David Bonola sentenced to 25 years for killing Forest Hills mom Orsolya Gaal
Views: 378
By Jessica Meditz
jmeditz@queensledger.com
David Bonola faces 25 years in prison for killing Orsolya Gaal and stuffing her body in a duffel bag
David Bonola was sentenced to 25 years in prison last Wednesday for killing Orsolya Gaal, a 51-year-old mom from Forest Hills, in April.
Bonola, 44, of South Richmond Hill, pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter in the first degree on Nov. 2.
In addition to the 25 years, Bonola faces five years post-release supervision.
According to the charges, Bonola showed up to Gaal’s home at 72-24 Juno Street on April 16 at around 12:30 a.m., after she returned home from a night out.
The pair, who were familiar with one another previously, began to argue in the basement of the home.
The verbal fight quickly escalated to Bonola slashing Gaal’s throat and stabbing her over 50 times with a knife.
At approximately 4:15 a.m., Bonola was captured on a neighbor’s security video surveillance footage wheeling a hockey duffel bag, which belonged to one of the victim’s two teenage sons.
Bonola was caught on camera dragging Gaal’s lifeless body in a bloody duffel bag through Forest Hills.
It was revealed that Gaal’s body had been stuffed into the bag and dragged through the streets of Forest Hills by Bonola, and was found by a passerby at about 8 a.m. on Metropolitan Avenue, near Union Turnpike, in the vicinity of Forest Park.
During a live update of the crime on April 21, NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said that Bonola was a handyman who was employed by Gaal, and the two carried out an affair for two years.
Police were able to follow the trail of blood from the bag to the crime scene — the home where Gaal resided with her husband, Howard Klein, and two sons. They recovered the murder weapon from the home, as well as Bonola’s jacket, which was found inside Forest Park.
During the investigation, Bonola made incriminating statements to the police, including that some time on Saturday, he was treated for a cut on his hand at the hospital.
He also admitted that he and Gaal argued and confessed to stabbing her and moving her body.
The investigation was conducted by Detectives John Petzolt and Todd Keyes of the 112th Precinct and Detectives Carmine Caruso and Joe Bey of the NYPD’s Queens North Homicide Squad.
“This was a brutal killing, and no amount of prison time can bring the victim back to her loved ones,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement.
“Today’s sentencing, however, provides a measure of justice and I hope the victim’s family can rest easier knowing that the person responsible was held fully accountable.”
