NEW YORK — A handyman accused of fatally stabbing a New York City woman and stuffing her dismembered body into a duffel bag pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges on Wednesday.
David Bonola, 44, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the death of Orsolya Gaal, 51, of Queens, in Queens Supreme Court, WPIX-TV reported.
Bonola, who resides in the South Richmond Hill section of Queens, will be sentenced to 25 years in prison and five years of post-release supervision on Nov. 16, according to the television station.
The body of Gaal, a mother of two, was found shortly after 8 a.m. EDT on April 16, when a man walking his dog found the bag in the Forest Hill neighborhood of Queens, WCBS-TV reported.
Prosecutors said the bag belonged to one of Gaal’s sons, according to WNBC-TV.
[ NYC woman’s dismembered body found in duffel bag ]
According to the New York Police Department, Bonola and Gaal had been involved in an off-and-on “intimate affair” for two years before she was killed, WABC-TV reported. Police said Bonola stabbed Gaal more than 50 times, stuffed her body into a duffel bag, and dragged it to a location beneath the Jackie Robinson Parkway.
Police said the bag left “a bloody trail through the streets of Forest Hills,” according to the television station.
Prosecutors said that Bonola, who worked at the victim’s home several times, slashed Gaal in the throat during an argument at her residence at around 12:15 a.m. EDT on April 16, WPIX reported.
“This heinous killing devastated an entire family, left two boys without a mother, and horrified the surrounding community,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement. “We express our sincerest condolences to the victim’s family and hope that today’s plea will allow them to begin to heal.”
Prosecutors said the murder weapon was found in Bonola’s home, and his jacket was recovered near the crime scene, WPIX reported. Officials said he confessed to stabbing Gaal and moving her body, according to the television station.
“In pleading guilty, the defendant has accepted responsibility and is being held fully accountable for his criminal actions,” Katz said in a statement.