Ex charged in blast that killed California day spa owner

A southern California man was arrested in connection with an explosion at a spa that killed is ex-girlfriend last year after materials similar to those used in the bomb were found in his home and car, federal authorities said Monday. Stephen William Beal, 59, was arrested Sunday at his Long Beach home. A federal criminal complaint filed on Friday charges him with malicious destruction of a building resulting in the death of Ildiko Krajnyak, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release.

The bombing on May 15, 2018, killed 48-year-old Krajnyak in the spa which she owned in Alisa Viejo, about 50 miles south of Los Angeles. Krajnyak was killed when she opened a brown cardboard package that had been on the floor near the front counter, reports CBS Los Angeles. Two other women who were in the day spa at the time of the explosion suffered significant burns and other injuries, the station reports.

Beal was previously arrested on May 16, just one day after the blast. However, that arrest was not directly tied to the bombing. At the time, investigators reported finding two improvised explosive devices, three unregistered firearms and more than 100 pounds of explosive material during a search of his Long Beach house. The Justice Department statement says Beal contacted the Orange County Sheriff's Department and identified himself as the co-owner of the spa that was operated by his "ex-wife."

The blast blew out a big hunk of the building and authorities who first arrived thought they were dealing with a car bombing or gas main rupture, said Paul Delacort, the FBI's assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles office. 

Beal, a model-rocket hobbyist, told investigators he had not made any bombs and did not have material for an explosion as powerful as the one he saw in news coverage.  

At the time he was charged only with possession of an unregistered destructive device. Federal prosecutors said further examination by the FBI raised questions as to whether the item met the definition of a "destructive device" set out in federal law, and prosecutors later brought a motion to dismiss the charges, which was granted May 29.

In November, sheriff's and FBI investigators said they were continuing to look for a suspect and asked for the public's help.

Beal told investigators at the time that he an Krajnyak had split up in part over finances, according to a court affidavit. Until Sunday, Beal had not been officially named a suspect in the blast. Beal and Krainyak were also business partners.

Krajnyak, a mother and licensed cosmetologist, had just returned to California after visiting family in her native Hungary when she was killed.  

Authorities say more than 1,000 pieces of evidence were collected from the crime scene, 300 of which were sent to FBI's Laboratory Division in Quantico, Virginia, to be examined, the station reports. Investigators have also accumulated "terrabytes of digital media and hours of surveillance footage."

The U.S. Justice Department released Monday says bits of of wire uncovered at the scene determined to be a part of the explosive device matched wire pieces found at Beal's home. Investigators say Beal purchased a battery one week prior to the blast that was consistent with a partially destroyed battery found at the explosion scene that was also determined to have been a part of the device. Eight days before the blast, according to the statement, Beal purchased three cardboard boxes similar to the box the victim opened when the bomb detonated.

The statement says that a friend of Krajnyak told investigators that "that her boyfriend was jealous, controlling, and possessive of her" and "she was scared because he would threaten her." The friend said she didn't know the boyfriend's name, but identified him in a picture as Beal, the statement says.

CBS Los Angeles reports a group of FBI agents doing a meticulous search of his home Sunday, including looking through rain gutters for evidence.

Steve Young, a friend and neighbor of Beal's, said he does not think Beal is capable of harming anyone.

"I don't feel that he's the type of person that would do this sort of thing," he said. "If they came and arrested him they obviously feel they have something that would tie him to the initial explosion, but I'm a big believer in our court system, and that's where it has to play out."

Detectives in Long Beach said they were reopening a case into the death of another Beal love interest — his late wife who reportedly died while moving furniture back in 2008, reports CBS Los Angeles. There were reportedly no signs of foul play in the death.