NYPD have released new images of a woman accused of shoving an 87-year-old Broadway singing coach who died days after the unprovoked attack in Manhattan last week
NYPD have released new images of a woman accused of shoving an 87-year-old Broadway singing coach who died days after the unprovoked attack in Manhattan last week.
Barbara Maier Gustern was placed on life support and died on Tuesday - five days after the assault in Chelsea.
Police have still not found her attacker, and are now asking for help to track her down. Surveillance footage shows the suspect leaving the scene towards Ninth Avenue. She is described as a red-haired woman, likely in her 30s, wearing a black jacket, black leggings, a white skirt and dark colored shoes.
On Tuesday, Gustern's grandson, AJ, posted a photo of himself clutching his grandmother's hand as she lied in a hospital bed Tuesday morning.
'Today, at 11:15AM, we have lost one of the brightest little flames to ever grace this world,' he wrote from Gustern's Facebook page. 'I ask that you all give me a little time and space, but I want to make time for anyone and everyone who wants to know more about her final moments.
'Bobbob, I love you, you are and always will be my heart.'
Gustern, who once coached Blondie singer Debbie Harry, was pushed from behind in front of her building at West 28th Street and Eighth Avenue in the trendy Chelsea neighborhood at around 8.30pm on Thursday.
She was on her way to watch a student perform at Joe's Pub, which she did often, according to the New York Times.
The terrifying incident comes as crime in the the five boroughs has spiked by 45 percent compared to this time last year, with robbery up by 43.5 percent and assault up by 17.2 percent.
Surveillance footage released Sunday shows the suspect leaving the scene towards Ninth Avenue. She is described as a red-haired woman, likely in her 30s, wearing a black jacket, black leggings, a white skirt and dark colored shoes
Broadway singing coach Barbara Maier Gustern died in a hospital Tuesday morning after she was put on life support following a random shoving attack last week
The suspect is described by police as a red-haired woman wearing a black jacket, black leggings, a white skirt and dark colored shoes
Gustern, above with her grandson AJ, was an acclaimed teacher who was on her way to Joe's Pub to watch one of her students perform, which she did often, according to one report
AJ posted a photo of himself clutching his late grandma's hand shortly after her death Tuesday
Gustern was conscious when paramedics arrived and managed to tell police that she had been attacked by another woman, but her condition rapidly worsened, the Daily News reported.
She sustained severe injuries to her head, police said. Gustern's grandson, AJ, updated her followers on Facebook late Saturday night.
'She has suffered traumatic damage to the left side of her brain, and has been unconscious the entire time. She is intubated and we are unclear how much she is able to breathe on her own,' he said.
Gustern succumbed to her injuries Tuesday morning. Tributes poured in after news of her death began circulating.
A Facebook user by the name Penny Arcade said she met the singing coach while she was feeling sick at a party hosted by singer Debbie Harry.
'I laid on my back staring at the ceiling and the staircase to the VIP room when a pair of twinkling green eyes met mine and it was Barbara and that was how we met and bonded instantly,' she wrote. 'I felt like she and I were the same age (which felt like 14) despite her being 16 years older than I . We both had the same teenage energy and it was our bond,' she said.
She called Gustern's death an 'abrupt' and 'wrong' ending to her life.
Tributes for Gustern poured in on social media in the hours after her death Tuesday morning
A woman by the name Melinda Pope DeRocker, who says she studied under Gustern, reposted Gustern's grandson's post.
'I am devastated to say that this picture is of the final moments in the life of my dear friend and voice teacher Barbara Maier Gustern. Her grandson AJ was there to hold her hand,' she said.
Gustern moved to New York from Indiana to jumpstart her performing career, the Times reports. She then turned to vocal coaching, first at a university and then at a local business.
Nathan Koci, the musical director for the Broadway revival of Oklahoma!, called Gustern his 'go-to' for helping singers.
Before Gustern's death on Tuesday, Mallory Portnoy, who had a role in the revival and took vocal lessons from her, said, 'I don’t know how people come back from something like this at this age, but if anybody could it’s this woman, because she is so strong and so full of life and she can overcome, it seems like, truly anything.'
The unprovoked attack came as NYPD's latest data showed a staggering 60 percent spike in crime in February compared to the same time last year.
“This is a disgusting and disgraceful offense committed against a vulnerable, elderly woman doing nothing but walking down the streets of New York City,' NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said Tuesday.
Crime in the the five boroughs is up by 45 percent compared to this time last year, with robbery up by 43.5 percent and assault up by 17.2 percent
Before her death, AJ said that Gustern would most likely suffer speech problems and lose mobility on the right side of her body.
Recounting the aftermath of the attack on Facebook, fellow singer and actor Barbara Bleier said she and two other friends had been rehearsing at Gustern's home in Chelsea for a show they were to perform on
