Accused ‘duffel bag killer’ David Bonola pleads guilty to stabbing married lover, dumping her body in NYC park
NEW YORK — The accused "duffel bag killer" pleaded guilty Wednesday in the savage stabbing death and dismemberment of his longtime married lover during a final and fatal argument in her Queens basement.
David Bonola, 44, had already confessed to police before his manslaughter plea to the gruesome April 16 killing of Orsolya Gaal, whose butchered remains were stuffed into a duffel bag and dumped in a nearby park after his surprise visit to her home ended in a bloodbath.
Bonola faces a 25-year prison term at his Nov. 16 sentencing for the lethal lovers’ quarrel in which Gaal was stabbed dozens of times, said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Bonola, wearing an orange jumpsuit and white face mask, politely responded “no thank you” when asked if he had any questions about the hearing. The defendant, who was living illegally in the U.S., was also sentenced to five years post-release supervision and could face deportation to his native Mexico.
“This heinous killing devastated an entire family, left two boys without a mother, and horrified the surrounding community,” said Katz. “The defendant has accepted responsibility and is being held fully accountable for his criminal actions.”
Gaal, 51, was stabbed 58 times when she tried to break off her relationship with the killer, her former handyman, and authorities said the spurned Bonola later admitted to the homicide when questioned by the NYPD.
Bonola and Gaal shared an on-and-off affair for two years before the deadly dispute where he arrived at her Forest Hills home in the middle of the night, grabbed a knife and attacked Gaal, authorities said.
He then hacked up the victim’s body before stuffing her dismembered remains into a hockey equipment bag belonging to one of her sons, and was caught on surveillance video dragging the corpse to nearby Forest Park — leaving a blood trail leading back to Gaal’s home.