By Jennifer Smith, Chief Reporter at Dailymail.Com
15:12 02 November 2022, updated 17:40 02 November 2022
- David Bonola, 44, accepted a plea deal from Queens prosecutors on Wednesday
- He pleaded guilty to manslaughter, not murder, and was subsequently sentenced to 25 years in prison with five years of supervised imprisonment
- Bonola brutally stabbed the Gaal multiple times in their home while their teenage son was upstairs in his room
- The couple had an on-off affair which she tried to end; Bonola snapped and stabbed her 50 times
- He placed her mutilated body in a duffel bag and dragged it down the street before dumping it by the side of the road
- Gaal’s husband and their two sons have yet to comment publicly on the plea deal, but the prosecutor’s office insists they have been consulted throughout
Artisan lover of murdered Queens mother Orsolya Gaal has been handed a love deal that sends him to prison for 25 years and convicts him of manslaughter not murder, despite cutting her to death and stuffing her body in a duffel bag.
David Bonola, 44, accepted a deal from Queens prosecutors meaning he pleads guilty to first-degree manslaughter. On November 19 he was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
After his release – which could happen sooner with good behavior – he will be cared for for five years.
Gaal’s family has yet to comment publicly on the verdict, but the prosecutor’s office insists they were consulted throughout the trial.
Her husband Howard Klein refused to answer questions outside the family home on Wednesday morning.
The verdict is a significant concession for prosecutors. Bonola stabbed Gaal more than 50 times while her teenage son was upstairs at her home in Forest Hills, Queens, and then dragged her body down the street in her son’s holdall.
It was a shocking and gruesome crime that terrified the neighborhood and led to a multi-day manhunt.
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David Bonola is shown in court today and pleads guilty to manslaughter Orsolya Gaal Gaal’s body was found in her son’s hockey bag, dumped on the side of a freeway not far from their home in Queens
After his arrest, it turned out that the couple were having an affair. Gaal’s husband was out of town at the time of her murder and Bonola had gone to the house to try to rekindle their romance.
He attacked her in the basement, stabbed her 50 times, and then waited well into the night to drag her body out of the house and dump it near a freeway.
The couple flirted on social media in the months leading up to her death, having met when she hired him to do hands-on work around the family home.
The prosecutor’s office has yet to explain why the charges were downgraded from murder to manslaughter. A spokesman told DailyMail.com that Gaal’s family had been consulted about the plea and that they agreed to it.
“That was the agreement between the defender and the people. Victims were consulted along the way,” they said.
In a statement, DA Melinda Katz: “By pleading guilty, the defendant has accepted responsibility and will be held fully accountable for his criminal actions.
“We offer our sincere condolences to the family of the victim and hope today’s request will enable them to begin healing.”
Gaal’s husband Howard did not respond to questions about the plea deal Wednesday morning. He has not discussed the murder, which Bonola presented in court on manslaughter charges Wednesday. He worked for Gaal’s family in their home. Bonola will be found guilty of manslaughter in court on Wednesday. He worked for Gaal’s family in their home. Gaal’s husband Howard Klein has yet to respond to the verdict. They are shown with their two sons, one of whom was at home when his mother was stabbed more than 50 times in April. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz was in court Wednesday to see Bonola plead guilty. Her office insists the victim’s family was consulted and that they agreed to the conviction that Gaal was murdered at her home after attending a Lincoln Center show with friends. She rode the train home, then stopped for a drink before walking back to her Juno Street home. There Bonola attacked. He dragged her body and dumped it on a park path, then fled and was arrested four days later
