Mayor Eric Adams seemed unaware that his NYPD detectives had nabbed David Bonola, the man accused of stabbing to death Queens mom Orsolya Gaal when Hizzoner spoke to reporters Thursday — more than an hour after police announced the bust and hours after The Post and other outlets reported it.
“Are there any developments on that case?” a reporter asked Adams at an unrelated 12:30 p.m. public event at Bellevue Hospital.
The mayor began by calling the slaying “horrific.”
“You know, it was a horrific incident. What do I know?” he said. “We will find him. We will find the person responsible and they will be held accountable for their actions.
“This was a horrific murder from what I was told,” Adams added. “But we will find the person responsible. Our detectives are on the ground. The commissioner has been updating me every day, and I believe we’re going to apprehend the person.”
According to police, who announced the arrest at 11:15 a.m., David Bonola, 44, was questioned by cops at the 112th Precinct station house in Forest Hills on Wednesday night and ultimately confessed to the grisly slaying.
He was charged earlier on Thursday.
City Hall spokesman Fabien Levy insisted Adams was told at 7 a.m. Thursday that cops had a suspect in custody — but was not told of the morning press briefing on the charges.
Fabien said earlier Thursday that Adams also didn’t want to “step on” NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell’s expected announcement of the arrest.
Mayor Eric Adams seemed to not know that the NYPD had made an arrest in the Orsolya Gaal murder case — more than an hour after it was announced. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
The NYPD announced the arrest of David Bonola at 11:15 a.m. on April 21, 2022. Bruce Cotler/ZUMA Press Wire“He spoke to the commissioner multiple times today,” Levy said. “She’s on the first conference call every day. …. He was briefed before 12:30.”
The mayor’s apparent gaffe came just one day after he raised eyebrows by skipping funeral services for Kade Lewin, a 12-year-old boy shot dead in East Flatbush on March 31 while sitting in a parked minivan — despite expressing outrage after that incident.
“Whose child is next?” Adams shouted after the shooting as he clutched the youngster’s sneakers, standing alongside his family. “Those who took their lives will be found.”
Here are the latest developments in the Orsolya Gaal case:
- Suspected killer David Bonola was in the country illegally
- Gaal welcomed her ex-lover handyman into her home early Saturday morning
- David Bonola slashed Gaal’s throat in addition to stabbing her 60 times
- A note on the fridge that read “get a handyman” helped lead cops to Bonola
- Everything we know about alleged killer David Bonola
Bonola confessed to killing Gaal after he was arrested. Facebook/Orsolya Gaal
Eric Adams’ spokesman said that the mayor didn’t want to “step on” NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell’s official announcement. William FarringtonPolice said no arrests have been made in the boy’s death.
Adams said later on Wednesday that he was 10 minutes from the church for Lewin’s service when he realized he had a meeting with civil rights leaders on gun violence.
