Handyman sentenced to 25 years on manslaugter charges after stabbing Queens mother over 50 times
RICHMOND HILLS, Queens (WABC) -- A Queens man was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years in prison for fatally stabbing a 51-year-old Forest Hills mother, who he butchered and dragged in a hockey bag down Metropolitan Avenue in April.
David Bonola pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the killing of Orsolya Gaal, whose body was discovered in a duffel bag near Forest Park.
"This was a brutal killing, and no amount of prison time can bring the victim back to her loved ones. Today's sentencing, however, provides a measure of justice and I hope the victim's family can rest easier knowing that the person responsible was held fully accountable," Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
Forty-four-year-old Bonola of South Richmond Hill, Queens, pleaded guilty earlier this month to one count of manslaughter in the first degree.
According to the charges, on April 16, at 12:30 a.m., Bonola arrived at the victim's home. Gaal had just returned to her home in Forest Hills from an evening out.
Bonola and the victim, who were previously known to one another, began to argue. The verbal fight quickly escalated to Bonola slashing Gaal's throat and stabbing her more than 50 times with a knife.
At approximately 4:15 a.m., Bonola was captured on a nearby home's security video surveillance footage wheeling a hockey duffel bag belonging to one of the victim's sons.
The bag, containing Gaal's body, was found at about 8:00 a.m. on Metropolitan Avenue, near Union Turnpike, in the vicinity of Forest Park.
Police were able to follow the trail of blood from the bag to the crime scene - the home where the victim resided with her husband and two sons.
During the investigation, police recovered the murder weapon hidden in the victim's home and the defendant's jacket inside the park.
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