A South Richmond Hill handyman, pictured top left, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree Wednesday for the brutal killing of a Forest Hills mother, pictured bottom left, earlier this year (Photos: YouTube, Facebook and Google Maps)
Nov. 2, 2022 By Michael Dorgan
A South Richmond Hill handyman pleaded guilty to first degree manslaughter Wednesday for the brutal killing of a Forest Hills mother earlier this year.
David Bonola, 44, admitted to fatally stabbing 51-year-old Orsolya Gaal on April 16 and then putting her mutilated body in a sports bag and dumping it on Metropolitan Avenue near Union Turnpike, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
Bonola, of 114th Street, pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter in the first degree as part of a plea deal in Queens Supreme Court this morning.
The judge in the case said that Bonola – who stabbed Gaal more than 50 times — would be sentenced to 25 years in prison followed by five years post-release supervision. He will be sentenced on Nov. 16.
“This heinous killing devastated an entire family, left two boys without a mother, and horrified the surrounding community,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
“In pleading guilty, the defendant has accepted responsibility and is being held fully accountable for his criminal actions. We express our sincerest condolences to the victim’s family and hope that today’s plea will allow them to begin to heal.”
Gaal was killed at her Juno Street home before being stuffed into a duffle bag and dumped on the side of the road on Metropolitan Avenue near the Jackie Robinson Parkway overpass, pictured (Photo: Google Maps)
Bonola, a Mexican national, had initially been arraigned on a 13-count indictment for murder and an array of other charges for the stabbing death of Gaal, whom he claimed to have been in an on-and-off relationship with for about two years.
According to the charges, Gaal had been out socializing on a Friday night and returned to her Juno Street home at around 12:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 16.
Bonola arrived at her home soon after and allegedly got into an argument with her in the basement. He then admitted to slashing her throat and stabbing her more than 50 times.
The handyman then stuffed her body in a hockey bag that belonged to one of her two sons. Bonola was captured on video surveillance from a nearby home dragging the bag through the neighborhood.
The bag was discovered hours later by a man walking his dog. Inside were Gaal’s remains and police followed a trail of blood back to Gaal’s Juno Street home.
During the investigation, police recovered the murder weapon — a knife — inside Bonola’s home. They also found Bonola’s jacket inside Forest Park, near where the body was dumped.
Prosecutors say that he confessed to the stabbing and moving her body.
VIDEO: David Bonola, the Queens handyman accused of stabbing & killing a Forest Hills mom & stuffing her body in a hockey bag, has accepted a plea deal.
Bonola pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the death of Osolya Gaal. He will serve 25 years behind bars. @NBCNewYork pic.twitter.com/9te6hGMqY2— Melissa Colorado (@melissacolorado) November 2, 2022
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