National Roundup

New York
Woman pleads guilty to fatally shoving Broadway singing coach, 87
NEW YORK (AP) — A woman who killed an 87-year-old Broadway singing coach by shoving her onto a Manhattan sidewalk has avoided a lengthy prison sentence by pleading guilty to manslaughter on Wednesday, and will instead serve eight years behind bars.

Lauren Pazienza, 28, teared up in court as she admitted randomly attacking Barbara Maier Gustern on March 10, 2022. Gustern, whose students included “Blondie” singer Debbie Harry, lay bleeding on a sidewalk as Pazienza walked away, prosecutors said. She died five days later.

Gustern’s relatives, some of whom were in court, said they were disappointed with Pazienza’s plea deal and agreed-upon prison sentence — a fraction of the maximum 25 years she would’ve faced if convicted at trial.

Pazienza, a former event planner originally from Long Island, has been locked up at the city’s notorious Rikers Island jail complex since a judge revoked her bail in May 2022. She is scheduled to be formally sentenced Sept. 29. The time she’s already served will be counted toward her sentence.

According to prosecutors, Pazienza attacked Gustern after storming out of a nearby park, where she and her fiance had been eating meals from a food cart.

Gustern had just left her apartment to catch a student’s performance after hosting a rehearsal for a cabaret show, friends told The New York Times.

Pazienza, who’d had several glasses of wine earlier while celebrating a milestone in her wedding countdown, was upset because the park in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood was closing and she and her fiance were told to leave, prosecutors said.

Pazienza encountered Gustern on West 23rd Street and shoved her to the ground in what police called “an unprovoked, senseless attack,” prosecutors said. Gustern hit her head and was critically injured. She died March 15.

In an interview with police, Pazienza’s fiance said she told him about the episode and said Gustern “might have said something” to her, although she wasn’t sure.

Gustern had been known in the theater world for decades.

She worked with singers ranging from the cast members of the 2019 Broadway revival of the musical “Oklahoma!” to experimental theater artist and 2017 MacArthur “genius grant” recipient Taylor Mac, who told the Times she was “one of the great humans that I’ve encountered.”

Her late husband, Joe Gustern, was also a singer, with credits including “The Phantom of the Opera” on Broadway.

Montana
Woman sentenced to life in prison for torturing and killing grandson
BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — A Montana woman who pleaded guilty to torturing and killing her 12-year-old grandson more than three years ago has been sentenced to spend the rest of her life in prison.

Patricia Batts, 51, pleaded guilty in May to deliberate homicide in the death of James “Alex” Hurley on Feb. 3, 2020, in West Yellowstone in an agreement reached after prosecutors dropped efforts to seek the death penalty. She was sentenced Tuesday in District Court in Bozeman.

“This is a horrific case of child abuse. It was totally unnecessary, and it was done with malevolence,” District Judge John C. Brown said, according to NBC-Montana.

Batts also pleaded guilty to felony criminal child endangerment for failing to get medical help for Alex after he was fatally injured, and to witness tampering by trying to get family members to provide false statements to investigators, the Department of Justice has said.
Batts received 10-year sentences for each of those charges.

Alex had been living with Batts and her husband, James Sasser Jr., 51, in West Yellowstone following the death of his father, who was Batts’ son. An autopsy found Alex died of blunt force trauma to the back of his head. He also had bruises and wounds all over his body, court records said.

Gallatin County prosecutors alleged Alex was beaten and denied food. Investigators found videos of the boy being tortured and punished on cellphones seized from the family members.

Brown said the video evidence was the most “horrific” he had ever seen during his time on the bench. By the time of his death, Hurley was “emaciated,” “starved,” and had been subjected to “forced exercise” as well as routinely beaten, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported.

Batts created the environment that encouraged Alex’s abuse, prosecutors said.

Sasser was sentenced in March 2022 to 100 years in prison for his role in Alex’s death. He pleaded guilty to deliberate homicide, child endangerment and tampering with a witness. At sentencing, he acknowledged he failed to protect Alex.

Two children belonging to Sasser and Batts were also charged in the case.

Their 14-year-old son was charged in youth court and acknowledged causing the injuries that likely led to Alex’s death. Brown, acting as a Youth Court judge, sentenced him to juvenile detention until he reaches age 18, followed by seven years on probation. The couple’s daughter was sentenced to probation for her role.

Batts has been jailed since her arrest just over a week after Alex died.


Vermont
Prosecutor facing impeachment investigation says he will resign
ST. ALBANS, Vt. (AP) — A Vermont prosecutor facing possible impeachment said he is stepping down.

Franklin County State’s Attorney John Lavoie on Wednesday told multiple news outlets he plans to resign. He did not give a timeline and did not return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment.

In May, lawmakers created a special House committee to investigate whether to impeach Lavoie and Franklin County Sheriff John Grismore.

Lavoie is accused of harassing and discriminating against employees, while Grismore is facing an assault charge for kicking a shackled prisoner, as well as a financial investigation.

Lavoie has acknowledged some inappropriate humor but previously said he didn’t think his actions warranted him stepping down. Grismore has defended his actions.