Orsolya Gaal news: David Bonola appears in court as police say he slashed lover’s throat
Follow updates
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
The handyman accused of murdering Queens’ mother-of-two Orsolya Gaal before stuffing her body in her son’s hockey duffle bag and dumping it in a nearby park appeared in court on Thursday night charged with her murder.
David Bonola, 44, was arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on charges of murder in the second degree, tampering with physical evidence and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.
A judge ordered him to be held without bond after police said he confessed to killing the 51-year-old, who he had been in an on-off relationship with for the last two years.
Prosecutors said Ms Gaal let Mr Bonola into her home in Forest Hills in the early hours of Saturday morning before they got into an argument in the basement and she asked him to leave.
The suspect then allegedly slashed Ms Gaal’s throat and stabbed her over 50 times with a kitchen knife before moving her body to Forest Park, where a passer-by discovered it later that morning.
Police said Mr Bonola handed himself in on Wednesday and spilled the details of her murder.
Suspected killer threatens Gaal's husband: 'Your wife sent me to jail'
Suspected killer threatens Gaal’s husband: ‘Your wife sent me to jail’Police say the suspect in the murder of 51-year-old Queens mother Orsolya Gaal sent her husband Howard Klein a set of chilling text messages, to hint that it was an act of revenge.
Police sources told PIX11 that the suspect sent a text message to Mr Klein saying: “Your whole family is next.
“Your wife sent me to jail some years ago... I’m back,” the suspect allegedly said in another message.
Mr Klein, who was out of the state during Gaal’s killing, said that he was concerned about the family’s safety.Cameras along the path between the family home and where Gaal’s body was found may yield more information about the suspect’s identity, police said.
Surveillance video will lead to killer, says ex-NYPD chief
Robert Boyce, a veteran of the New York Police Department said that even though the suspect’s face is not visible in the surveillance footage, it could be the key to unmasking the accused.
“One thing investigators will be able to do from the video is identify whether the killer has an abnormal or unique gait. If they have a limp or anything like that, then they may be easily identifiable to police ... these distinctive features become more clear each time you watch it,” Mr Boyce told The Sun.
A person was caught on surveillance camera rolling a duffle bag down the pavement — inside of which the body of the 51-year-old Gaal was later found.
“...around 4.30am you see somebody rolling this [duffel bag] down the sidewalk from multiple cameras. [Cops] actually traced it backwards from the scene to the house,” NYPD sources said.
Everything we know about the killing of Orsolya Gaal after her body was found in duffle bag
Orsolya Gaal’s body was discovered stuffed in a hockey bag on Saturday morning in Forest Park in the borough of Queens, New York City
The married mother of two, 51, had reportedly been stabbed nearly 60 times by an unknown attacker in her home and her body was dragged half a mile away and dumped near to a popular walking path on Metropolitan Avenue in the early hours of Saturday 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.
Everything we know about the killing of Orsolya Gaal
The 51-year-old mother of two was stabbed nearly 58 times, police identify ‘person of interest’
Officers stop short of identifying suspect
Investigators said they stopped short of identifying the suspect because they don’t have enough evidence against him and the man could surrender with a lawyer and refuse to answer questions.
Sources told New York Daily News that the suspect had been in Orsolya Gaal’s Tudor-style home and may have done work around the house.
She was also in contact with three men on the night before her death, law enforcement sources added.
The married mother of two, 51, had reportedly been stabbed nearly 60 times by an unknown attacker in her home and her body was dragged and dumped half a mile away.
Orsolya Gaal: Suspect in murder of Queens mother told husband: ‘Your whole family is next’
The suspect believed to have murdered 51-year-old Queens mother Orsolya Gaal sent her husband a chilling text message: “Your whole family is next”.
Ms Gaal’s body was found stuffed in a hockey bag on Saturday morning in Forest Park in the borough of Queens.
Police followed a trail of blood from the bag that led them about half a mile to an upscale gated community in Forest Hills.
Law enforcement made an “emergency entry” into the woman’s home and found her 13-year-old son alone on the top floor. He was questioned by police and released.
Ms Gaal’s husband Howard Klein and 17-year-old son were reportedly in Portland at the time of her murder.
Killer told husband of Orsolya Gaal: ‘Your whole family is next’
Orsolya Gaal was reportedly murdered while her husband Howard Klein was out of state
NYPD offer $3500 for information on murder of Orsolya Gaal
The NYPD are offering a $3500 reward for information about the murder of Orsolya Gaal.
Officers put up posters in the Forest Hills neighbourhood in Queens where the mother of two was stabbed 58 times early Saturday morning before being stuffed in a duffle bag and dumped in a nearby park.
Surveillance footage captured a suspect wheeling the duffle near to Ms Gaal’s home at about 4.30am on Saturday morning.
Police sources say Ms Gaal attended a concert at the Lincoln Centre on Friday night, and later went to a bar near her home for 40 minutes before returning home on her own.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crimestoppers on 1800 577 8477.
Orsolya Gaal went missing two years before she was murdered and left in duffle bag
New York mother Orsolya Gaal was reported missing by her husband two years before she was brutally murdered and left in a duffle bag, policesources have revealed.
Howard Klein called 911 just after 7am on 29 May 2020 to say that his wife had failed to return from a late night stroll the night before, sources told the New York Post.
Mr Klein phoned back about half an hour later to say that Ms Gaal, 51, had been found.
NYC mom went missing two years before she was murdered and left in duffle bag
Police reveal husband made 911 call to report Queens mum missing in May 2020
Everything we know about the killing of Orsolya Gaal
Orsolya Gaal’s body was discovered stuffed in a hockey bag on Saturday morning in Forest Park in the borough of Queens, New York City
The married mother of two, 51, had reportedly been stabbed nearly 60 times by an unknown attacker in her home and her body was dragged half a mile away and dumped near to a popular walking path on Metropolitan Avenue in the early hours of Saturday 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.
Everything we know about the killing of Orsolya Gaal
The 51-year-old mother of two was stabbed nearly 58 times, police identify ‘person of interest’
Police investigate multiple suspects in Orsolya Gaal murder
The NYPD are investigating at multiple suspects as they continue to hunt for Orsolya Gaal’s killer, according to reports.
Detectives believe the 51-year-old mother of two’s murder was not premeditated, and was committed by someone known to her.
Police sources told NBC News there was no sign of forced entry at the family’s home on Juno St, in the upmarket Queens neighbourhood of Forest Hills.
The New York Port reported police wanted to speak to a handyman who had previously done work at the property.
Ms Gaal, a Hungarian native, was stabbed 58 times at her home before her body was placed in a duffle bag and left at a park several blocks from the home.
Orsolya Gaal home had advanced surveillance system, family electrician says
An electrician who carried out work on the Queens home where Orsolya Gaal was murdered says the house was fitted out with an advanced surveillance system.
Arrjuna Jack told DailyMail.com the property in Juno St, Forest Hills, had cameras throughout the property.
Detectives believe Ms Gaal was attacked on the first floor and basement of the $2m home sometime after midnight on Friday.
Her husband Howard Klein and eldest son were out of state, but her youngest son was home at the time.
Mr Jack said the home had a separate entranceway that leads into the kitchen and down to the basement.
The killer put Ms Gaal’s body in a Bauer sports bag and wheeled it several blocks away at around 4.30am.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.