David Bonola, 44, pleaded guilty to a count of first-degree manslaughter in the slaying of Orsolya Gaal, 51, whose dismembered body was found in a duffel bag on the side of a road in Queens on April 16.
A New York City handyman has pleaded guilty to the fatal April stabbing of his lover, a Queens mother, whose corpse he placed inside a duffel bag, according to reports.
David Bonola, 44, pleaded guilty to a count of first-degree manslaughter in the slaying of Orsolya Gaal, 51, whose dismembered body was found in a sports duffel bag on the side of a road in Queens on April 16, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement.
"This heinous killing devastated an entire family, left two boys without a mother, and horrified the surrounding community. I want to thank my prosecutors for their exhaustive efforts in securing this plea. In pleading guilty, the defendant has accepted responsibility and is being held fully accountable for his criminal actions,” Katz said in a statement. “We express our sincerest condolences to the victim’s family and hope that today’s plea will allow them to begin to heal.”
Bonola was having an affair Gaal, New York City police said.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise said he would sentence Bonola to 25 years in prison to be followed by five years post-release supervision, the statement said. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 16, prosecutors said, according to NBC News.
Cops say Bonola went to Gaal’s home at approximately 12:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 16, as she had just returned to her Queens, New York, home after a night out. Cops say Bonola entered the home and then he and the victim were arguing when the defendant slashed Gaal’s throat and stabbed her more than 50 times.
Cops say hours later, at approximately 4:15 a.m., Bonola was captured on a nearby home’s security video surveillance footage wheeling a hockey duffel bag belonging to one of the victim’s sons. The bag, containing Gaal’s dismembered body, was found at about 8:00 a.m. in the vicinity of a park in the Forest Hills section of Queens.
Authorities were able to follow the trail of blood from the bag to the crime scene, and during the investigation police recovered the murder weapon hidden in the victim’s home and the defendant's jacket in the park.
Gaal lived inside the home with her husband and two sons.
The district attorney says that days after Gaal’s body was discovered, Bonola offered to speak to police and "during questioning made incriminating statements. He revealed that some time on Saturday he went to a New York City hospital for a cut on his hand. He also stated in sum and substance that he and the victim argued and confessed to stabbing her and moving her body."
Neighbors left stunned by the murder on the quiet block are expressing relief.
“I feel sad for the family. I'm very happy they caught the guy,” one resident said.
Gaal’s 13-year-old son was upstairs in the home when the killing took place.
