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Additional charges filed against Long Beach man suspected of targeting ex-girlfriend in 2018 Aliso Viejo bombing

by in News

An indictment issued by a federal grand jury on Wednesday, March 13, charges a Long Beach Man with three more felonies related to the 2018 bombing of an Aliso Viejo day spa that killed his former girlfriend.

Stephen Beal, 59, had been charged with malicious destruction of a building resulting in death after he was arrested Sunday, March 3, on suspicion of bombing  Magyer Kozmetica day spa. Prosecutors said he co-owned the business with his ex-girlfriend, 48-year-old Ildiko Krajnyak, who was allegedly the intended target of the May 15 explosion. She died in the blast and two customers were seriously injured.

Wednesday’s indictment included three additional allegations. Beal is now also accused of the use of a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death, the use of a destructive device in relation to a crime of violence and possession of an unregistered destructive device.

Following the explosion, investigators searched Beal’s home and found two improvised explosives. He had been arrested on May 17 on suspicion of possessing of an unregistered explosive device, but charges against him were later dropped. Then, following nine months of investigation, federal and local authorities arrested Beal at an ATM in Long Beach earlier this month on the malicious destruction charge.

  • Stephen Beal of Long Beach, left, and Ildiko Krajnyak, 48. (Photos courtesy of Facebook)

  • FBI agents gather outside the Long Beach home of Stephen Beal, on Sunday, March , 2019. Beal has been charged in the death of his ex-girlfriend, Ildiko Krajnyak, who was killed in an explosion last year. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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  • The FBI searches the Long Beach home of Stephen Beal on Sunday, March 3, 2019 after taking him into custody in connection with a 2018 bombing at an Aliso Viejo beauty salon that killed his former girlfriend. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Officials found no evidence suggesting that the explosion was related to terrorism. Beal told investigators he and Krajnyak met via an online dating site in 2016 and had been together for about a year-and-a-half, but later drifted apart. After the relationship ended, the victim told friends that the defendant had threatened her and she feared he would try to harm her.

The initial charge announced March 4 of malicious destruction of a building resulting in death carried a potential sentence of life without parole if Beal were to be convicted. The new mass destruction charge also carries a potential life sentence. The potential penalty for using a destructive device in relation to a crime of violence has a maximum penalty of 30 years. The possession of an unregistered destructive device charge could result in 10 years in prison.

Beal remained in federal custody without bond as of Wednesday. He was expected to appear at an arraignment hearing scheduled for Monday, March 25.