David Bonola pleaded guilty after prosecutors said he attacked Orsolya Gaal, placed her body in a hockey bag and left it near Forest Park.
NEW YORK — A Queens handyman was sentenced to 25 years in prison after admitting he killed Orsolya Gaal, a 51-year-old mother of two, inside her Forest Hills home after she returned from an evening out in April 2022.
The sentence closed a case that shocked a quiet Queens neighborhood and drew wide attention because of the violence, the location and the way investigators said the crime was discovered. David Bonola, 44, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in Queens Supreme Court before he was sentenced on Nov. 16, 2022. Prosecutors said he attacked Gaal after an argument, then moved her body in a sports duffel bag belonging to one of her sons.
Authorities said Bonola went to Gaal’s Juno Street home at about 12:30 a.m. on April 16, 2022. Gaal had just returned home. Prosecutors said the two knew each other and began arguing inside the house. The dispute turned violent when Bonola slashed Gaal’s throat and stabbed her more than 50 times with a knife, according to the charges. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said after sentencing that the killing was brutal and that “no amount of prison time can bring the victim back to her loved ones.” Katz said the sentence gave the family a measure of justice.
Investigators said nearby surveillance video later showed Bonola wheeling a hockey duffel bag at about 4:15 a.m. The bag held Gaal’s body and was found about 8 a.m. on Metropolitan Avenue near Union Turnpike, in the area of Forest Park. Police followed a blood trail from the bag back to the home where Gaal lived with her husband and two sons. Authorities said one son was in the house at the time of the killing. Police said he was not involved. The case moved quickly after investigators reviewed video, searched for physical evidence and examined the relationship between Gaal and Bonola.
Police and prosecutors said Bonola had worked as a handyman at the home and had known Gaal before the killing. Investigators said there was no sign of forced entry, and police officials previously described a past intimate relationship between the two. Authorities said Bonola lived in South Richmond Hill and had performed work at the house. After his arrest, police said they recovered evidence tied to the killing, including clothing and a knife. The exact words exchanged before the attack were not made public in court records released by prosecutors, but officials said the violence followed an argument inside the home.
Bonola was first charged after police said he was connected to the killing through video, statements and physical evidence. The case did not go to trial. On Nov. 2, 2022, he pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree manslaughter before Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise. Prosecutors said the plea held Bonola accountable while sparing Gaal’s family a trial. Katz said the killing “devastated an entire family, left two boys without a mother, and horrified the surrounding community.” The judge sentenced Bonola to 25 years in prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision.
The discovery of the duffel bag brought police and neighbors to a stretch near Forest Park on a Saturday morning. The park area sits near residential blocks in Forest Hills and Kew Gardens, where families walk dogs, commute and use the green space. The blood trail became a key part of the investigation because it led detectives from the bag to the house. The crime scene then widened from the park edge to the family home. Neighbors later described fear and disbelief that such a killing had happened on a quiet residential street known more for Tudor-style homes than violent crime.
Gaal was remembered as a mother whose death left two sons without her. Officials did not release many personal details about the family beyond the facts needed in court, but prosecutors repeatedly placed the harm to the family at the center of their public statements. The case also drew attention because Gaal had returned home from a night out shortly before the attack. Early reports said she had been in Manhattan and later returned to Queens. By the time the case ended, the central record in court was Bonola’s guilty plea and the prosecution’s account that he arrived at the home, argued with Gaal and killed her.
The sentence means Bonola remains in state custody under the manslaughter conviction. The five years of post-release supervision would follow the prison term if he is released. No further criminal trial is pending in the case because the guilty plea resolved the charge. As of July 8, 2026, the Queens district attorney’s sentencing announcement remains the final major court action publicly reported in the killing.
Author note: Last updated July 8, 2026.