Handyman Admits Killing N.Y. Mom, Stuffing Her in Duffel Bag After 'Heated' Argument over Their Affair

Mar. 15, 2025

David Bonola, Orsolya Gaal.Photo: Facebook (2)

A New York man accused of killing his former lover pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter after authorities say he stabbed the woman more than 50 times before placing her remains in a duffel bag and dumping it in a park.

According to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, a judge agreed to sentence 44-year-old David Bonola to 25 years behind bars for the brutal slaying of 51-year-old mom of two, Orsolya Gaal, in exchange for his guilty plea.

“This heinous killing devastated an entire family, left two boys without a mother, and horrified the surrounding community,” Katz said in a statement Wednesday.

“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,” she said.

Bonola and Gaal began “an intimate affair” two years ago when he was hired as a handyman to work at the Queens, N.Y., home she shared with her husband and two sons, NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig told reporters in April,PEOPLE previously reported.

The pair maintained an on-again-off-again relationship as he intermittently did work around the house.

During the April press conference, Essig said the two engaged in a “heated” argument at her home, regarding their relationship.

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Bonola proceeded to brandish a knife, slash Gaal’s throat, and stab her upwards of 50 times before dismembering her body and stuffing it into one of her son’s hockey duffels, Essig said.

He was captured on a neighbor’s security camera wheeling the duffle in the neighborhood on the morning of her murder.

He then dumped the bag in Forest Hills Park, but not without leaving a trail of blood from the crime scene to the victim’s home, PEOPLE previously reported.

Police recovered the murder weapon inside the victim’s home and Bonola’s jacket inside the park, according to reports.

At the time of the investigation, Bonola agreed to an interview with police, during which he “made incriminating statements” about Gaal’s murder, Essig told reporters in April.

His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 16.

source: people.com