The death of Broadway singing coach Barbara Maier Gustern last week has been ruled a homicide by New York City police. Her attacker, who pushed the elderly Manhattan resident from behind, remains at large.
Gustern, 87, was on her way to a taxi outside her Chelsea home on the evening of March 10 when she was pushed to the ground in what appeared to be an unprovoked attack by an apparent stranger. Gustern suffered severe head trauma and soon fell into a coma. She died five days after the attack at New York’s Bellevue Hospital without regaining consciousness.
The classification of the murder was reported today by New York news channel NY1.
Barbara Maier Gustern Barbara Maier Gustern/Facebook
The NYPD Crime Stoppers has released photos from surveillance footage near Gustern’s W. 28th Street apartment. The suspect in the photos has long auburn hair and is wearing a black jacket or coat, white dress and long scarf. (See the photos above.)
Gustern, a singer and vocal coach whose students include Blondie’s Debbie Harry, avant-garde performer Diamanda Galas, and the cast of Daniel Fish’s acclaimed Broadway revival of Oklahoma! 2019 has long been a fixture on the downtown cabaret scene. She was on her way to the Public Theater venue Joe’s Pub to see a student’s performance on March 10 when she was pushed to the ground.
Gustern’s funeral is scheduled for Saturday, March 26 at 2:00 p.m. ET at the Church of the Holy Apostles in the Chelsea area of Manhattan. Gustern was a frequent volunteer at the church’s soup kitchen.