MANHATTAN, N.Y. — A woman accused of shoving a Broadway vocal coach and causing her death was indicted in Manhattan court earlier this week.
Lauren Pazienza, 26, of Port Jefferson, turned herself into police late last month in connection with 87-year-old Barbara Maier Gustern's March 15 death, according to police.
At the time, she was charged with first-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault.
She appeared in court Monday for her indictment, which was sealed until arraignment, according to the Manhattan district attorney's office.
Pazienza's arraignment is scheduled for May 10.
Pazienza's attorney, Arthur Aidala, has said the situation was a misunderstanding that has been "way overcharged."
"They're absolute strangers and whether it was a push or whether it was a shove or whether it was a kick or whether someone tripped, the evidence is not very solid on that at all," he told reporters outside the courthouse on March 22.
Police said Gustern was walking outside her apartment building in Chelsea on March 10 when a woman crossed the street and pushed her from behind.
She was hospitalized with massive head trauma after the attack and died on March 15, police said.