NY - Orsolya Gaal, 51, body found in duffel bag, Queens, Apr 2022 #2 *Arrest*

[MrsWatson]

Body of Orsolya Gaal found stuffed inside duffle bag in Queens, police say

As CBS2's Kiran Dhillon reported, police said a trail of blood from the duffle bag led them to a house on Juno Street, where neighbors said Gaal lived.

Thread #1

 

[bestill]

I read about this case yesterday and it's very disturbing. I don't understand the point of taking her body a few blocks from her home and dumping it in plain sight. All the perp had to do was disappear from her home and leave her there. This sounds like a very passionate killing to me. The stabbing and then rolling her through the dark streets at night to just dump her? Strange! I don't think it was random at all, I think the killer was emotionally connected to her, if she died just after midnight then what was he doing for three hours?

 

[mcmlxxix]

Another thought, now that it's starting to come together a bit, granted with a lot of assumptions thrown in --

Maybe he was carrying the purse.
Maybe her phone was in the purse.
The texts to her husband were sent after (or around the same time) as the body was left on metropolitan ave.
If the phone had a lock mechanism, it would have been locked by this time after a 15-20 minute walk from Juno.
Maybe he had to put the bag down, open it, and use her finger to unlock the phone.
Maybe he saw the bag was leaking blood at that time, under the street light.
Maybe he left it behind and got on the bus.

 

[Rick_hadlee]

Regardless who the killer is, they better find him or her soon. If we don't have anyone concrete in the next week or so, it will be very difficult to find who did this despite the video.

 

[MsLGinNC]

Can someone please post a more recent point-by-point recap of what has been determined to be fact? There is just so much back and forth that it would, perhaps, be helpful to review the timeline and what is known of the events?

 

[Puzzles8]

Another thought, now that it's starting to come together a bit, granted with a lot of assumptions thrown in --

Maybe he was carrying the purse.
Maybe her phone was in the purse.
The texts to her husband were sent after (or around the same time) as the body was left on metropolitan ave.
If the phone had a lock mechanism, it would have been locked by this time after a 15-20 minute walk from Juno.
Maybe he had to put the bag down, open it, and use her finger to unlock the phone.
Maybe he saw the bag was leaking blood at that time, under the street light.
Maybe he left it behind and got on the bus.

If the killer took public transit there will be video and physical evidence. Video from the killer getting on transit, physical evidence from the seats and hand rails on the bus.

JMO

 

[mcmlxxix]

If the killer took public transit there will be video and physical evidence. Video from the killer getting on transit, physical evidence from the seats and hand rails on the bus.

Well let's hope that's the case.

 

[Jackson Flash]

The NYPD supervisor said that a neighbor told detectives Gaal headed into Manhattan around 6 p.m. Friday evening, saying she was going to see the opera. She had attended the opera at Lincoln Center in the past and police were able to place her in the vicinity on Friday. But police were not able to establish immediately that she attended that night’s performance of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro).

Police did determine that she returned to Forest Hills around 11 p.m. She spent around 45 minutes in a bar near her home and appeared to be waiting for somebody, the supervisor said. (The New York Post was first to report on the bar visit and some other details in this story, which conformed with what The Daily Beast learned independently.)

According to the supervisor, police are less convinced that the motive is to be found in texts PIX11 reported Klein received after the killing indicating that the “whole family is next”—and that the killer was seeking revenge for Gaal having supposedly caused him to be jailed years before.

Mystery Deepens in Savage Killing of Mom Left in Hockey Bag
Cops investigating murder of Queens mother are looking for man she 'recently had an affair with' | Daily Mail Online

Sounds like the killer was throwing this out there perhaps as a red herring/rabbit trail to get police going down a certain path (away from him). -But if the story is true and that she did actually testify against someone who went to jail, the killer would have to be someone close who knew this history.

 

[MachinaCollecta]

This case is very interesting, very bizarre too in how it happened. I’ve nothing much to add other than to say that I’m sure there will be an arrest within the next week. There’s too much of a clear trail left behind here, as if the killer wants to be caught.

 

[mcmlxxix]

Can someone please post a more recent point-by-point recap of what has been determined to be fact? There is just so much back and forth that it would, perhaps, be helpful to review the timeline and what is known of the events?

I'll do my best:

FRIDAY:
6:00PM - OG heads to Lincoln Center to meet friends for a show
11:00PM - OG returns home (seen by neighbor with her dog in back yard)
?:?? - OG spends 40 minutes at a nearby bar seemingly waiting for someone
?:?? - OG returns home again, either with the perp, or having met the perp at home in that timeframe

SATURDAY:
12:40AM - OG murdered on first floor and subsequently brought to basement
4:??AM - Perp leaves through side door with Bauer bag in tow
4:30AM - Perp seen pulling Bauer junior hockey bag containing body and carrying another object down 75th ave towards metropolitan ave
?:?? - Perp leaves bag behind on metropolitan ave
5:??AM - Perp sends text messages to HK threatening his family
8:??AM - A man walking his dogs (bloodhounds, conveniently enough) discovers the bag and the body inside

 

[Babylon Sister]

The NYPD supervisor said that a neighbor told detectives Gaal headed into Manhattan around 6 p.m. Friday evening, saying she was going to see the opera. She had attended the opera at Lincoln Center in the past and police were able to place her in the vicinity on Friday. But police were not able to establish immediately that she attended that night’s performance of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro).

As someone noted way upthread, the Met was dark on Friday April 15. The Met calendar only shows future dates, but this link shows who was performing in Figaro on which date. Nobody was performing on April 15th.
Metropolitan Opera | Le Nozze di Figaro (metopera.org)

 

[MsLGinNC]

I'll do my best:

FRIDAY:
6:00PM - OG heads to Lincoln Center to meet friends for a show
11:00PM - OG returns home (seen by neighbor with her dog in back yard)
?:?? - OG spends 40 minutes at a nearby bar seemingly waiting for someone
?:?? - OG returns home again

SATURDAY:
12:40AM - OG murdered on first floor and subsequently brought to basement
4:30AM - Perp seen pulling Bauer junior hockey bag containing body and carrying another object down 75th ave towards metropolitan ave
?:?? - Perp leaves bag behind on metropolitan ave
5:??AM - Perp sends text messages to HK threatening his family
8:??AM - A man walking his dogs (bloodhounds, conveniently enough) discovers the bag and the body inside

This is very helpful. More linear than bouncing back and forth...I can think better this way. Many, many sincere thanks!

 

[Kateinfl]

IMO….he might be someone she had been seeing a long while ago. And broke it off. He might have stalked her and she had him arrested. And now he is out to get revenge. Just a thought

 

[NatKingCola]

I apologize if this has been asked and answered, or if it's just more art than science, but do we know for sure the size of the bag and can we use it along with other features in the videos to determine an approximate height and/or potential shoe size of the individual in question? They may have been hunched over or wearing borrowed shoes from the home I suppose. Just curious.

 

[Razz]

As someone noted way upthread, the Met was dark on Friday April 15. The Met calendar only shows future dates, but this link shows who was performing in Figaro on which date. Nobody was performing on April 15th.
Metropolitan Opera | Le Nozze di Figaro (metopera.org)

Didn't they say she went to the Lincoln Center?Calendar · Lincoln Center

 

[esmerelda]

I'll do my best:

FRIDAY:
6:00PM - OG heads to Lincoln Center to meet friends for a show
11:00PM - OG returns home (seen by neighbor with her dog in back yard)
?:?? - OG spends 40 minutes at a nearby bar seemingly waiting for someone
?:?? - OG returns home again, either with the perp, or having met the perp at home in that timeframe

SATURDAY:
12:40AM - OG murdered on first floor and subsequently brought to basement
4:??AM - Perp leaves through side door with Bauer bag in tow
4:30AM - Perp seen pulling Bauer junior hockey bag containing body and carrying another object down 75th ave towards metropolitan ave
?:?? - Perp leaves bag behind on metropolitan ave
5:??AM - Perp sends text messages to HK threatening his family
8:??AM - A man walking his dogs (bloodhounds, conveniently enough) discovers the bag and the body inside

I'm trying to figure out what could have been happening for 3 1/2 hrs with the son upstairs with a killer in the house? Very odd especially after the text that was sent.

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

I'll do my best:

FRIDAY:
6:00PM - OG heads to Lincoln Center to meet friends for a show
11:00PM - OG returns home (seen by neighbor with her dog in back yard)
?:?? - OG spends 40 minutes at a nearby bar seemingly waiting for someone
?:?? - OG returns home again, either with the perp, or having met the perp at home in that timeframe

SATURDAY:
12:40AM - OG murdered on first floor and subsequently brought to basement
4:??AM - Perp leaves through side door with Bauer bag in tow
4:30AM - Perp seen pulling Bauer junior hockey bag containing body and carrying another object down 75th ave towards metropolitan ave
?:?? - Perp leaves bag behind on metropolitan ave
5:??AM - Perp sends text messages to HK threatening his family
8:??AM - A man walking his dogs (bloodhounds, conveniently enough) discovers the bag and the body inside

Good list. A few questions. I've been following this as closely as possible, but I'm not sure all of the above have been confirmed by official sources, and I'm not even sure what is official any longer with all the leaks. The ones I'm questioning, and it's not to contradict you, but just because I don't recall reading they've been confirmed, are these:

FRIDAY:
6:00PM - OG heads to Lincoln Center to meet friends for a show
*** I thought she told her son she was heading out to do this, but have any friends confirmed that was the plan, and that she did show up? I think I read a little while ago that LC can't confirm she was actually there.
11:00PM - OG returns home (seen by neighbor with her dog in back yard)
*** I thought she was seen with the dog in the yard that afternoon, not at 11pm, and that it was still questionable that she returned home from LC and then went *back* out to the restaurant/bar. Perhaps stopped at the restaurant/bar en route home.

 

[Linda7NJ]

What about a neighbor?

 

[citizen_sleuth]

I'll do my best:

FRIDAY:
6:00PM - OG heads to Lincoln Center to meet friends for a show
11:00PM - OG returns home (seen by neighbor with her dog in back yard)
?:?? - OG spends 40 minutes at a nearby bar seemingly waiting for someone
?:?? - OG returns home again, either with the perp, or having met the perp at home in that timeframe

SATURDAY:
12:40AM - OG murdered on first floor and subsequently brought to basement
4:??AM - Perp leaves through side door with Bauer bag in tow
4:30AM - Perp seen pulling Bauer junior hockey bag containing body and carrying another object down 75th ave towards metropolitan ave
?:?? - Perp leaves bag behind on metropolitan ave
5:??AM - Perp sends text messages to HK threatening his family
8:??AM - A man walking his dogs (bloodhounds, conveniently enough) discovers the bag and the body inside

The first 911 call occurred at 8:02AM, per this article.

Also of note, from the same article: “In the meantime, police have subpoenaed phone records to determine who she spoke to that night. She suffered defensive wounds, which suggest she put up a struggle. And knife-wielding killers have been known to cut themselves in such a situation.”

 

[GrandmaKittyLovesMLE]

I just recently learned about this case and haven’t read anything on here about it so forgive me if this has already been asked and discussed. Thanks.

What are your thoughts on a murderer removing the body from the house? Why would someone do that? Why would someone risk being seen on video? It doesn’t make any sense to me. Shouldn’t it be kill and run?