Whoever stabbed NYC mother Orsolya Gaal to death last week left a “sloppy” crime scene, police sources said, which could indicate an unplanned attack.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Gaal’s body was discovered inside a black Bauer hockey duffel bag dumped along a sidewalk on Metropolitan Avenue near Forest Park in Queens last week. Police followed a blood trail that led to her family’s home about a half-mile away.
An autopsy report read that Gaal had 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, while police said she had nearly 60 stab wounds.
At 4:30 a.m. on April 16, a security video captured a man rolling the bloody duffel bag down Juno Street, a police source told New York Daily News.
CrimeOnline’s Nancy Grace weighed in on the case while speaking with Fox Digital, adding that the killer was an “amateur” who was likely familiar with Gaal’s home and left blood dripping out of the duffel bag as he was walking to dispose of it.
“It left a blood trail. This is an amateur–an amateur who was on foot I might add, which I find very odd,” Grace said. “This is very unusual.”
“This killer had access to the home!” Grace continued. “This killer was on foot… Also, no alarm was set off and I’d like to point out that if this guy, the killer, was caught at 4:30 a.m. on one Ring camera, they’re gonna be others.”
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, but he had been in the home on the night in question. Gaal’s husband, Klein, and their 17-year-old son were traveling out of state visiting college campuses at the time of the killing.
Police said they believe the duffel bag came from inside the home and belonged to one of Gaal’s children.
Orsolya’s Last Movements
Gaal spent her Friday afternoon with friends at a backyard party at her Forest Hills residence. She then 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.
Investigators are now looking into Gaal’s relationships with several men as they search for her killer, but New York’s tabloid newspapers say detectives are particularly interested in a former handyman who may have had a romantic relationship with her that went sour.
The New York Daily News cited police sources who said detectives didn’t have enough evidence to call the man a suspect but are searching for him. The sources said they didn’t know how the two met or when the relationship ended but added he had been seen at the house and may have had access to the home’s hidden key.
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.
On Tuesday, NYPD announced a $3,500 reward for information that leads to the suspect(s).
Meanwhile, Gaal’s husband said received a text message threatening him and his children prior to the incident.
Whoever threatened Klein reportedly 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.
Check back for updates.
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[Featured image: Orsolya Gaal/Handout]
Additional Reporting by KC Wildmoon