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Police will need to determine if they knowingly hid Pazienza.
By Nia Tipton — Written on Mar 25, 2022
The parents of Lauren Pazienza, the 26-year-old woman who allegedly pushed a New York City vocal coach to her death, could also face criminal charges if authorities find that they helped their daugher hide out in their Long Island home for two weeks following the attack.
Pazienza is facing multiple charges, including manslaughter, for shoving Barbara Maier Gustern, 87, to the ground in a seemingly unprovoked attack, where the elderly woman hit her head on the sidewalk.
After Gustern was left bleeding on the sidewalk until a witness helped her, she suffered from traumatic brain injury and died five days after the attack.
Pazienza allegedly went on the run and "made every effort to avoid detection," according to the criminal complaint.
She deleted all of her social media accounts, stopped using her cellphone, and deleted her wedding website, despite being set to marry her fiancé in June.
She allegedly hid out at her parents home in Long Island to avoid the police, but eventually, authorities located her after an anonymous tip came in.
Who are Lauren Pazienza's parents?
Pazienza's father, Daniel, runs a family-owned, third-generation cesspool-service company in nearby Holtsville, Suffolk County, and the company website claims that it was voted number one in both price and service, according to Daily Mail.
Her mother, Caroline, and Daniel, have been married for 28 years, and occasionally took vacations to Aruba, France, and the Florida Keys throughout the years.
The family later moved to Port Jefferson, where Pazienza had allegedly fled following Gustern's death.
When police were tipped off to where Pazienza might be hiding, her father had answered the door, telling them that his daughter wasn't home, and "refused to allow detectives to enter the premises."
Investigators say that Pazienza had stayed in the area where she had shoved Gustern following the attack, arguing with her fiancé on a nearby sidewalk before returning to the scene of the crime to watch as an ambulance arrived.
The 26-year-old woman ended up fleeing to her home in Astoria, Queens, where she quit her job as an event planner, and seemingly tried to drop off of the grid, before heading to her parent's home.
Before Gustern has lost consciousness, she recalled the incident, telling authorities that the push was "as hard as she had ever been hit in her life," and that Pazienza had called her a "b**ch," before attacking her.
Pazienza's lawyer believes that her family and relatives will be able to come up with the $500,000 cash bail set by the judge to free her from Rikers, where she is currently being held.
“We’re just going to take it one step at a time,” her attorney said. “This has all just been a total nightmare for her family.”
Pazienza, who was charged on Tuesday, is facing manslaughter in the first degree and assault in the first degree. If convicted, she could face up to 25 years in prison.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Follow her on Instagram.