Former LI woman charged in shoving death out on bail

A former Port Jefferson woman who is accused of fatally shoving an 87-year-old voice coach has been freed from jail after bail was posted, according to the New York City Correction Department.

The woman, 26-year-old Lauren Pazienza, on Friday left the Rose M. Singer Center women’s jail on Rikers Island, where she was being held on manslaughter and assault charges in the apparently random March 10 attack against Barbara Gustern in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. 

At an arraignment Tuesday in Manhattan, Judge Michael Gaffey had set bail for Pazienza at $500,000 cash or a bond of $1 million secured by property. 

Pazienza lived on Old Homestead Road in Port Jefferson before moving to the Astoria neighborhood of Queens.

Gustern, of Manhattan, died March 15 of injuries she sustained in the attack. The main lead in the case was surveillance images of the alleged assailant depicting a woman with long dark hair and dressed in a dark coat.

Pazienza surrendered late Monday with her attorney. She was in jail from Tuesday until at least Friday afternoon, Correction Department records show. 

In the hallway of Manhattan Criminal Court, where the case was heard Friday, her attorney Arthur Aidala said, “this is a tragedy" and a "horrible time for two families."

“Obviously, this is a very traumatic situation for everyone, especially for the family of the woman we lost, and as I’ve said repeatedly, everyone’s hearts go out, especially to her grandson,” Aidala said.

Aidala said the defendant comes from a middle-class background — and disputed certain news accounts of her and her family as rich.

“I love how her father is being portrayed as a big shot, a rich guy. He literally, literally, digs holes where our human waste goes in, and he works by himself, with two helpers, with a shovel, digging ditches. He is far from some rich guy, and she is far from a young woman who grew up in a very spoiled, privileged environment.”

According to a criminal complaint filed in the case, a witness identified Pazienza as the person who crossed West 28th Street in Manhattan about 8:30 p.m. and pushed Gustern to the pavement, causing a severe head injury. A witness told investigators that before Gustern lost consciousness, she said her assailant approached, called her a derogatory name and then shoved her, the complaint stated.

Gustern was a famed voice coach who taught the likes of singer Debbie Harry and, reportedly, members of the 2019 cast of “Oklahoma.” 

While a motive for the attack remained unclear, prosecutors said in court that Pazienza and a man they didn't name but identified as her fiance were seen afterward on video engaged in a physical altercation. Pazienza then, according to prosecutors, watched as an ambulance came to the scene to aid Gustern. About a half-hour later, Pazienza and the man entered the Penn Station subway station for a trip back to Astoria where the couple lived, prosecutors said. 

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.