Crime

Handyman Who Had Prior Relationship with Victim Charged with Murdering Mom Found in Duffel Bag: Sources

Orsolya Gaal, 51, was stabbed more than 50 times, and David Bonola, 44, has been charged with murder

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Published on April 21, 2022 08:51 AM

A man was taken into custody in connection with the death of Orsolya Gaal, the New York City mother whose body was found early Saturday morning in a blood-soaked duffel bag on the side of the road in a park.

Police tell PEOPLE that David Bonola, 44, of Queens, was arrested Thursday and charged with murder, criminal tampering and criminal possession of a weapon.

It is not clear if Bonola has entered a plea or retained an attorney.

NYPD sources tell PEOPLE Bonola is the handyman police wanted to speak to in the days following Gaal's death. Bonola and Gaal at one time had a romantic relationship, and it's likely he knew where the family stored a spare key to their Forest Hills residence, the sources say.

The grisly crime came to light on Saturday, just after 8 a.m., when a man walking his dog found a "suspicious" duffel bag with blood on the grass near a sidewalk in Forest Park, at the corner of Metropolitan Ave. and Jackie Robinson Parkway, in Queens, the New York City Police Department said in a release.

Inside the bag, police officers found the body of a woman, later identified as Gaal, 51.

She had been stabbed more than 50 times, a police source told PEOPLE.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

A trail of blood stretching nine blocks led police back to her home on Juno Street, police said.

Gaal, a stay-at-home mom, lived in the home with her husband and two sons, ages 17 and 13, police said, CBS New York reports.

Surveillance footage shows a person dragging a duffel bag along the street hours before the body was found, NBC New York reports.

Gaal's husband and one of her sons were away for the weekend, WPIX reports.

Gaal's youngest son was home, but investigators do not believe he had any involvement in the killing, the sources say.

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Before the arrest, a police source told PEOPLE authorities believed Gaal knew her killer.

The sources confirm that, before leaving her home Friday night, Gaal had told her son she was going to see a show at Lincoln Center in Manhattan.

Floral Tributes are laid outside Orsolya Gaal Home in Queens New York the mother murdered before been stuffed inside a duffel bag — Orsolya Gaal's home. Elder Ordonez / SplashNews.com

Detectives learned she was later seen alone at a bar in Queens, say the sources.

Gaal seemed close to her family, based on the photos she posted on Facebook.

On New Year's Eve, she posted a selfie of her with her husband and two sons with palm trees in the background, writing, "Hoping 2022 will be a great one!"

Another picture shows her husband and sons sitting down for a cozy at-home dinner.

The family also traveled to far-flung locales, including Guatemala, Paris and China, where she posted a picture of her and one of her sons at the Great Wall.

She can be seen in many snaps posing alone while skiing. Several pictures on Facebook show her with her beloved dog in her arms.

"What a tragedy, just for everybody involved," neighbor John Blankson said, NBC Network News reports. "You can't write this off. I think everyone's trying to figure out what happened. How did this happen? Why did this happen?"