Handyman suspected of gruesome murder of Queens mother and former lover was in country illegally: Sources

The handyman accused of murdering a Queens mother was an illegal immigrant, according to multiple reports.

David Bonola, 44, was the handyman for Orsolya Gaal – a 51-year-old married mother of two from Queens, New York. The two developed an on-again, off-again "intimate" relationship that began about two years ago, according to police.

"Bonola is said to have further told the detectives that he had seen text messages she exchanged with another man, and had gone to talk to her about that shortly after midnight on Saturday," the Daily Beast reported.

Gaal returned to her Forest Hills home shortly after midnight on Saturday after attending a show at the Lincoln Center and having a drink at a local bar. Bonola was purportedly waiting outside Gaal's home when she arrived. Gaal allegedly let the man she was having an extramarital affair with into her home.

"Because she knew him, she let him into the house," said assistant district attorney Josh Garland. "He then engaged her in a verbal dispute and unfortunately she had to ask him to leave multiple times."

"We believe the relationship that Mr. Bonola had with our victim was an intimate-type relationship and this stemmed to be a domestic-type dispute that they were having over their intimate relationship," said NYPD Lt. Tommy Thompson from the Queens North Homicide squad.

NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig stated, "A heated argument ensues between the two in the basement. A knife is brandished. A violent struggle ensues, resulting in our victim being stabbed ruthlessly and brutally in excess of 55 times, causing her demise."

Gaal's 13-year-old son was at home during her reported murder, while her husband and their 17-year-old son were on the West Coast visiting colleges.

After Gaal was horrifically butchered in the frenzied knife attack, Bonola stuffed her body into a hockey duffel bag that belonged to one of her sons, according to police. Bonola reportedly wheeled the hockey bag approximately seven-tenths of a mile away from her home around 4:30 a.m. before ditching the rolling duffel bag on the sidewalk.

Investigators discovered the hockey bag, a blood-stained jacket, and bloody rags that Gaal's killer likely used to treat wounds from the gruesome murder. There was reportedly a blood trail from the duffel bag that led police to Gaal’s home.

Authorities also found blood-soaked boots and "a number of other blood-stained items" in a trash can outside of Gaal's home, a police source informed the New York Post. Investigators are conducting DNA tests on the boots to try to identify the killer.

"Two boys are left without a mother and a young teenager faces the added trauma of being home when this heinous murder took place," Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. "As alleged, the defendant stabbed the victim over 50 times and then attempted to dispose of the body by stuffing it into a duffel bag and dragging it across a quiet residential neighborhood, leaving a trail of blood and a terrified community. The defendant is now in custody and will be held to account for this horrific crime."

Detective questioned Bonola and asked about his injury to his left hand – to which he claimed he suffered the injury at work earlier.

Surveillance video reportedly shows Bonola walking down the street near his apartment a few hours after Gaal's death with white bandages wrapped around his left hand.

Police say Bonola confessed to murdering Gaal in her home on April 16 shortly before 1 a.m.

Fox News reported, "His self-incriminating statements allegedly include a partial confession and the revelation that he was behind bogus threats texted to Gaal's husband from her phone."

On Wednesday, Bonola was arrested and charged with murder, criminal tampering, and criminal possession of a weapon.

When he was being escorted out of a New York City police precinct in handcuffs on Thursday, Bonola shouted at hecklers, "F*** you, motherf***er!"

He was held without bail late Thursday at Queens Criminal Court.

Bonola is on suicide watch.

Law enforcement sources revealed that Bonola is a Mexican national who illegally entered the U.S. about 21 years ago, according to the New York Post, which added, "He was living in New York in violation of immigration law when busted Wednesday for Gaal’s horrific slaying."

Fox News reported, "David Bonola, the handyman arrested in the grisly murder of Queens mother Orsolya Gaal, had been living in the United States in violation of immigration law when he was arrested, law enforcement sources confirmed to Fox News Digital on Friday."

WNBC reported, "Law enforcement sources said that Orsolya Gaal was stabbed some 58 times in the neck, torso, and left arm. The sources also said that she had wounds to her hands that were likely from her attempts to fight off the attacker."

The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner classified Gaal’s death as a homicide due to "sharp force injuries of the neck."

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