Handyman admits stabbing former lover Orsolya Gaal 58 times and stuffing her body in a hockey bag
‘This heinous killing devastated an entire family, left two boys without a mother, and horrified the surrounding community,’ Queens DA says
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A handyman has admitted killing Queens mother of two Orsolya Gaal – who was stabbed nearly 60 times and dumped in a hockey bag near her home.
David Bonola, 44, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter of his former lover on 16 April and will spend up to 25 years in prison, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a press release.
According to prosecutors, Bonola went to Gaal’s home in Forest Park, New York, after she had just arrived home from a night out.
The pair had an argument and Bonola slashed Gaal’s throat before stabbing her a total of 58 times, the district attorney said.
He then put her body in a duffel bag and dragged it half a mile away before dumping it near a popular walking path on Metropolitan Ave where it was discovered the next morning.
Police followed a trail of blood from the bag that led them about half a mile to an upscale gated community in Forest Hills, where they found Gaal’s youngest son upstairs and unaware of what had taken place.
Bonola had previously carried out repairs at the home, and had been in an on-again, off-again two-year romantic relationship with Gaal.
He reportedly told police that he believed Gaal gave him HIV over the course of their affair, according to court records.
“She was cheating on me with somebody and she gave me HIV,” he told detectives when he was brought in for questioning.
On Wednesday, Bonola appeared before Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise where he pled guilty to her manslaughter.
Bonola was originally from Mexico and had been living in the US illegally, police said.
Through a translator, he told the judge that he understood the nature of the crime he was admitting.
“This heinous killing devastated an entire family, left two boys without a mother, and horrified the surrounding community,” Ms Katz said in a statement.
“I want to thank my prosecutors for their exhaustive efforts in securing this plea.”