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig called the act a “disgusting and disgraceful offense committed against a vulnerable, elderly female who was doing nothing but walking down the streets of New York.”
“Today, at 11:15 a.m., we have lost one of the brightest little flames to ever grace this world,” Gustern’s family said in a Facebook statement following her death. “I ask that you all give me a little time and space, but I want to make time for anyone and everyone who wants to know more about her final moments.” AJ Maier Gustern, Gustern’s grandson, reportedly wrote the article for the New York Daily News.
AJ addressed Pazienza personally during his sentence. “She just doesn’t seem like she is even capable of accepting responsibility,” he stated. “My baby felt safe in this city—even late at night—and you’ve ruined that.”
According to The New York Times, Gustern was a well-known member of New York’s creative scene. Gustern was a member of the cast of the 2019 Broadway revival of Oklahoma!, which included Tony Award winner Ali Stroker, as well as the 2008 musical Passing Strange.