A jury in Los Angeles made a decision to convict Stephen Beal, 64, of Long Beach for the use of a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death.
Beal was charged with killing his ex-girlfriend Ildiko Krajnyak by using a homemade bomb in her Aliso Viejo spa back in May 2018.
This case illustrates how revenge can have drastic and tragic consequences when it is taken too far.
The jury found Beal guilty on four felonies: use of a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death, malicious destruction of a building resulting in death, use of a destructive device during and in relation to a crime of violence, and possession an unregistered destructive device.
Back when this incident happened two years ago, prosecutors stated that Beal was jealous because Krajnyak had begun dating someone else after their 18-month relationship ended.
He decided to take revenge by placing the bomb at her salon while she was visiting Hungary so that she would find it upon returning home.
After opening the box and fatally detonating the explosive device when she returned home, two clients suffered serious injuries from being thrown off their feet due to the blast.
The explosion also destroyed Krajnyak’s business as body parts were scattered throughout its parking lot.
A day after the explosion authorities searched Beal’s house and discovered he had over 130 pounds worth of explosives stored inside his residence as well as various chemicals used for making bombs.
According to U.S Attorney Martin Estrada “Beal had years experience building high-powered model rockets and homemade pyrotechnics” which allowed him to construct such deadly devices with ease.
Laboratory testing found that explosive mixture he used was identical to what he had stored at home leading investigators to conclude that he was solely responsible for creating this fatal package bomb himself without any assistance from another person or organization.
When sentenced later this November Stephen Beal could be facing up 30 years if not more behind bars.
