In May 2018, chaos erupted when a two-story commercial building, housing the day spa Magyar Kozmetika, suddenly exploded. The blast scattered debris, including human limbs, and filled the sky with thick, dark smoke.
Emergency responders in Southern California arrived on the scene to find Ildiko Krajnyak, the spa’s owner, deceased, and two patrons gravely injured.
At first, investigators were on the lookout for signs of a gas leak or electrical malfunction but soon began to suspect that the explosion was deliberate in nature.
“In Texas, there had been a person doing package bombs,” commented Orange County Sheriff’s Investigator Jack Ackerman on the July 2 episode of Dateline: Unforgettable. “I thought, maybe somebody was doing a copycat of that.”
The Secret Life of Ildiko Krajnyak
The investigation concluded that a package bomb caused Ildiko’s death. The device, ingeniously crafted with a 9-volt battery, indicated the creator had an expert understanding of chemicals and fusing systems.
Authorities soon received a phone call from Ildiko’s business partner—and ex-boyfriend— Stephen Beal. He insisted he had no idea who would want to hurt her.
“She was always smiling,” he told investigators. “She had great advice for people, she cared, she went out of her way to ease your burden.”
But Ildiko’s love life was complicated by the fact that she was married.
“She had her boyfriends on the side—a good five or six,” her friend Holly told Dateline. “There was always someone. She just wanted to be loved and she loved attention from men.”
Ildiko’s husband of 22 years, Ronilo Vestil, was aware of his wife’s extramarital relationships—including one that had re-surfaced a few months before she died. But there was no evidence linking anyone specific to the murder.
Investigators continued examining Ildiko’s relationships—including the one with Stephen.
Stephen Beal Becomes a Suspect in Ildiko Krajnyak’s Murder
A search of Stephen’s home uncovered large quantities of explosive chemicals, but he had an explanation for the police.
He described himself as a rocket enthusiast who used to make his own fireworks. Those chemicals, he said, had been sitting untouched in his garage for years, and any similarity to those used in the bomb was purely coincidental.
The police interview then took a stranger-than-fiction turn.
Stephen began pitching detectives an idea for a screenplay he was writing about a soccer mom who moonlighted as an assassin. Then, he cracked jokes and even performed a magic trick, pretending to pull a coin from behind Ackerman’s ear.
Then, Stephen shared that his girlfriend Valerie Stone had suggested that he perform a stand-up comedy routine about being a murder suspect.
“I’ve never experienced that in all the interviews I’ve done in my police career,” Ackerman said. “He thinks he’s outsmarting everybody.”
When sticks of dynamite were found in his home, Stephen was arrested for possession of unregistered destructive devices. Those charges were later dropped when investigators couldn’t rule out their use in rocketry.
Though Stephen walked free, store surveillance footage, recorded right before the killing, allegedly captured him purchasing a 9-volt battery and a box that matched a description of the one that contained the deadly explosives.
“That changed everything for me,” said federal prosecutor Mark Tackla. “When do the coincidences stop?”
Stephen Beal’s Girlfriend Valerie Stone Goes Undercover
Stephen’s girlfriend had stood by him through the investigation. But when the FBI asked her to become an informant, she agreed to help.
“It was such a horrendous crime that whoever did this to Ildiko deserved to be behind bars,” Valerie told Dateline. “If it was Stephen, it was Steven.”
The couple had planned a romantic getaway, giving investigators the opportunity to install cameras and recording devices inside their hotel room, and in Valerie’s car and phone. Valerie was also fitted with a necklace containing a listening device.
Valerie attempted to elicit a confession from Stephen, but the operation tanked when he didn’t reveal anything.
Life moved forward for Stephen, but months later, on March 3, 2019, he was re-arrested, this time on malicious destruction of a building resulting in death.
Stephen Beal Goes on Trial for Ildiko Krajnyak’s Murder
At Stephen’s 2022 trial, prosecutors argued that after learning Ildiko was talking to another man, jealously had driven him to kill. They also showed evidence that Stephen had searched online for information about how a “narcissist” could pass a polygraph test.
However, lead defense attorney Craig Harbaugh claimed that Stephen loved Ildiko, pointing to the pair’s friendly texts exchanged before her death. He also suggested the investigation focused unfairly on Stephen instead of other potential suspects.
The defense also offered explanations for Stephen’s suspicious behavior.
Those internet searches? He was preparing for an upcoming audition. The 9-volt battery and box purchased before the explosion? Material for Ildiko’s business and Stephen’s home remodeling projects.
After a seven-week trial that included 66 witnesses, jurors were unable to reach a unanimous decision, and the judge declared a mistrial.
Stephen’s second trial began in June 2023 and this time, prosecutors recreated the fatal explosion, presenting it alongside real footage of the devastating aftermath, including Ildiko’s dismembered body parts.
Stephen was found guilty of four felonies, including use of a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death. In Jan. 2024, he was sentenced to life in prison.
