A woman pleaded guilty on Wednesday to first-degree manslaughter for fatally shoving a beloved, 87-year-old Broadway singing coach last March in a bizarre act of random violence that shocked New Yorkers.
The woman, Lauren Pazienza reached an agreement with the Manhattan district attorney’s office to serve eight years in prison and five years of post-release supervision.
The judge in the case, Felicia A. Mennin, accepted the plea and scheduled a formal sentencing for Sept. 29.
After pushing the singing coach, Barbara Maier Gustern, with whom she had no prior relationship, Ms. Pazienza returned to her home in Queens, mentioning to her then-fiancé, almost in passing, that she had pushed someone, prosecutors have said.
Two days later, realizing that Ms. Gustern had been seriously injured and that the attack had received press coverage, she fled, first to her parents’ house on Long Island and then to her aunt’s house.
Persons:
Lauren Pazienza, Felicia A, Barbara Maier Gustern, Pazienza, Gustern
Locations:
Manhattan, Queens, Long