The handyman who brutally murdered Queen’s mother, Orsolya Gaal, has appeared in court for the first time, according to police, after confessing to the crime and being seen on security footage several hours later wearing bandages on his hands.
David Bonola, 44, was charged with second-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence, and fourth-degree criminal possession of a firearm on Thursday in Queens Supreme Court.
The 51-year-old mother’s body was allegedly taken to a local park in her son’s hockey duffel bag after he repeatedly stabbed her in her Forrest Hills home on April 16 to revive their passion.
Katz, the district attorney for Queens, said on Thursday night that he “slashed” her throat before stabbing her more than 50 times in other places on her body.
According to The New York Post, after being apprehended, he calmly confessed to the authorities and then consumed a cream cheese-topped bagel.
Katz stated, “two boys are left without a mother, and a young teenager has the additional trauma of being home while this horrible murder took place.”
According to the allegations, the defendant stabbed the victim more than 50 times before attempting to drag the body across a peaceful residential neighborhood while putting it into a duffel bag, leaving a bloody trail and a horrified neighborhood.
Just hours after the murder, Bonola was captured on camera near his Richmond Hill apartment along 114th Street at 6 am on Saturday.
In the video, Bonola can be seen walking down the street toward his flat while carrying a bandage on his left hand.
On Thursday, David Bonola, 44, was charged with killing Orsolya Gaal at her Forest Hills home. He was arraigned in Queens Supreme Court.
On Thursday, footage of David Bonola being led from Queens’ 112th Precinct for the murder of his girlfriend, married mother-of-two Orsolya Gaal, was released.
Gaal suffered 58 stab wounds to his neck, torso, and arm.
In the wee hours of Thursday, police detained 44-year-old David Bonola. He was apprehended by authorities on Wednesday evening, detained for questioning, and later confessed to killing 51-year-old Orsolya Gaal in her house on April 16 just before 1 am.
Later on Saturday, Bonola allegedly went to a CityMD to get assistance for hand injuries.
After emergency room doctors felt the wounds were too deep for them to treat, they referred him to Bellevue Hospital.
According to the police, Gaal and Bonola, who had performed handyman work for her, had been having a two-year on-and-off relationship when he killed her last Thursday in her basement with a kitchen knife while her 13-year-old son was above.
The relationship had “ended,” so Bonola went to the house, according to the NYPD, to restart the affair.
The security video footage and Bonola’s “statements and admissions” are used as evidence against him in the criminal complaint.
Bonola, a Mexican national who has lived in the United States for more than 20 years, was taken into custody early Thursday morning.
He was apprehended by police on Wednesday night and taken in for questioning when, according to police, he admitted to killing Gaal on April 16 at around 1:00 am in her house.
He allegedly emptied his guts in a completely “matter of fact” manner, according to police sources who talked with the New York Post, and then continued to eat a bagel with cream cheese as if nothing had occurred.
According to a police source who spoke to the publication, “It was extremely matter-of-fact, quite comprehensive, and he answered every question they had.” He never once asked for a lawyer.
Then, on Thursday, reporters asked him why he killed her, and he exclaimed, “F**k you motherf****r!” as he was being placed in a police car.
Following his arrest on Thursday, Bonola confessed to the murder to the NYPD and was later charged in Queen’s court.
After he worked in the household where Gaal lived with her 53-year-old husband Howard and their two sons, Bonola and the victim began dating in 2020. They had an on-off romance that had lately terminated again. They resumed it in April.
Sources with the NYPD said that Bonola visited the house after the relationship had allegedly “ended” to restart things.
Gaal invited Bonola into her house on Friday night just after midnight. It’s not clear whether she invited him over or whether he just showed up without warning. Her youngest son Leo was upstairs then, so they went inside and down to the basement. Her oldest son Jamie and her husband Howard were out of town visiting universities.
The two got into a fight in the basement, according to the police. That evening, Bonola allegedly visited the house “to chat about the romance again.”
The two get into a contentious argument in the basement. Someone brandishes a knife. After a fierce battle, our victim is mercilessly and cruelly stabbed more than 55 times, ultimately killing her, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig.
A knife Bonola found inside the residence was used to stab her 58 times after they got into an argument at some point. The murderous tool was still present.
Mr. Bonola then took Ms. Gaal’s son’s hockey bag, put her inside, and, as shown on film, rolled the body along the sidewalks, leaving a bloody trail through the streets of Forest Hills, continued Essig.
After waiting until 4 am and getting her son’s hockey bag back, he moved her body out of the house and discarded it less than half a mile away. In an unsuccessful attempt to confuse the authorities, he also texted Howard Klein, Gaal’s husband, pretending to be someone she had once sent to prison.
Then Bonola made his way through Forest Park to his own house. He visited a hospital the following day to receive treatment for hand wounds.
Using leads, detectives were able to locate the place “where boots, a T-shirt, and bloody bandages were located.”
A figure appears to be pulling a bag with a similar appearance along the sidewalk in a surveillance video from around 4:30 in the morning.
On Wednesday night, as they searched the neighborhood in Queens for video evidence, police officers recognized Bonola and contacted him. He was taken in for questioning at the 112th Precinct since they were interested in him and knew about the relationship. There, he confessed to the entire murder.
NYPD investigators identified him as having worked as a handyman in Gaal’s family home and being “familiar to the family” at a press conference on Thursday. It’s unknown if Gaal’s husband, Howard Klein knew about their relationship.
Bonola, 44, was taken into custody early Thursday morning. He was apprehended by authorities on Wednesday evening, detained for questioning, and then admitted to killing Gaal in her house on April 16 just before 1 am.
On Thursday, the handyman is featured. On Wednesday evening, while in jail, he admitted to the murder.
The kitchen knife that Orsolya Gaal was stabbed with 58 times in her home’s basement by handyman David Bonola. Police believe that he stole it from home.
“We feel that Mr. Bonola and our victim had an intimate relationship of a certain kind and that their argument originated from their relationship,” wrote Queens North Homicide squad Lt. Tommy Thompson of the NYPD.
They previously split up, but they got back together early in April, so their relationship was over, according to NYPD Detective Julie Morrill.
Gaal and her family had resided in Richmond Hill, a section of Queens where Bonola also resides.
Gaal had gone to a performance at the Lincoln Center in Manhattan on Friday night with his girlfriends.
Before midnight, she returned to Queens, pausing at the Forest Hills Station House for a drink and ordering a Moscow mule. She then made her way to Juno Street to go home.
At 12.40 am, she was stabbed 58 times in the neck, torso, and arm. It is unknown if her killer was already inside the house or if she let him in later.
Leo, her son, who is 13 years old, was upstairs at the time but was unaffected.
Our best guess is that Mr. Bonola will arrive between 12.30 and 12.40 am. He works as a handyman for Mrs. Gaal. For two years, they had had a close relationship.
Either Bonola enters voluntarily, or he makes use of a key that he is aware is kept in the barbeque. After a heated quarrel and a physical battle in the basement, Bonola kills Mrs. Gaal by savagely stabbing her more than 55 times.
“Bonola then retrieved the son’s hockey bag…” Investigators found Mr. Bonola’s jacket in Forest Park after he had disposed of the body and escaped.
On Christmas Eve in 2021, Gaal was accompanied by her husband, Howard Klein, and her two boys Leo, 13, and Jamie, 17.
Orsolya Gaal received a response from Bonola describing her as “the most beautiful woman” and having “the look of love” in these photographs.
On Thursday, 44-year-old David Bonola was accused of murder, criminal tampering, and possessing a weapon. After being detained, he made a complete admission to killing Orsolya Gaal.
Bonola resides in this Richmond Hill, Queens, building. On Thursday, the building was cordoned off.
On Thursday, clothes were seen outside the murderer’s house. His blood-stained boots and the t-shirt he wore when he committed the murder were seized by police.
He was seen on Saturday at a nearby hospital for cuts on his hands.
‘At this moment, we are aware of no (previous) arrests for him. James Gessig, the chief of detectives, stated at a press conference that there are no unsolved suspects.
Around 8:10 on Saturday morning, a suspicious bag with blood on it was reported at the intersection of Metropolitan Avenue and Jackie Robinson Parkway, according to the police.
The following morning, a dog walker discovered Gaal’s body and alerted the police. Cops then returned to Gaal’s house after following a blood trail left by the dragging bag.
Leo, the son, was found inside unharmed and was taken in for interrogation while being restrained before being released later that day.
Having been on the West Coast, Gaal’s husband Howard and her older son Jamie hastened back. Since then, they have not been seen or heard from.
Mayor Eric Adams described the murder as “truly a tragic occurrence” on Thursday.
This person is thought to have stabbed Orsolya Gaal over 60 times in her basement on Saturday in Queens before dragging her body along the pavement.
NYPD officers revealed a two-year, on-and-off relationship between the two at a press conference on Thursday.
On Wednesday morning, the Klein family’s residence was still blocked off, and many NYPD cars were parked there.
People who resided and worked close to Bonola’s 114th Street house described him as a “night owl.”
He was frequently spotted playing music while riding his bike and occasionally carrying a guitar. The man was described as a “night owl” who liked to ride his bike and perform music.
Bonola had previously been married and fathered two sons with a woman who passed away. According to a local, Bonola also has military experience with Mexico.
What’s the point of all of this? I am not aware of his motivation. She is no longer there, Richie, a 7-11 employee, told Fox News. “What did he achieve?”
Martin Calixto, a nearby florist, claimed that Bonola frequently dropped by and always purchased a single red rose. He even recognized Gaal from pictures Bonola had previously shown him.
He had a deep love for her. He described her as a nice and respectable girl. It isn’t easy to accept. Dammit, he was a good person. It’s difficult for me to believe,” he continued.
