A 26-year-old woman who is charged with pushing an 87-year-old Broadway voice coach to the sidewalk and leading to her death during a “wine rampage” has once again turned down a 15-year plea deal from the prosecution.
Lauren Pazienza appeared in court handcuffed on Tuesday, rejecting the plea deal offered by woke Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office. According to the New York Post, she also did not get her manslaughter charge withdrawn. She is facing up to 25 years in prison.
The New York City event planner is accused of initiating an unprovoked attack on Barbara Gustern on March 10 as she crossed the street outside her Chelsea apartment to get a cab.
The elderly woman was allegedly thrown to the ground by the event organiser after she called her a “b***h.” Five days after being injured, she passed away.
She was charged with manslaughter in April and entered a not guilty plea. Since then, she has been detained on Rikers Island when a court revoked her bail, said the Post.
Pazienza’s lawyer Arthur Aidala expressed disappointment in Manhattan Superior Court Judge Felicia Mennin’s decision to uphold the manslaughter charge in a statement to The Washington Post on Tuesday.
Pazienza appeared in court on Tuesday while wearing handcuffs, a surgical mask, and a low bun in her red hair. Her parents, who had entered the courtroom together, stood by her side.
‘I’m concerned that Ms. Pazienza is a flight risk – and is a serious flight risk,’ Mennin said at the time. ‘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.’
Mennin continued: ‘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.’
On the night of the attack, Pazienza and her fiancé, Naveen Pereira, were celebrating the countdown to her wedding by visiting numerous art galleries in Chelsea.
The couple had 100 days till their wedding and planned to marry on June 18.
Pazienza drank many glasses of wine from several galleries before the couple went to lunch at a park in Chelsea.
The two were eating when a park employee approached them and told them they needed to go since the park was about to close.
‘The defendant became angry, started shouting and cursing at the park employee, threw her food onto her fiancé, and stormed out of the park,’ McNabney said.
According to authorities, Pazienza and her fiancé fled in opposite routes, with Pereira headed towards the couple’s Astoria flat. Meanwhile, Pazienza was walking down West 28th Street near Eighth Avenue when she came upon the vocal coach.
Meanwhile, Gustern, the victim, had just concluded rehearsal when Pazienza allegedly called her a “b***h” and slammed her down the sidewalk.
According to authorities, Pazienza called her fiancé after the event and allegedly watched as an ambulance arrived to assist Gustern and transport her away. Gustern died five days later in the hospital.
Prosecutors claim Pazienza made no mention of shoving Gustern to her fiancé.
‘Instead, she started to argue with her fiancé, accusing him of ruining her night,’ a prosecutor said. ‘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.’
Pazienza informed her fiancé that she shoved Gustern because she thought she heard something from her.
Pazienza rushed to her parents’ Long Island home after the incident and erased her social media accounts and wedding website.
She was free for 11 days following the incident before surrendering herself in when the NYPD posted images of her and asked the public for assistance in identifying her.
She was charged with assault and manslaughter and released on $500,000 bond until May, when her bail was revoked by a judge due to her flight risk.