LOS ANGELES
A Long Beach man was sentenced to life plus an additional 30 years in federal prison for building and planting a package bomb that detonated inside an Aliso Viejo day spa in May 2018, killing his ex-girlfriend, severely injuring two spa clients, and causing significant damage to a commercial office building.
At the hearing on Friday, U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton sentenced Stephen William Beal, 64, saying, “The cold, calculated nature of this crime is chilling.”
After a four-week trial, a federal jury in July 2023 found Beal guilty of four felonies: use of a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death; malicious destruction of a building resulting in death, use of a destructive device during and about a crime of violence; and possession of an unregistered destructive device.
Judge Staton sentenced Beal to life imprisonment on the first two counts, a consecutive 30-year prison sentence on the third count, and a 10-year concurrent sentence on the fourth count.
(News Report 2018)
“Mr. Beal callously murdered a loving mother, maimed two other victims, and put at risk many others in the vicinity, including children and teachers at a nearby preschool,” said U.S.Attorney Martin Estrada. “Mr. Beal’s wanton disregard for the lives of others warranted the severe sentence that the court imposed, which should send a clear message that our community will not tolerate such acts of violence. We send our prayers to the victims and our heartfelt thanks to the first responders and investigators whose tireless work uncovered Mr. Beal’s dastardly crime.”
The bomb exploded at a commercial office building in Aliso Viejo at approximately 1:05 p.m. on May 15, 2018. The explosion instantly killed 48-year-old Ildiko Krajnyak, who owned Magyar Kozmetika, a day spa located in the office building, and permanently injured two of her clients: a mother and her daughter.
One of the surviving victims testified at trial that she saw Krajnyak standing behind her desk opening a cardboard box, immediately before the explosion. The surviving victim pulled her mother from the rubble, and together they escaped the burning building through a blown-out wall. The survivors suffered second- and third-degree burns, and one lost an eye.
“There is no question that these injuries caused both excruciating pain and suffering,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
During a search of Beal’s residence after the explosion, law enforcement found more than 130 pounds of explosive precursor chemicals and completed explosive mixtures, as well as electric matches and wires, according to officials.
Beal had years of experience building high-powered model rockets and homemade pyrotechnics, and laboratory testing determined that the explosive mixture Beal used in the bomb contained the same chemical he had at his home.
(NEWS REPORT 2018)
The FBI’s Evidence Response Team spent more than two weeks collecting and processing evidence from the scene of the bombing.
The FBI recovered parts of a 9-volt battery and wire fragments that were embedded in the ceiling above the blast site. The wires used in the bomb’s fusing system were of the same unique type as electric matches and wires found at Beal’s home.
Beal purchased the remaining items he needed to complete the bombing just days before the bombing. Store security camera footage showed Beal using cash to buy a single 9-volt battery six days before the bombing.
Beal also purchased three cardboard boxes that matched the size and shape of the box the surviving victim testified Krajnyak opened when the bomb exploded.
Beal kept tabs on Krajnyak before the bombing, checking her online schedule application and social media account. Security camera footage and cellular locational data showed that Beal, who had a key to the business, visited the spa on multiple occasions before the bombing while Krajnyak was out of the country. Beal left the package bomb for Krajnyak to open upon her return.
Judge Staton scheduled an April 12 hearing to determine how much restitution Beal should be ordered to pay victims of the bombing.
In a separate case, Beal is scheduled to be sentenced on February 23 after pleading guilty in November 2023 to wire fraud, Social Security fraud, and concealment of bankruptcy assets.
Beal failed to report in a bankruptcy proceeding the $350,000 he received from his late wife’s estate.
He also schemed to fraudulently obtain insurance benefits and Social Security payments, resulting in his receiving more than $1.3 million in fraudulent disability payments.
Assistant United States Attorneys Mark Takla, Annamartine Salick, Solomon Kim and Sarah Gerdes, all of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section, prosecuted this case.