Woman Sentenced In NYC Vocal Coach’s Shoving Death

CHELSEA, NY - A Long Island woman who admitted to fatally shoving an elderly singing coach onto a sidewalk in Chelsea was sentenced to more than eight years in prison Friday.

Lauren Pazienza, 28, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in August in connection with the March 10, 2022 shoving death of 87-year-old vocal coach Barbara Maier Gustern.

Pazienza, a Long Island native who was living in Astoria at the time of the shove, was ultimately handed down a sentence of eight and a half years in prison: six months more than the plea deal reached earlier this year, the Associated Press reported.

Pazienza would’ve faced up to 25 years in prison had she been convicted at trial.

The Long Islander was asked to leave Chelsea Park before the deadly shove on West 23th Street and Eighth Avenue, prosecutors said. She reportedly had several glasses of wine at galleries with her fiancé around Chelsea to celebrate their upcoming wedding before grabbing a bite to eat at food carts in Chelsea Park, Newsday reported.

Gustern, who notably taught “Blondie” vocalist Debbie Harry, among other stars, died five days after the shove, which led to a massive hemorrhage on the left side of the brain. She was on her way to watch a student’s performance before Pazienza’s outburst.

Following the shove, the younger woman took the subway to her Astoria apartment, deleted her wedding website and social media accounts and told her fiancé what had happened later that night, prosecutors said.

Pazienza, originally from Port Jefferson, then fled to family on Long Island. After a days-long search, Pazienza turned herself into police and faced indictment in May.

Despite Pazienza’s apology in state court Friday, Manhattan state Supreme Court Judge Felicia Mennin said she added six months to her sentence because Pazienza did not accept responsibility for her actions.

“What you’ve done can never be undone,” Mennin said, per Newsday.