Southern California

‘Families Always Came First for Ildiko': Family, Friends Shocked After Spa Owner Killed in Blast

"She took great pride in finding beauty in everyone."

What to Know

  • One person was killed and at least three people were injured in the explosion Tuesday in Aliso Viejo
  • Federal sources tell the NBC4 I-Team that the blast at a medical building was an "intentional detonation"
  • Homes were searched Wednesday in Long Beach and the Trabuco Canyon area

Family and friends were in shock and in mourning after learning a Trabuco Canyon woman who owned a day spa was killed in an explosion in Orange County Tuesday.

Ildiko Krajnyak was 48 years old.

She worked for decades and wrote that she believes outer beauty is as important an inner health.

She fancied herself a beauty prophet. According to her posts on Facebook she had been in Hungary just last week and returned May 15, the same day the explosion took her life at her Aliso Viejo spa.

"It doesn't sit well I don't anything about this situation shocking to me," Matt Johnson, her neighbor, said. "It's hard to believe actually."

Tuesday, an explosion ripped through her day spa called Magyar Kozmetika at 11 Mareblu in Aliso Viejo.

Investigators confirmed they "do not believe this was an accident," and no arrests were immediately reported.

Irene White, a friend of Krajnyak's family, gave a brief statement outside her home late Wednesday.

"This is a complete shock to family and her friends," White said. "We are in full support of our public authorities to do their jobs in hopes of finding answers to many of the unanswered questions. Families always came first for Ildiko. She took great pride in finding beauty in everyone. At this time, our family and friends would like to privately mourn a mother, a wife, a daughter and a friend."

She asked people willing to donate to the family to help with funeral expenses and to bring Krajnyak's son, Keanu Laszlo Vestil, home from college at the University of Washington. 

Her son learned of his mother's death at school, apparently during finals.

If you would like to donate to a GoFundMe account set up to help her son, you may do so here. Note that GoFundMe deducts 7.9 percent of all funds raised in the form of platform and payment processing charges.

NBC4's Vikki Vargas and Heather Navarro contributed to this report.

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