NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
David Bonola, the man accused of stabbing Queens mom Orsolya Gaal more than 55 times and then stuffing her body in a duffel bag and pulling it more than half a mile, was in court briefly on Tuesday as new details about his background come to light, according to reports.
Donning a mask, handcuffs and a red jail-issued jumpsuit, Bonola appeared in a Queens court for under a minute on Tuesday, when his attorney told the court the 44-year-old would not be testifying in front of a grand jury, local affiliate FOX 5 New York reported. The Queens resident, kept mum as he was quickly carted in and out, according to the report.
Bonola, a handyman who is said to have been in an on-again-off-again with Gaal over the course of about two years, was charged with second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon and tampering with evidence for the stabbing death of the 51-year-old woman.
ORSOLYA GAAL MURDER MYSTERY TIMELINE
Officials confirmed to Fox News Digital on Friday that he was living in the U.S. illegally.
The man allegedly approached police in Queens last week while they were canvassing the area for any evidence. Investigators took him into custody late Wednesday and charged him hours later, after he made statements and confessed to the crime, officials have said.
ORSOLYA GAAL MURDER: WHO IS HANDYMAN DAVID BONOLA?
Bonola made his first appearance in a Queens court late Thursday and faces 25 years to life if convicted.
Law enforcement officials have said he went to Gaal’s family home in Forest Hills, Queens, early on April 16 and stabbed her dozens of times after a failed attempt to try to convince her to rekindle their romance.
Gaal attended a show at Lincoln Center the prior night and then rode the train to the Forest Hills neighborhood, where she stopped in a local watering hole around 11:20 p.m., police said.
She returned home around 12:20 a.m. April 16. Prosecutors said she let Bonola into the home about 10 to 20 minutes later.
Gaal and Bonola then went down to the basement where they began arguing, police officials said. Bonola allegedly went to the home that evening “to speak about the relationship again.”
“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,” NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said.
Police said the murder weapon was then left behind at the crime scene.
The victim was then allegedly loaded into one of her son’s hockey bags. Investigators believe Bonola dragged the bag about seven-tenths of a mile from her Juno Street home and dumped it.
Police said they received a call around 8:10 a.m. for a report of “a suspicious bag with blood on it at the corner of Metropolitan Avenue and Jackie Robinson Parkway.”
Investigators also found a blood trail that led them back to the family’s home. One of Gaal’s sons was home at the time of the murder, and was questioned by authorities but was later released. Her 53-year-old husband, Howard Klein, was with their other son on the West Coast at the time.
Surveillance footage from early that morning showed a figure pulling a similar-looking bag along the sidewalk, sources confirmed.
Investigators said the pair had been off and on, but had reunited in the month of April. At the time of the murder, their relationship had been considered “at an end,” police said.
ORSOLYA GAAL MURDER SUSPECT DAVID BONOLA IS IN THE US ILLEGALLY, LAW ENFORCEMENT SOURCES SAY
Meanwhile, a YouTube account under the name “David Bonola” includes playlists with hundreds of clips, including local news about violent crimes and love advice.
David Bonola being led out of the NYPD’S 112th precinct on April 21, 2022; David Bonola mugshot
(WNYW/NYPD)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“5 Reasons Women Reject You and HOW to FIX it…” states one video included in the account’s playlists. Another was titled: “How This Guy SUCCESSFULLY Picked Me Up (Real Life Example).
It did not immediately appear that Bonola had posted any videos of himself.
Fox News’ Marta Dhanis contributed to this report.
