The killer who stabbed Queens mother Orsolya Gaal left a ‘sloppy’ crime scene which suggests he did not plan the attack, police sources revealed.
The murderer stabbed Gaal in a frenzy in her home in Forest Hills, puncturing her neck, torso and arm 58 times before eventually killing her. He then stuffed her body in a bag and dragged it less than a mile through the quiet neighborhood where she lived, before dumping it on the side of a road to be found the next day.
It left a trail of blood that police sources followed back to her home like a ‘trail of bread crumbs’.
As crime scene investigators work through the scene, processing DNA evidence and gathering tips, sources say it’s likely they will find a match to the suspect through what was left in the house.
‘He left a blood trail for five blocks from the house. It was like a trail of bread crumbs.
‘If you want to kill somebody, you try to make it a little cleaner, be a little more prepared. He didn’t go with something to move her body. He took something from the house.
These are the last known movements of Orsolya Gaal, 51, who died in the early hours of Saturday morning. She is understood to have gone to a bar in Forest Hills, Queens, after returning to the neighborhood from a show. She spent 40 minutes there then walked home where she was stabbed to death by an unknown attacker at 12.40am
‘I’m sure with that kind of blood, there’s lots of DNA there. The killer’s DNA has gotta be in that blood. It’s not a clean scene,’ a source told The New York Post on Tuesday night.
Since the body was discovered on Saturday, the NYPD has made very few statements. All of the information has come from unnamed sources. They have revealed that;
- Howard Klein, Gaal’s husband, received a text message from his wife’s phone that claimed to be from the killer. It read: ‘Your wife sent me to prison some years ago. Now I’m back. It is also said to have warned him: ‘You’re next’
- Investigators are probing whether Gaal was having an affair, and which men she was seeing
- Gaal recently had an affair with a handyman who had access to the house and knowledge of a spare key
- She was briefly reported missing by her husband in 2020 but was found safe
- She told her son Leo she was going out with friends but might have been meeting a man
- Leo was taken out of the home in handcuffs to be questioned but was released later into the care of a relative
- Cops wish to be speak with ‘multiple suspects’ including the unnamed handyman
Gaal is understood to have gone to a show at the Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side in Manhattan on Friday night, then returned to Forest Hills, Queens. It’s likely she took the train, getting off at Forest Hills-71 Av stop.
From there, she is believed to have gone for a drink at a local bar near her home, sitting alone in 5 Burro Cafe for 40 minutes as if she was waiting for someone, before walking home to her family’s house on Juno Street.
The owner of the bar told the Post: ‘Her house is a 10-minute walk. … She comes here, y’know, she’s been here before. She used to come with some Russian ladie. I saw the bag, where they found it, after I left that night. I drove by it after leaving here. I couldn’t believe when I heard. It smacked me when I saw her picture!’
![Detectives were going to neighbors' homes on Wednesday asking them for more information. Authorities are offering a $3,500 reward](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/20/16/56837335-10735465-image-a-3_1650467069555.jpg)
Detectives were going to neighbors’ homes on Wednesday asking them for more information. Authorities are offering a $3,500 reward
![The Klein family home remained sealed off on Wednesday morning with multiple NYPD vehicles parked outside](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/20/16/56837331-10735465-image-a-5_1650467071509.jpg)
The Klein family home remained sealed off on Wednesday morning with multiple NYPD vehicles parked outside
![The killer is believed to have taken Orsolya's body out the side door on Saturday. She died at 12.40am, according to police, but it was another four hours before the killer was seen wheeling her body in a bag past houses](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/20/16/56837329-10735465-image-a-8_1650467195919.jpg)
The killer is believed to have taken Orsolya’s body out the side door on Saturday. She died at 12.40am, according to police, but it was another four hours before the killer was seen wheeling her body in a bag past houses
![The suspected killer wheeling the body in a bag down 75th Avenue in Forrest Hills, Queens , on Saturday](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/20/12/56788043-10734085-The_suspected_killer_wheeling_the_body_in_a_bag_down_75th_Avenue-a-12_1650454163703.jpg)
The suspected killer wheeling the body in a bag down 75th Avenue in Forrest Hills, Queens , on Saturday
![This is believed to be Orsolya Gaal's killer, dragging her body along the sidewalk after stabbing her nearly 60 times in her basement in Queens on Saturday](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/20/16/56787455-10735465-This_is_believed_to_be_Orsolya_Gaal_s_killer_dragging_her_body_a-m-9_1650467244911.jpg)
This is believed to be Orsolya Gaal’s killer, dragging her body along the sidewalk after stabbing her nearly 60 times in her basement in Queens on Saturday
![Authorities have not yet made any arrests for Orsolya Gaal's killing. They say that she likely knew her murderer, because there were no signs of forced entry inside the home](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/20/16/56829063-10735465-image-m-14_1650467269869.jpg)
![Authorities have not yet made any arrests for Orsolya Gaal's killing. They say that she likely knew her murderer, because there were no signs of forced entry inside the home](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/20/16/56838217-10735465-image-m-16_1650467278901.jpg)
Authorities have not yet made any arrests for Orsolya Gaal’s killing. They say that she likely knew her murderer, because there were no signs of forced entry inside the home
![Gaal with her sons, 17-yearold Jamie and 13-year-old Leo, and husband Howard Klein on Christmas Eve in 2021](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/20/12/56829549-10734085-image-a-18_1650455101562.jpg)
Gaal with her sons, 17-yearold Jamie and 13-year-old Leo, and husband Howard Klein on Christmas Eve in 2021
![Gaal and her husband Howard Klein had been married for more than 20 years. He was out of town with their oldest son when she was killed](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/20/16/56804517-10735465-Gaal_and_her_husband_Howard_Klein_had_been_married_for_more_than-a-17_1650467706292.jpg)
![Gaal and her husband Howard Klein had been married for more than 20 years. He was out of town with their oldest son when she was killed](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/20/16/56804513-10735465-Gaal_and_her_husband_Howard_Klein_had_been_married_for_more_than-a-18_1650467706305.jpg)
Gaal and her husband Howard Klein had been married for more than 20 years. He was out of town with their oldest son when she was killed
![Electrician Arrjuna Jack has worked in the family's house in the past. He said there is an extensive security system inside the house that would have captured a killer leaving the home](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/20/12/56816099-10734085-image-a-17_1650455003029.jpg)
Electrician Arrjuna Jack has worked in the family’s house in the past. He said there is an extensive security system inside the house that would have captured a killer leaving the home
Her son Leo was in the house on the top floor.
At around 12.40am is when she is believed to have been attacked. It’s unclear when the killer entered the home or if he had been waiting for her.
![The NYPD is offering a $3,500 reward for information that may lead to Orsolya Gaal's killer](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/20/12/56796673-10734085-The_NYPD_is_offering_a_3_500_reward_for_information_that_may_lea-a-11_1650454163701.jpg)
The NYPD is offering a $3,500 reward for information that may lead to Orsolya Gaal’s killer
Police believe he had a key or knew how to get into the property unnoticed since there was no sign of forced entry.
What exactly happened in the four hours that followed is unclear but at around 4am, Gaal’s body was removed from the house in a duffel bag.
The suspect was filmed by doorbell surveillance cameras wheeling it past houses on the streets surrounding Gaal’s family house.
At 8.11am, the bag was found near Metropolitan Avenue and Jackie Robinson Parkway by a dog walker.
They told police they initially thought the bag contained a mannequin. The caller then noticed black ankle-length jeans, a belt and a woman’s waist.
Police followed a trail of blood left by the killer dragging the bag back to her home. That is where they are understood to have found Leo on Saturday morning.
Neighbors say he was taken away in handcuffs that morning. He was later released into the care of an unnamed adult relative.
Howard, Orsolya’s husband, and their older son Jamie were visiting a college in Oregon. They returned to New York on Sunday.
Howard, who is a lithium equities advisor, had tweeted that he was out of town with his son before Orsolya was found dead.
After her body was discovered, he switched his public Twitter account to private.
He told The New York Post before he returned home last week that he was in fear of his life and the lives of his two sons.
Since then, he has not made any kind of public comment.
Although police have not yet released a name of the person they’re seeking, the workman is believed to have had knowledge of Gaal’s home, including where she kept a spare key.
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