David Bonola faces charges of second-degree murder, first-degree forgery and fourth-degree possession of a weapon, NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig told a news conference. He is expected to be charged later Thursday.
Bonola confessed to police after he was arrested, a law enforcement official said earlier. At a news conference Thursday, Esig said Bonola had made “incriminating statements”.
The investigation is ongoing and there are no unidentified suspects, Esig said.
Based on the preliminary investigation, authorities believe that Gaal and Bonola, a craftsman hired by her family, had an intimate relationship, police told a news conference. The connection has been “on and off” for about two years, police said, and was “considered over” when Gaal was killed early Saturday morning.
Investigators found that Gaal attended a show Friday night and returned to her home in the Forest Hills neighborhood around 12:20 a.m. Saturday, Esigg told reporters.
Bonola arrived home soon after, Esig said. Either he was let into the house or he used a spare key.
A dispute ensued, culminating in a violent confrontation in the basement of the home, where Esig said Bonola had stabbed Gaal “mercilessly and brutally more than 55 times”, killing her.
Bonola then claimed to have put Gaal’s body in a hockey bag and “as the video shows, he was seen rolling his body on the sidewalks, leaving a bloody trail on the streets of Forest Hills.”
Her body was found in a bag by a citizen shortly before 8 am on Saturday, Esig said.
Police were called for a suspicious bloody bag on the corner of Metropolitan Avenue and Jackie Robinson Parkway, New York police said earlier. There, police found a woman unconscious and unresponsive in a luggage bag, and emergency services determined her death.
A blood trail leads to 72-24 Juno Street, New York City police said, about a half-mile walk northwest of where the bag was found. The woman was identified as Gaal, who lives in the home of Juneau Street, police said.
The cause of Gaal’s death was found to be acute neck injuries, and the manner of her death was murder, according to the New York Medical Court.
Investigators have found the jacket they believe Bonola was wearing when Gaal was killed, Esig said on Thursday. They also found boots, a T-shirt and bloody bandages in a separate place. Bonola was treated for wounds on both his hands at a local hospital later Saturday, Esig said.
Police also found the knife they said was used to kill Gaal. According to Queens North Deputy Commander-in-Chief Julie Morrell, the knife is in line with other knives found in the home.
Police were looking for a video Wednesday night when they recognized Bonola, Esig told reporters. He voluntarily went with the police to the 112th district, where he allegedly made “incriminating testimony”.
Once at the station, the suspect denied being involved before finally admitting that he was the one who killed her, a police officer told CNN. When officers from the Queens District Attorney’s Office arrived and questioned him as well, he again confessed to the murder, the official said.
Bonola is known to be carrying out repairs around Gaal’s house, especially the air conditioner, servicing it many times, the official said. The suspect lived alone, but is believed to be separated from his wife and have children.
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