The Queens handyman who fatally stabbed his estranged lover nearly 60 times and stuffed her body into a duffel bag has pled guilty.
As part of his plea deal with prosecutors, David Bonola confessed in an NYC courtroom on Wednesday to the killing of 51-year-old Orsolya Gaal. Officially, the former handyman admitted to first-degree manslaughter — still, he’s looking at a serious prison sentence in turn.
Related: Orsolya Gaal’s Killer Suspected Of Curating YouTube Channel Of Violent Crime Content
According to Fox 5 New York, Bonola is now facing up to a 25-year prison term. That will be followed by up to five years of probation. The 44-year-old, who has been living in the United States illegally according to multiple media reports, will also be subject to deportation back to Mexico following his sentence. The outlet reports Bonola will be officially sentenced by a judge later this month. In the meantime, he is being held in jail in New York City. As part of the plea deal, he cannot appeal the conviction.
In a statement about Bonola’s guilty plea, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz told the media:
“This heinous killing devastated an entire family, left two boys without a mother, and horrified the surrounding community.”
As Perezcious readers will recall, Gaal’s shocking murder first reached the news after a dog walker discovered a bloody duffel bag containing her body on a sidewalk in Queens back on April 16.
Bonola previously worked as a handyman for Gaal, who was married with two teenage children. He was also reportedly Gaal’s lover for two years. Learning that, investigators quickly wondered whether he was involved in the murder. When he was questioned, according to the New York Post, he confirmed he followed her home from a bar to confront her about their relationship.
Per the news outlet, the spurned lover told cops he argued with Gaal about her supposedly having given him HIV:
“I told her that I just wanted her to tell me the truth about why she gave me HIV. She said she didn’t have HIV. She lied to me, she used me. She told me that she loved me. She couldn’t be with one person.”
At that point, Bonola claimed, Gaal told him their affair was over. He then told detectives that she grabbed a knife and threatened to kill him if he didn’t leave the home. Gaal had been home with her youngest son at the time; her husband and their older child were out of town visiting prospective colleges.
During questioning, Bonola then told investigators:
“I grabbed the knife and cut her from the neck. She kept fighting, and we fell. She was moving and trying to grab me, so I stabbed her in the neck to get her to stop attacking me.”
From there, Bonola stabbed the woman 55 times, authorities reported. He then wrapped Gaal’s body in towels, placed it in the duffel bag, and dumped it not far from the home where it was found hours later. He also told investigators he threw her laptop in the Hudson River “because she had sex videos” of him on it.
Related: Bonola Allegedly Harassed Baristas With ‘Creepy’ Behavior Prior To Her Murder
Here is the latest on Bonola’s guilty plea, from Fox 5 New York (below):
Such a disturbing story.
We’re comforted that justice was done in this instance, at least. It won’t bring the mother of two back, but thankfully her killer will face consequences of his awful actions.
Related Posts
