Stephen Beal used the skills honed by his hobby to violently murder his former girlfriend
GAIL SHORTLAND
Ildiko Krajnyak was a hard-working beauty therapist who loved helping to make people feel beautiful. Stephen Beal was a widower who had done a few small acting jobs and enjoyed building model rockets. They met via an online dating app in the summer of 2016 and started a relationship that would last 18 months.
Ildiko, who was originally from Hungary, had a son from a previous relationship and she worked hard to provide for him. Beal’s wife had died seven years earlier, but being with Ildiko appeared to give him a new spark. The couple took luxury holidays to Portugal, Cuba and Canada. Then they decided to open a day spa together in Aliso Viejo, California.
With Ildiko’s expertise in skincare and Beal’s financial investment, Magyar Kozmetika spa started to build a reputation for services including eye lashes, waxing, massages and facials. With loyal clients and Ildiko’s work ethic, she was seeing her dream of running a successful spa becoming a reality. But her relationship with Beal, who lived in Long Beach, California, was becoming strained.
Ildiko told friends she thought Beal was “boring” but he was desperate to make their relationship work – taking her on holiday and buying her expensive gifts. When Ildiko tried to back away from Beal, she saw another side of him. He was controlling and would check up on her online schedule and social media accounts. Beal would also accuse Ildiko of cheating.
At the start of 2018, the couple split up, but the spa was still getting established and they decided to remain business partners. Beal was paying $1,500 a month rent and half the operating costs. If Ildiko didn’t make enough money to cover all the costs, Beal would loan her the money to cover the shortfall.
Ildiko started going on dates again and took a trip to Hungary, where she visited family. When she got back, she went straight back to work.
On 15 May 2018, a mother and daughter had just finished having their treatments carried out by Ildiko, then 48, before an upcoming wedding and at around 1pm, they headed to the front counter to pay. They noticed there was some mail, including a couple of cardboard packages. Ildiko picked one of the parcels up and started to open it.
SCENE OF DEVASTATION
Suddenly, there was a massive explosion. The two women paying were thrown to the ground and the spa was engulfed by
