A New York City event planner accused of shoving an 87-year-old Broadway vocal coach to her death was on a ‘wine-fueled rampage’ after touring art galleries with her fiancé just prior to the attack.
Prosecutors revealed the new details in Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday when Lauren Pazienza, 26, was ordered to be held without bail pending trial because she was considered a flight risk.
She pleaded not guilty to first-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault before the judge revoked her $500,000 bail and remanded her.
The Long Island native was indicted in March on manslaughter and assault charges in the death of Barbara Gustern after allegedly pushing the woman while calling her a ‘b***h’ in the Chelsea area on March 10.
The elderly victim was rushed to the hospital where she died five days later.
Just prior to the attack on that Thursday night, Pazienza had been drinking wine at various art galleries with her fiancé as they celebrated 100 days until their wedding, Assistant District Attorney Justin McNabney said.
Thursday nights are considered to be ‘opening nights’ for many galleries in the upscale neighborhood as well-heeled punters head out for free booze in the Chelsea area.
A New York City event planner (pictured in court today) accused of shoving an 87-year-old Broadway vocal coach to her death was on a ‘wine-fueled rampage’ after touring art galleries with her fiancé just prior to the attack
Prosecutors revealed the new details in Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday when Lauren Pazienza, 26, was ordered to be held without bail pending trial because she was considered a flight risk
Pazienza’s lawyer and parents remained silent refusing to speak to reporters as they left court on Tuesday. The Long Island woman faces up to 25 years in jail if convicted
Before she lost consciousness, Gustern told police and a friend that an unfamiliar woman crossed the street, approached her directly, called her a ‘b***h’ and shoved her ‘as hard as she had ever been hit in her life.’
Lauren Pazienza, 26, was indicted on Friday for the death of Barbara Gustern, 87, a Broadway vocal coach who was fatally shoved on March 10
‘They went to several art galleries in Chelsea, where the defendant had several glasses of wine. Afterward, they went to a food cart, where they each got a meal. They went to Chelsea Park, one block away from the assault, where the defendant began to eat her meal,’ McNabney said in court, as reported by the New York Daily News.
While Pazienza was eating her meal in Chelsea Park, a park employee came up to her and told her that she would have to leave, because the park was closing soon, McNabney said.
‘The defendant became angry, started shouting and cursing at the park employee, threw her food onto her fiancé, and stormed out of the park.’
Pazienza then walked over to the area of West 28th Street near Eighth Avenue where she came in contact with Gustern, a vocal coach who had just finished rehearsals in the area, and allegedly angrily shoved her to the sidewalk.
Lauren Pazienza, 26, was arraigned on charges of manslaughter and assault
Prosecutors say Pazienza then watched as an ambulance crew took the woman to the hospital where she died five days later.
Pazienza had called her fiancé, Naveen Pereira, just after the incident, prosecutors said in court, but ‘said nothing about the fact that she had just shoved an older woman to the cement.’
‘Instead, she started to argue with her fiancé, accusing him of ruining her night,’ the prosecutor told the court. ‘Right before they went to bed that night, the defendant finally, for the first time, turned to her fiancé and told him that she had pushed someone. She said that she thought the person had fallen, and she walked away.’
When Pazienza’s fiancé asked why she had pushed Gustern, she said the woman ‘might have said something’ to her but she wasn’t sure.
Pazienza fled the scene that day and was on the lam for 11 days before turning herself in following Gustern’s death. She was charged with manslaughter and assault.
‘I’m concerned that Ms. Pazienza is a flight risk — and is a serious flight risk,’ Judge Felicia Mennin said at the arraignment Tuesday.
‘It appears that [the shove] was for a random reason. The victim in this case was apparently left lying on the sidewalk. The defendant walked away. She faces significant prison time if convicted. Although that may not seem a reality at this time, as the case proceeds, I have serious concerns it may affect her desire to return to court.’
Assistant District Attorney Justin McNabney revealed that Pazienza drank ‘several glasses of wine’ with her fiancé prior to Gustern’s killing while touring art galleries, the New York Daily News reported.
Lauren Pazienza and her mother appear in Manhattan Supreme Court Tuesday
Assistant District Attorney Justin McNabney revealed that Pazienza (pictured today in court) drank ‘several glasses of wine’ with her fiancé prior to Gustern’s killing
Judge Felicia Mennin said at the arraignment Tuesday: ‘I’m concerned that Ms. Pazienza is a flight risk — and is a serious flight risk’
She pleaded not guilty to first-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault before the judge revoked her $500,000 bail and remanded her
Pazienza and her lawyers are seen outside Manhattan Supreme Court Tuesday when she was was arraigned on manslaughter charges after allegedly pushing an 87-year-old woman
The couple then got food from a food vendor and went to Chelsea Park, one block away from the assault, to eat.
‘As the defendant was eating, a male park employee came up to her and told her that she would have to leave, because the park was closing soon. The defendant became angry, started shouting and cursing at the park employee, threw her food onto her fiancé, and stormed out of the park.’
Pazienza then walked over to W. 28th St. near Eighth Ave., where she allegedly encountered Gustern. McNabney said the dying woman’s account to witnesses would prove crucial in piecing together what occurred during the brief, deadly interaction.
Pazienza immediately called her fiancé, Naveen Pereira, after the incident, but ‘said nothing about the fact that she had just shoved an older woman to the cement,’ McNabney said.
‘Instead, she started to argue with her fiancé, accusing him of ruining her night,’ the prosecutor told the court. ‘Right before they went to bed that night, the defendant finally, for the first time, turned to her fiancé and told him that she had pushed someone. She said that she thought the person had fallen, and she walked away.’
The attack unfolded around 8.30 p.m. on March 10, when Gustern was walking towards a cab outside her Chelsea apartment building when she was pushed from behind.
She was helped back to her feet by a cyclist and was taken to the hospital ‘covered in blood’ after hitting her head on the cement, and died from her injuries five days later.
Before she lost consciousness, Gustern told police and a friend that an unfamiliar woman crossed the street, approached her directly, called her a ‘b***h’ and shoved her ‘as hard as she had ever been hit in her life.’
Gustern died from her injuries five days later.
Pazienza’s parents Caroline and Daniel. Prosecutors say she hid at her parents’ home for days and that they lied to cops when they went looking for her, claiming she was not there
Prosecutors say Pazienza stayed in the area for about 20 minutes after the attack, arguing with her fiancé on a nearby sidewalk before returning to the scene of the crime to watch as an ambulance arrived.
Soon after the attack, she went back home to Astoria, Queens, quit her job at a store in Chelsea, deleted all social media and took down a website advertising her wedding this June, prosecutors say.
The day after Gustern died, Pazienza allegedly fled for her parents’ home on Long Island and later stashed her phone at her aunt’s house so police wouldn’t find it.
Pazienza’s attorney told DailyMail.com that there is no proof that she pushed Gustern.
‘What they have is a photo of someone who looks like my client getting on the subway. This attack did not happen on the subway,’ said lawyer Arthur Aidala, a high-powered defense attorney who has previously represented Rudolph Giuliani, Harvey Weinstein, and Roger Ailes.
According to the criminal complaint, Pazienza ‘made every effort to avoid detection.’
When police were tipped off that she was hiding out in her parents’ Long Island home, ‘Her father [Daniel] answered the door, but refused to allow detectives to enter the premises, and claimed that his daughter was not at home.
‘It was only at that point, despite all of the media attention that this incident has received, despite the fact that the defendant knew what she had done when she fled the city, despite the pleas from the victim’s loved ones begging for the perpetrator to come forward, that the defendant’s counsel contacted the police and arranged for her to surrender.’
It is not unprecedented for parents to face consequences for allegedly trying to hide their fugitive children.
Pazienza, seen on family vacation as a teenager, appears to have lived a life of privilege, and later glamour in New York City’s high society
Lauren Pazienza’s parent Daniel and Caroline leave Manhattan Criminal court after their daughter was arraigned in March for allegedly pushing Barbara Gustern and killing her in an unprovoked attack
Prosecutors say that NYPD detectives visited the parents’ Long Island home (above) after receiving a tip that Pazienza was hiding out there, but that her father claimed that she was not at home and did not consent to a search
Though Pazienza she appears to have lived a life of privilege, and later glamour in New York City’s high society, neighbors told the New York Post that she was sharp-tempered and confrontational, and an elementary classmate has claimed she bullied fellow students.
Pazienza grew up in historic Setauket, Long Island, where she attended Ward Melville High School with her future fiancé, Microsoft customer support specialist Naveen Pereira.
A former classmate of Pazienza’s told Fox News that when he moved in down the street from her in second grade, she began bullying him.
The classmate said that Pazienza always had a ‘crazy look in her eyes’ and would kick him and call him and other kids names.
Her father Daniel owns a prosperous third-generation cesspool draining company, and claims on the company website that it was voted No. 1 in both price and service in Suffolk County for several years running.
In addition to pumping services, the company provides cesspool installations, grease trap installations, septic tank installations, storm drains and catch basin installations.
‘At Dan Pazienza Cesspool Service we pride ourselves on being Suffolk County’s most advanced cesspool service. We have been serving Suffolk County for over 3 generations,’ the website boasts.
Paziensa’s parents Daniel and Caroline, who have been married for 28 years, enjoyed a life of prosperity, taking vacations to Aruba, France, and the Florida Keys over the years, photos on Facebook show.
The family later moved to Port Jefferson, where Paziena allegedly fled to hide in her parents’ home after Gustern’s death.
After graduating high school in 2013, Paziena earned a bachelors degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Photos show her enjoying glamorous parties in Manhattan in recent years, including the 40th-anniversary party for New York society magazine Avenue in 2015.
Pazienza is currently jailed on Rikers Island — but grew up in an affluent family on Long Island. She is seen above in photos from her teenage years
After graduating high school in 2013, Paziena (above) earned a bachelors degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology
Pazienza had recently been living in an Astoria condo with her fiancé, who purchased the unit in 2019 with his father.
Neighbors told the Post that they were not entirely surprised to learn of the charges against Pazienza, saying that she was known to have a short fuse and was frequently confrontational.
‘There’s always some type of issue, some type of complaint. You’ll always know it’s her. It’s ridiculous,’ one said.
One neighbor said Pazienza argued with the building management about issues like parking tickets, but that it never got physical.
‘It was verbal. Sometimes she would stand up for herself, definitely,’ said the woman. ‘She will not put up with nonsense … she will say, ‘What is your problem?’ ‘What do you want from me?’
‘There was always an issue with her and someone in the building,’ one neighbor told the outlet. ‘It’s like always something with that lady. I feel for her fiancé because he’s a nice guy and he didn’t sign up for this.’
Prosecutors claim that after the attack on Gustern, Pazienza then spent the next two weeks trying to cover her tracks. She quit her job, deleted her social media pages and even stashed her cell phone at her aunt’s house in Long Island after fleeing her Astoria apartment, where she lives with her Microsoft-employee fiance.
Eventually, she handed herself in after the NYPD released clear-as-day photos of her getting on the subway some 20 minutes after the attack.
Pazienza and her fiancé lived in a one bedroom apartment in Astoria, Queens, which his family owns. Their doorman building is pictured
Pazienza lived with her fiancé, Microsoft customer support specialist Naveen Pereira (with her above). Prosecutors say the two were seen arguing on the street soon after the fatal attack
Attorney and law professor Dmitriy Shakhnevich said evidence that Pazienza deleted her social media profiles, quit her job and fled to her parents’ Long Island home after the incident will make defending her a difficult job for her lawyers.
‘Flight is perfect evidence of guilt,’ he said. ‘That will be presented to a jury. You’re gonna have the prosecutor say, ‘Why would she run if she’s not guilty? Why would she not stick around?’
‘The defense lawyer would get up there and say she was scared and afraid. You’re gonna get the same thing you do in every case,’ added Shakhnevich, an adjunct professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Both Discioarro and Shakhnevich believe that more evidence is needed to determine whether more serious charges could be on the way.
In New York, a person is guilty of first degree manslaughter when, ‘with intent to cause serious physical injury to another person, he causes the death of such person or of a third person.’
Before she lost consciousness, Gustern told police and a friend that an unfamiliar woman crossed the street, approached her directly, called her a ‘b***h’ and shoved her ‘as hard as she had ever been hit in her life.’
Prosecutors say Pazienza stayed in the area for about 20 minutes after the attack, arguing with her fiancé on a nearby sidewalk before returning to the scene of the crime to watch as an ambulance arrived, according to surveillance footage from the area.
AJ, who has served as a family spokesman since his grandmother’s death, is seen with her above. He affectionately referred to her as ‘bobbob’ and remembered her as ‘a force of nature’
Gustern’s grandson AJ has been updating her Facebook page. She died on March 15 – four days after being pushed to the ground
‘The prosecutors gonna say, ‘With the facts I have, she pushed an old lady to the ground, she stayed to see what kind of trouble she was in, when she saw the cops were looking for her, she knew she had to get out of there, she left the city and erased her social media and website and tried to disappear, and she only turned herself in when it became national news,’ Discioarro said.
‘This is not a good case for the defense. She has no sympathy.
‘I can’t imagine going to trial in this case,’ he added. ‘Unless the prosecution makes a ridiculous offer, I just don’t think this is a sympathetic client, and the media coverage is not sympathetic to her. What’s your argument, that you’re allowed to push old ladies in the street?’
Shakhnevich says the manslaughter charge is likely to remain just that.
‘That is as strong as they seem to be able to allege right now. Unless they can allege that she intended to kill, which is a stretch it seems, then manslaughter is as good as you’re gonna get,’ he said.