A shocking surveillance image has emerged showing the scale of the devastation caused by a massive explosion inside a Southern California spa that left one woman dead and three others injured.
The image shows an investigator surveying the scene, where much of the ceiling appears to have been collapsed, wires were blown out of place, and a hole was created in the punctured wall.
Meanwhile, federal agents investigating the ex-boyfriend of the woman who was killed, 48-year-old Ildiko Krajnyak, have allegedly found two improvised devices at his home.
Stephen Beal, 59, of Long Beach was arrested on Thursday by the FBI.
He has been charged with one count of possession of unregistered destructive device, KABC-TV is reporting.
Beal made his first appearance in a Santa Ana federal court on Thursday.
He was handcuffed and only spoke to answer questions from the judge.
A shocking surveillance image has emerged showing the scale of the devastation caused by a massive explosion inside a Southern California spa that left one woman dead and three others injured
The image shows an investigator surveying the scene, where much of the ceiling appears to have been collapsed, wires were blown out of place, and a hole was created in the punctured wall
Meanwhile, federal agents investigating the ex-boyfriend of the woman who was killed, 48-year-old Ildiko Krajnyak, have allegedly found two improvised devices at his home. Stephen Beal, 59, of Long Beach was arrested on Thursday by the FBI and appeared in court (above)
He was charged with possessing an unregistered destructive device after federal agents searched his home following the deadly bombing in Aliso Viejo on Tuesday.
Beal hasn’t been charged in connection with the bombing.
His attorney declined to comment after the court hearing.
Investigators said they found more than 100 pounds of explosives, including two improvised explosive devices, three firearms and other materials in Beal’s home.
After news of the blast became public on Tuesday, Beal phoned police at the urging of his new girlfriend and then let them search his house.
Authorities say his former girlfriend, Krajnyak, was killed when the bomb went off as she opened a package inside the Aliso Viejo day spa she owned with Beal.
Aside from being her former companion, Beal is also believed to have had a business relationship with Krajnyak.
Krajnyak’s 20-year-old son, Keanu Vestil (above), returned home Thursday from Washington State University after hearing the horrific news about his mother
‘It’s just all so sudden that a lot of this is still very raw,’ an emotional Vestil told reporters. ‘And still really hard to process for everybody.’
Krajnyak’s 20-year-old son returned home Thursday from Washington State University after hearing the horrific news about his mother, according to KABC-TV.
‘It’s just all so sudden that a lot of this is still very raw,’ an emotional Keanu Vestil told reporters.
‘And still really hard to process for everybody.
‘I just want to express my gratitude for just all the love and support that I’ve gotten from everybody in the last two days. It’s just been a lot.’
A neighbor said Beal and Krajnyak used to date, and that the man was often seen building big rockets on his lawn.
Beal told investigators that the explosives found at his home were part of his rocket-building hobby, The Orange County Register reported.
He told authorities that he did not have materials needed to set off a large explosion.
Beal also acknowledged that he once made a smaller explosive device to help neighbors with a gopher problem.
An FBI agent wrote a note included in the court filing which said that the materials found in Beal’s home were ‘not consistent with that of a model rocket.’
Stephen Beal, 59, an ex-boyfriend of slain day spa owner Ildiko Krajnyak (pictured together on vacation), has been arrested on an unrelated explosives charge
Krajnyak, 48, (left and right) died and three other people were seriously injured in the blast at 11 Mareblu, in Aliso Viejo, California, on Tuesday
The explosion blew siding off the walls, exposing insulation and framing and shattering windows at the two-story building
Beal’s Facebook page has many photos of him traveling with Krajnyak, a married mother-of-one of Coto de Caza, Orange County.
Their travel destinations included Mexico, Canada and Portugal.
State documents show Beal and Krajnyak as officers in a skin care business called I&S Enterprises.
Krajnyak was a licensed cosmetologist who ran day spa Magyar Kozmetika out of the first floor of the building.
Authorities say the explosion occurred on the same floor, after a package was delivered.
The blast blew siding off the walls, exposing insulation and framing and shattering windows at the two-story building.
‘At this point, we do not believe this was an accident,’ said Paul Delacourt, special agent in charge of the FBI’s field office in Los Angeles. ‘Our working theory is that this explosion was caused by a device.’
Pieces of the device found at the scene were being sent to the FBI’s laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, to be analyzed, he said.
Delacourt said investigators were still working to determine a motive and figure out exactly how the device was brought to the spa.
Stuart Davis, who lives a few doors down from Stephen Beal’s home in Long Beach, said he often saw Beal and his adult son working on large rockets on their front lawn. The son told Davis that they built movie props, he said.
Globetrotters: Beal’s Facebook page has many photos of him traveling with Krajnyak to places like Portugal, Mexico and Canada
Risky hobby: A neighbor said Beal (left and right) was often seen building big rockets on his lawn with his son
It’s complicated: Beal is a widower and Krajnyak was separated from her husband, but still living with him under the same roof
‘I’d come home from home sometimes and there would be rockets, but big, like something you’d see in a movie,’ Davis said.
Beal’s wife died six or seven years ago after she fell down the stairs inside two-story home in a tidy middle class neighborhood, Davis said.
Nathan Beal told The Associated Press on Thursday that his father built sport rockets fueled by a propellant that is legally available at specialty hobby shops. He believes federal agents may have found ‘motor cases made out of aluminum.’
The younger Beal also confirmed that Stephen had been in a relationship with the woman killed in the blast but they recently broke up.
Photos on Beal’s Facebook page, where he described himself as an actor and a member of the SAG-AFTRA actors’ union, showed him vacationing with Krajnyak in Cuba, sitting together on the beach and riding jet skis in Mexico and shopping in Portugal.
Meanwhile, friends of the victim set up a fundraising campaign to cover her funeral costs and fly her son home from Seattle, where he attends college.
Krajnyak was originally from Hungary and had just visited there, according to her Facebook page and a neighbor.
It was during her trip to Hungary that the mail which was received at her day spa – including the suspected explosives-laden package, began to pile up.
Her Facebook page showed photos from her home country, including a selfie outside the clinic where she trained to become an aesthetician 30 years ago.
Her Orange County business offered services such as facials, waxing and wrinkle treatments.
Irene White, a friend, read a statement Wednesday on behalf of Krajnyak’s family, calling her death ‘a complete shock.’
The family asked for privacy as they mourn ‘a mother, a wife, a daughter and a friend.’ She said the family is cooperating with investigators.
Search warrants were served at the business and two other locations, including the Long Beach house.
They also searched Krajnyak’s house in Trabuco Canyon.
A neighbor there who would only give her first name as Tiffany said Krajnyak lived there with her estranged husband and mother, whom she cared for.
The couple, although separated, continued to live under the same roof, the neighbor said. Court records show they had filed jointly for bankruptcy in 2014 and the case was dismissed and closed Monday.
Firefighters and sheriff’s deputies escort children from Academy on the Hill pre-k school in Aliso Viejo on Tuesday, May 15, 2018, after a fatal explosion nearby
The deadly explosion at this Southern California office building is believed to be an intentional act and a result of a package
Krajnyak, a married mother-of-one of Coto de Caza, Orange County, was a licensed cosmetologist who ran day spa Magyar Kozmetika out of the first floor of the building
Krajnyak and Beal had met online in June 2016 and dated about a year and a half.
Photos on his Facebook page showed them living it up in far-flung places: a beach in Cuba, restaurants in Portugal, and riding jet skis in Mexico.
The romance cooled earlier this year after disputes over exclusivity and finances, FBI Special Agent Evan Jesch wrote.
They remained business partners, with Beal serving as spa manager, and the two operated a separate cosmetics firm.
Beal was listed on the spa’s lease because Krajnyak and her estranged husband had filed for bankruptcy, he said.
Beal paid the $1,500 monthly rent and half the spa’s operating costs.
He had to loan Krajnyak money some months to cover her costs.
Beal was once an investment banker who turned to acting after his wife’s death several years ago, said friend and neighbor Steven Young.
Beal appeared in several small films.
‘You can’t imagine him doing what we’ve been hearing,’ Young said, referring to the blast.
‘I don’t recall him ever being visibly angry at anything. He’s been a good neighbor and a good friend.’
Nathan Beal said it was ‘highly unlikely’ his father was guilty of any charge related to a destructive device.
The father and son build sport rockets fueled by a propellant commercially available at hobby stores.
The biggest of the rockets used about 5 pounds of fuel in multiple motors.
The home of a homicide victim, Ildiko Krajnyak, is seen after it was searched by police overnight in Trabuco Canyon, California
Two officials told The Associated Press that investigators believe the blast was caused by an explosive package that was specifically targeting the office where the explosion occurred.
One of the officials said one of the victims was believed to be the target.
The officials were briefed on the investigation but not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
The two patrons who were injured underwent surgery Wednesday and expected to survive. A third victim was treated for smoke inhalation.
Bomb technicians and investigators from the sheriff’s department, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were sifting through debris left at the blast site.
Investigators said they hadn’t yet located an explosive device and were searching through debris.
The Tuesday afternoon blast shattered windows and forced children in a nearby daycare center to be evacuated.
The blast occurred on the first floor of the Aliso Viejo building in Orange County that was under renovation
In this photo taken from video provided by KABC-TV, children are evacuated from a preschool across the street from a building that was rocked by the explosion
Mary McWilliams of San Clemente tells the Orange County Register that she saw two women with burns stagger out of the building.
Fire officials say a third person suffered smoke inhalation.