New York mother Orsolya Gaal sat by herself for nearly an hour at a Queens bar the night she was murdered, according to police sources.
The New York Post reports that police sources close to the case said 51-year-old Gaal spent her Friday afternoon with friends at a backyard party at her Forest Hills residence. She then reportedly headed out to watch a show at Lincoln Center.
Afterward, when Orsolya went back to Queens, she waited 40 minutes at a neighborhood bar before returning home. The Post reports that it’s unknown if Orsolya ever met up with anyone. Police, however, believe the killer murdered the victim in her living room, then brought her body to the basement.
No suspect names have been released and no arrests have been made in the case. Investigators said it’s likely that Gaal knew the killer, given the severity of the attack.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Gaal was discovered inside a piece of luggage dumped along a sidewalk on Metropolitan Avenue near Forest Park in Queens. Police followed a blood trail that led to her family’s home about a half-mile away.
At 4:30 a.m. on Saturday, a security video captured a man rolling the bloody duffel bag down Juno Street, a police source told New York Daily News.
At the house, police questioned Gaal’s 13-year-old son and later released him. He reportedly told officers that he didn’t know where his mother was located. Gaal’s husband, Howard Klein, and their 17-year-old son were traveling out of state visiting college campuses at the time of the killing.
An autopsy revealed that Gaal was found with stab and puncture wounds on her left arm, torso, neck, carotid artery, and trachea. Sources said the victim also had knife wounds on her palms and fingers.
Police said they believe the duffel bag came from inside the home.
The Daily News source said investigators were looking at videos and searching for credit card transactions, trying to trace her movements the night before her death. The source also said they’re delving into phone and financial records.
A source told the Post that investigators are already talking with the friends Gaal went out with on Friday night.
“She knew the people she was out with,’’ the source said. “We’re talking to them. We also have to figure out, did she meet some mysterious stranger along the way?”
On Tuesday, NYPD announced a $3,500 reward for information that leads to the suspect.
Meanwhile, Gaal’s husband said received a text message threatening him and his children prior to the incident.
Whoever threatened Klein also claimed they had been jailed or imprisoned at some point in the past because of Gaal. The suspect allegedly threatened to kill the entire family if Klein contacted the police.
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[Featured image: Orsolya Gaal/Handout]
Additional reporting by KC Wildmoon