A New York City handyman who fatally stabbed his lover dozens of times and then stuffed her mutilated body in her son’s hockey bag pleaded guilty Wednesday to manslaughter, prosecutors said.
David Bonola, 44, pleaded guilty to a count of first-degree manslaughter in the slaying of Orsolya Gaal, 51, whose dismembered body was found in a sports duffel bag on the side of a road in Queens on April 16, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement.
Bonola was having an affair with the victim, New York City police said.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise said he would sentence Bonola to 25 years in prison to be followed by five years post-release supervision, the statement said. Supreme Court is the name of New York's main trial court.
His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 16, prosecutors said.
Bonola slashed Gaal’s throat and stabbed her more than 50 times, officials said.
“This heinous killing devastated an entire family, left two boys without a mother, and horrified the surrounding community,” Katz said in the statement. “In pleading guilty, the defendant has accepted responsibility and is being held fully accountable for his criminal actions. We express our sincerest condolences to the victim’s family and hope that today’s plea will allow them to begin to heal.”
Bonola had worked at Gaal’s home for two years as a handyman, police said.
Gaal returned home from an evening out at about 12:30 a.m. April 16, prosecutors said. Bonola entered her home, and the two argued before he killed her, prosecutors said.
Hours later, at about 4:15 a.m., Bonola was captured on a nearby home’s security video wheeling a hockey duffel bag belonging to one of Gaal’s sons. The bag, containing Gaal’s body, was found at about 8 a.m. on Metropolitan Avenue near Union Turnpike near Forest Park, prosecutors said.
Bonola's attorney could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.