NEW YORK (WPIX) — Police arrested a suspect in the death of a New York City mother whose body was found in a duffel bag near a park over the weekend, officials said Thursday.
Orsolya Gaal, of Queens, was stabbed 58 times inside her Forest Hills home sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning, according to officials. Her body was found inside a duffel bag Saturday morning about half a mile from her home.
A man walking his dog found the bag and called the police, according to sources.
Police on Thursday charged David Bonola, 44, with murder, criminal tampering and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the New York Police Department. Investigators believe Bonola, who also lives in Queens, had done work at Gaal’s home and may have had access to a key, sources told WPIX.
Investigators have spent the past six days piecing together what happened to the 51-year-old mother of two teens. According to law enforcement sources, Gaal attended a show Friday night at Lincoln Center. Afterward, she spent about 45 minutes waiting at a bar for someone who did not show up.
Gaal ordered her usual drink at the Forest Hills Station House, according to a bartender, and she didn’t seem frightened or scared. She had one drink, then left.
Investigators said Gaal eventually returned to her home on Juno Street, where she was stabbed dozens of times. There were signs of defensive wounds on her hands. The killer put her body in a duffel bag and dumped it near Forest Park, authorities said.
Surveillance video obtained by WPIX shows someone pulling a duffel bag down Juno Street on Saturday. WPIX is not showing the footage but shared an image of the suspect with the bag. Police said a trail of blood from the bag led officers to Gaal’s home.
The suspect also allegedly sent a chilling text to Gaal’s husband, who was out of town at the time, threatening to kill his whole family, sources told WPIX. The husband was cooperating with police and had turned over his cellphone, sources said. It appears Gaal knew her killer because investigators said there were no signs of forced entry at the home.
