NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A handyman was arrested and charged with murder Thursday in connection with the brutal killing of Forest Hills mom Orsolya Gaal, who was stabbed nearly 60 times and found in a duffel bag near a Queens park last weekend, police and sources said.
David Bonola, 44, was charged with murder, criminal tampering and criminal possession of a weapon, police said. The NYPD is expected to give updates on the case at a press conference scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Thursday.
Bonola, of Queens, was charged shortly before 1 a.m. and was at the 112th Precinct stationhouse in Forest Hills. He turned himself in to detectives as the search for Gaal's killer intensified, sources said.
Bonola's given address isn't far from Gaal’s home on Juno Street. Sources said he was a handyman who did odd jobs at her home and may have lived there for a time.
Police haven’t revealed a suspected motive in the killing. Sources previously told 1010 WINS that police were searching for a man who they believe had a romantic relationship with Gaal at some point.
A dog walker found Gaal’s body Saturday morning inside of a hockey duffel bag dumped on Metropolitan Avenue at the edge of Forest Park. Police said they followed a trail of blood “multiple blocks” to her family's Tudor-style house, where investigators believe she was killed and stuffed in the bag.
Gaal went to Lincoln Center on Friday night before later returning home. Her killer either followed her or waited for her to return home. She was stabbed 58 times, with blood found in the basement and on the first floor of the home, according to officials and sources.
Stab wounds to Gaal’s hands indicate she was trying to fight off her killer. She also had stab wounds to her neck, torso and left arm. The medical examiner determined her cause of death was “sharp force injuries of the neck.”
Gaal's 13-year-old son was on the upper floor of the home at the time of the killing, while her husband and 17-year-old son were on the West Coast on a college search.
Doorbell cam video shows a man dragging a duffel bag down 75th Avenue—about four blocks from the family's home—around 4:30 a.m. Saturday before her body was found around 8:30 a.m.
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