The Long Beach man accused of killing his former girlfriend at the Aliso Viejo day spa where she worked was charged in her death, U.S. Department of Justice officials said.
Stephen Beal, 59, was arrested on Sunday in connection with the death of his ex-girlfriend 48-year-old Ildiko Krajnyak.
Federal prosecutors charged Beal with malicious destruction of a building that resulted in death. Krajnyak died and two other women were injured in the explosion. The spa was destroyed.
Prosecutors said Beal built the bomb that was placed in a cardboard box and detonated when Krajnyak opened it at work.
Orange County Sheriff’s Department officials said Beal contacted them later that day identifying himself as a co-owner of the spa. When FBI agents and deputies searched his home, authorities said, they found bits of wire and hundreds of pounds of explosive chemicals, according to the OC Register.
In a written statement, U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna called the bombing “a horrific, intentional attack” that left its surviving victims with “physical and emotional scars for the rest of their lives.”
Beal is expected to appear at the U.S. District Courthouse in Santa Ana later Monday.