The woman accused of pushing an 87-year-old New York City voice coach was released from jail and is at home Saturday after her family posted bail.
Lauren Pazienza, 26, was arrested Tuesday on charges of manslaughter in the first degree and assault in the first degree for fatally shoving Barbara Maier Gustern in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Pazienza is at home after her family posted bail, her attorney, Arthur Aidala, told NBC News on Saturday.
She was being held at the Rose M. Singer Center at Rikers on a $500,000 cash bail or $1 million insurance company bond, according to jail records.
Pazienza did not appear in a court hearing Friday. But Aidala, who has previously represented Harvey Weinstein and Rudy Giuliani, appeared on her behalf since it could lead to a later indictment.
Pazienza “was not indicted” Friday, Aidala told NBC News in an email Saturday.
March 22, 202201:14
Legal experts told NBC News earlier this week that Pazienza could face more serious charges. She’s due back in court on April 25.
Pazienza already faces as many as 25 years on the manslaughter charge, according to Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Justin McNabney.
“We anxiously await the production of the discovery material by the District Attorney’s Office. The Pazienza family joins the rest of the City in grieving the loss of Barbara Gustern,” Aidala said.
Pazienza is accused of pushing Gustern on the night of March 10. McNabney said that after the shove, Pazienza walked away from the scene briskly, leaving Gustern on the ground, bleeding profusely from her head.
But then she stayed in the area. She first got into a physical confrontation with her fiancé, and then stayed nearby long enough to watch an ambulance arrive for Gustern.
Pazienza and her fiancé were next seen north of Chelsea, at Penn Station, where they got on the subway to Astoria, Queens, McNabney said.
Lauren Pazienza.New York Police Department
Holed up in her Shore Towers condominium unit, Pazienza went about deleting every one of her social media profiles, including her LinkedIn account and her account on Zola, a site for engaged couples to post their registries and wedding details.
Pazienza and her fiancé were scheduled to be married in June, McNabney’s office said.
Gustern died on March 15 of blunt force trauma to the head, the city medical examiner’s office said.
The next day, as more media attention was brought to the case, Pazienza fled to her parents’ house on Long Island, McNabney said. She then stopped using her cellphone and eventually hid it at her aunt’s house.
Police detectives arrived at Pazienza’s parents’ house in Suffolk County on Monday. Her father said Pazienza was not home, according to McNabney. Her lawyer arranged for her to turn herself in Tuesday.
CORRECTION (March 25, 2022, 4:05 p.m. E.T.): A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Lauren Pazienza was indicted. She had a hearing that could lead to an indictment; she has not been indicted.