Blast victim’s ex is arrested

Associated Press

SANTA ANA, Calif.

Spa owner Ildiko Krajnyak was opening a package that had piled up with mail during her recent trip to her native Hungary when it exploded, shaking the building.

Parts of Krajnyak were blown out the windows into a parking lot Tuesday afternoon.

News reports quickly reached Stephen Beal, her ex-boyfriend and a partner in the Southern California business.

At the urging of his new girlfriend, Beal phoned police and then let them search his house. They found more than 100 pounds of explosive material and charged him Thursday with possessing an unregistered destructive device.

While not charged with the fatal explosion, the arrest puts Beal in custody as authorities investigate what they believe was a targeted bombing.

Beal, a model rocket hobbyist, told investigators he did not have material for an explosion as powerful as the one he saw in news coverage and had not made any bombs.

Beal, 59, did not enter a plea during his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana and his case was continued to Monday. His public defender refused to comment.

Bomb technicians found a 9-volt battery, a cellphone and loose wires at the origin of the blast.