Mom killed in basement while son slept: Arrest made in mysterious N.Y. murder

(CNN) — A man was arrested Thursday in the death of Orsolya Gaal, the 51-year-old Queens woman whose brutally stabbed body was found inside a duffel bag.

David Bonola, 44, of Queens, was arrested just before 1 a.m. Thursday on recommended charges of murder, criminal tampering and criminal possession of a weapon, the New York Police Department said.

Gaal was killed last weekend while her husband and 17-year-old son were out of town on a West Coast college tour. Her younger son, 13, was at home.

Surveillance video from the quiet Forest Hills neighborhood recorded a man pulling a wheeled duffel bag down the street around 4:30 a.m. Saturday. Around 8 a.m., a dog walker found the bag in a park, and police followed the blood trail half a mile to Gaal’s home.

Gaal’s husband, Howard Klein, reported that he received a text message around the time of the death threatening, “Your whole family is next,” according to TV staton WPIX.

Bonola made a confession to police after he was arrested, a law enforcement official said. He was a handyman, but there is no confirmation on what his relationship was with the victim, the official added.

Citing anonymous police sources, NBC News reported that Bonola said he showed up at the victim’s house and killed her in the basement during an argument.

Gaal’s cause of death was determined to be sharp force injuries of the neck, and her manner of death was homicide, according to the New York Medical Examiner’s Office. She was reportedly stabbed close to 60 times.

The woman had reportedly seen a show in Manhattan on Friday evening. Around 11 p.m., she stopped at a bar near her home and spent about 45 minutes there alone, having a drink and a snack, the establishment’s manager told police.

Bonola is expected to be arraigned later Thursday.