Mistrial declared for Long Beach man accused of deadly Orange County spa bombing

FBI agents search the home of Stephen Beal on March 4, 2019 in Long Beach.

By Gregory YeeStaff Writer

Aug. 22, 2022 8:04 PM PT

A man accused of planting a bomb at an Orange County day spa in 2018 that killed his ex-girlfriend will face a new trial in October after a federal jury in Los Angeles was unable to reach a verdict Monday.

Stephen Beal, 63, is accused of making an explosive device that ripped through the Magyar Kozmetika spa in Aliso Viejo in May 2018, killing 48-year-old Ildiko Krajnyak and injuring two others.

The case in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles ended in a mistrial.

A new trial is scheduled for Oct. 18, said Ciaran McEvoy, a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Central District of California.

“We look forward to seeing him in court,” McEvoy said.

Beal was arrested by FBI agents in March 2019 and charged with using a weapon of mass destruction, malicious destruction of a building resulting in death, use of a destructive device in a crime of violence and possession of an unregistered destructive device, according to his indictment.

“This is a case about obsession, infatuation and control,” Assistant U.S. Atty. Annamartine Salick said in her opening statement, according to City News Service.

When Krajnyak rejected Beal and made no secret of dating other men, he “channeled his humiliation into hatching a plan to take revenge,” the prosecutor said.

Federal public defenders representing Beal did not respond to The Times’ request for comment.

Craig Harbough, his defense attorney, told jurors that the FBI was “desperate to find the person responsible as soon as possible,” according to City News Service. Authorities immediately settled on Beal after he called police upon hearing about the explosion and submitted to three interviews over 12 hours.

Beal “had nothing to hide,” Harbaugh told jurors, alleging the FBI “disregarded clear evidence of Mr. Beal’s innocence.” According to the defense, he had no motive to harm Krajnyak.

Beal, of Long Beach, and Krajnyak had dated for about two years, but their relationship collapsed months before the deadly explosion.

The two opened the spa together during their relationship and decided to remain business partners despite the end of their romantic pairing. At the time of the bombing, Beal was still paying monthly rent on the property where the spa operated, records show.

The surviving victims told investigators they saw Krajnyak opening a cardboard box shortly before the explosion, according to an affidavit.

Beal had been a person of interest since the outset of the investigation. A search of his home and vehicle turned up two complete improvised explosive devices, two cardboard tubes, batteries, a nine-volt battery connector, 130 pounds of explosives and precursors, two handguns and a shotgun.

At the time, he told investigators that he built model rockets, court records show.

A day after his arrest, investigators said they found parts of the explosive device, including a destroyed battery and pieces of wire. Forensic analysis showed “no meaningful differences” between the bits of wire found at the scene and wiring found in a homemade explosive device investigators recovered at Beal’s home, authorities said.

In the days before the explosion, Beal also bought a battery and several cardboard boxes consistent with the material used in creating and shipping the device that exploded in the spa, authorities said.

Several of Krajnyak’s friends told investigators that Beal threatened her, and described him as “jealous, controlling and possessive.”

The friends didn’t name Beal but were able to identify him in a photo, authorities said.

City News Service contributed to this report.