David Bonola: 5 quick facts you need to know

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David Bonola is the suspect in the murder of Orsoyla Gaal.

David Bonola is a 44-year-old New Yorker accused of the murder of Orsoyla Gaal in Queens. Gaal, a 51-year-old married mother of two, was found dead in a duffel bag on April 16, 2022, the NYPD said. According to police, Gaal was stabbed more than 50 times. Bonola was arrested on April 21, 2022, reports the New York Post.

NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell tweeted, “@NYPDDetectives have arrested a 44-year-old Queens man in connection with the death of Orsolya Gaal. He was charged with murder, criminal tampering, and criminal possession of weapons. Anyone with information regarding NYC crimes is urged to call @NYPDTipsat #800577TIPS.” Sewell’s tweet did not name Bonola, but he was identified as a suspect by multiple media following his arrest.

Gaal was killed at her home in the Forest Park neighborhood of Queens, police said. Her 13-year-old son was home at the time and was taken from their home in handcuffs, according to the Post. He was briefly arrested and interrogated by the police, but was later released. According to a now-deleted tweet on the father’s Twitter account, Gaal’s husband Howard Klein and their 17-year-old son were in Oregon to attend college.

Here’s what you need to know about David Bonola and the murder of Orsoyla Gaal:

1. David Bonola, a craftsman and former lover of Orsoyla Gaal, reportedly confessed to killing her

FacebookOrsolya Gaal in a photo from her Facebook page.

David Bonola worked as a handyman and lived near Orsoyla Gaal, according to NBC New York. According to the news channel, he worked for Gaal at her home. The New York Daily News reported that Bonola was Gaal’s “former lover.”

The Daily News wrote, “Bonola admitted his romance with the married mother of two and after his surrender admitted to feuding with the victim, a source said.” NBC New York added, “According to sources, Bonola allegedly popped in up at her house and the two fought, although it wasn’t exactly clear when that happened or what the fight was about. The handyman then allegedly murdered her in her own basement, the sources said.”

NBC New York reporter Myles Miller tweeted, “David Bonola made statements to @NYPDDetectives admitting his role in the murder, according to two senior NYPD officials.” The NYPD has made few public and official statements regarding Gaal’s killing and Bonola’s arrest. Local media, citing law enforcement sources, have reported several unverified details about the murder that have been conflicting at times.

2. Orsoyla Gaal was found dead in a duffel bag from her home by a man walking his dog. Police followed a trail of blood back to her home before finding surveillance video showing him being dragged down the street

According to NBC New York, police were targeting someone who knew Orsoyla Gaal because they believed she was murdered at her home and there were no signs of forced entry. Police were investigating text messages she had sent and traced her whereabouts on Friday April 15, 2022 in the hours leading up to her murder. According to the New York Post, Gaal was at home on Friday afternoon and then went out, including going to a bar where she was alone, before returning to her home.

A man walking his dogs found a bloody wheeled duffel bag blocks from Gaal’s home and police followed a trail of blood back to their home on Juno Street, where they discovered the scene, PIX11 reported. Video from the neighbor’s doorbell cameras showed a man wheeling the holdall down the street, the news channel reported. Gaal’s body was found around 8:30 a.m. near Jackie Robinson Parkway and Metropolitan Avenue, police said.

Gaal was stabbed in the neck, torso and left arm and had stab wounds to her windpipe and carotid artery, the Post reported. The newspaper added that she had “knife wounds in her fingers and on her palms.”

3. David Bonola appears to have no criminal record; A Facebook account with the same name posted on Orsoyla Gaal’s Facebook page in the past

FacebookDavid Bonola in a photo from his Facebook page.

According to the New York Post, David Bonola appears to have no prior convictions or arrests in New York City. Police planned to release more information at a press conference on Thursday, the newspaper added. According to PIX11, Gaal’s killer reportedly sent threatening text messages to Gaal’s husband, including stating that “his whole family is next” and claiming that Gaal had jailed him in the past.

A Facebook page that appears to belong to the suspect left comments on Gaal’s Facebook page more than two years ago. Photos on the Facebook profile match one photo tweeted by NBC New York Myles Miller after Bonola’s arrest.

On May 27, 2020, in a post by Gaal, Bonola commented on a childhood photo: “Hola💗”. In a May 2020 photo of Gaal, captioned “Zoom party with my girlfriends – my lifeline,” Bonola replied, “🎼Tu mirada enamorada❤️.”

Another Facebook page that appears to be owned by Bonola shows that he lived in Queens, New York and is a native of New York. He describes himself as single and says he studied at the New York School of Interior Design.

4. Orsoyla Gaal was originally from Hungary and friends described her as an “amazing person”.

FacebookOrsolya Gaal with her husband Howard Klein and their two sons.

Originally from Hungary, Orsoyla Gaal studied at the Budapest Business School College of International Management and Business, according to her Facebook page, which is full of photos with her sons and husband Howard Klein, traveling and at family gatherings. It was not immediately clear how long she had lived in the United States or how long she had been married to Klein.

A neighbor, Theodora Grafas, told the New York Daily News Gaal: “Just an amazing person and all of us who knew her will miss her. She really was just wonderful. … your kindness to people. She was super friendly. And how she took care of her children and her husband. We would do our nails together. As I walked past on Friday morning, she waved at me and I waved at her. I was going to run some errands and that was the last time I saw her.”

Forest Hills Station House manager Gabriel Veras told NBC New York he saw Gaal at the restaurant hours before she died. “She was here on Friday, right in the middle of the bar. Had a Moscow mule, had a bite to eat. Spoke to a few of my co-workers they know and joked around in conversation. She was a very, very sweet regular. She went alone and we were shocked the next day. Shock,” Veras told the news channel. “She was composed, collected, in the middle of the bar, just keeping to herself and talking to the staff. Nothing unusual. She didn’t seem scared, frightened, or panicked. I’m just enjoying her one drink before I go home.”

5. David Bonola remains in custody and has not yet appeared in court for the first time

FacebookDavid Bonola.

David Bonola remains in police custody and has yet to appear in court. It wasn’t immediately clear if Bonola hired or was appointed an attorney who could speak on his behalf about his arrest and the case. The public prosecutor’s office has not yet commented on the allegations against Bonola.

ABC News correspondent Aaron Katersky tweeted“One person is being held in custody at NYPD District 112 in connection with the death of Orsolya Gaal, the Queens woman who was found dead in a duffel bag. David Bonola has been charged with murder, criminal manipulation and criminal possession of weapons.”

Paul Gerke, NewsNation correspondent, tweeted Thursday morning“Action is picking up around the 112th NYPD Precinct in Forest Hills, Queens. About 20 accredited mediums are now waiting here for David Bonola to be ushered into the station. Bonola has been charged with the murder of the 51-year-old mother of two Orsolya Gaal.”