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The NYC funeral of 87-year-old famed Broadway vocal coach Barbara Gustern – who was allegedly knocked to the ground by event planner Lauren Pazienza – will be held Saturday, her grandson told Fox News Digital.
NYC EVENTS COORDINATOR LAUREN PAZIENZA ‘STILL TOGETHER’ WITH FIANCE
“She was definitely the light of the room when she walked in,” said grandson AJ Gustern. “She opened her doors to anybody and everybody. She taught opera singers, rock stars and everybody in between.”
Barbara Gustern in an undated photo.
(MEGA)
The beloved teacher counted Debbie Harry and actor Taylor Mac among her students. “Everybody knew her or wanted to know her,” he said.
Fashion Institute of Technology graduate Pazienza, 26, is charged with first-degree manslaughter and two counts of assault for violently shoving Gustern, who fell to the ground, smacking her head against the pavement, court papers allege.
Gustern, who did not know her assailant, was rushed to the hospital with a brain injury and died a few days later, according to police and prosecutors. Pazienza fled.
Composite of Lauren Pazienza’s mugshot and perp walk.
AJ Gustern flew from Colorado the moment he got the tragic news and held his grandmother’s hand when she was taken off life support.
“I was glad to be with my best friend when she passed away,” he said. Her only child and husband predeceased her.
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Gustern’s funeral will be held at the Church of the Holy Apostles in Chelsea — across the street from her apartment, where she often taught her students, and on the same block where she was mortally injured.
Manslaughter suspect Lauren Pazienza’s yearbook photo (Fox News Digital)
(Fox News Digital)
The tragedy unfolded March 10 at about 8:30 p.m. after Gustern wrapped up a cabaret rehearsal at her apartment with friends and fellow performers Barbara Bleier,…
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