Queens mom Orsolya Gaal who was stabbed by her now arrested handyman lover David Bonola had been having an on-and-off affair with him for two years, police revealed on Thursday, as the first photograph of the killer emerged. Gaal was stabbed by Bonola at least 58 times before being stacked in a duffle bag and dumped on the roadside on Saturday.
Bonola, 44, was arrested in the early hours of the morning on Thursday. He was spotted by police on Wednesday night and taken in for questioning, where he admitted to killing Gaal, 51, in her house sometime before 1 a.m. on Saturday.
Murder of Passion
Police had been suspecting that a former handyman who knew where the spare key of Gaal's house was kept was behind the murder. Bonola was finally arrested on Thursday and he admitted to have murdered Gaal after entering her house.
The NYPD stated early Thursday that Bonola has been charged with murder, criminal tampering, and criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the deadly weekend stabbing of Gaal.
NYPD investigators said during a press conference on Thursday that he had worked in Gaal's family house and was "well-known to the family." Howard Klein, Gaal's husband, may or may not have been aware of her affair.
As police had suspected earlier, there was no forced entry into Gaal's $2 million Forests Park home. Gaal, whose husband was out of town with her oldest kid, let Bonola into her home around 12:40 a.m. on Saturday.
According to police, her 13-year-old son was on the top level of the house and was unaware of what was going on downstairs. They proceeded down to the basement, where they got into a fight and Bonola stabbed her 58 times in a fit of rage.
He then took her son's hockey bag and waited until 4 a.m. before wheeling her out of the house and dumping her body less than half a mile away. Bonola then strolled through Forest Park to his own house. He went to the hospital the next day for treatment of cuts on his hands.
The knife he used in the attack is similar to the knives in the home, which further confirms Bonola's crime.
All About Bonola
Bonola worked as a handyman at Gaal's home but lleft some time back. However, Gaal and Bonola had an on-and-off affair which police believe was kept secret. The two liked each other posts and photos on social media but were not friends.
He previously used a Facebook account to comment on some of Gaal's images, as well as send her public messages with "love" and "heart" emojis. "Es la mujer más hermosa" — Spanish for "She is the most beautiful woman" — he wrote alongside one photo of her in May 2020, along with a blushing face emoji covered in hearts.
Gaal also added an emoji of Guatemala's flag in her message, which came months after she said she loved "anything Guatemalan" and a year after she shared photographs from her own trip to the Central American country.
"Your eyes in love," he added in Spanish to a snapshot of her posing with pals during a Zoom party in May.
Bonola also added a heart and a simple "Hola" on a childhood photo of Gaal, which she placed sandwiched between two gushing tributes to her husband, complete with photos from their wedding day, in the same month.
The sparsely used account, which suggests he was a screenwriter, also commented with a heart to a photo of Gaal in a field that she uploaded in October 2019. Every time he said something, Gaal gave him a thumbs up. On Thursday, neither appeared to be listed as friends on their accounts, including one under his name that was used more frequently.
Bonola is from Richmond Hill, Queens, which is just a few blocks away from where Gaal and her family used to live. Bonola reportedly killed her after the two argued inside, according to detectives.
Police believe that Gaal's husband also had no clue about her affair.
