Man Dies in Package Bomb Explosion

WESTMINSTER — A 46-year-old Westminster man was killed late Sunday night by a bomb tucked inside a package he found outside his home, according to police.

William Donald Bays died of massive chest and head injuries after opening a toaster-size package left outside the garage of the home at 13161 Edwards St., where he was a lodger, authorities said.

Friends with Bays at the time of the explosion told investigators that the unemployed picture frame maker found the package and took it inside before opening it, according to Westminster police spokesman Robin Kapp.

“We have no motive and no suspects at this time, unfortunately,” Kapp said.

The two unidentified friends who witnessed the blast suffered ear injuries but were otherwise unharmed, Kapp said. The package was not mailed or delivered by a parcel service, but it reportedly had a name on it, Kapp said.

“It was addressed, but not in the traditional mailing [format],” Kapp said. He declined to say whether it was Bays’ name that appeared on the package.

A hail of metal fragments from the device tore through the cluttered garage, leaving furniture and pressboard peppered with small holes.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad was working Monday afternoon to find clues at the scene and in the residue and remnants of the explosive device.

“We have a couple of hundred small, bitty fragments that we’re still trying to piece together,” said Sgt. Charlie Stumph, leader of the bomb squad. “It’s too early to say much about what we have.”

Stumph did say the blast was “very unique in the way it went down,” with the device detonating only after the package was opened.

“What type of talent it took to build it, we just don’t know yet,” Stumph said.

Federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were also participating in the investigation but declined to comment.

Bay’s four roommates at the blue-and-white home along the busy street would not speak to reporters. Several neighbors said the residents were renters who moved in earlier this year and had earned the ire of neighbors with parties and frequent visitors.

The 11:50 p.m. blast on Sunday night awakened residents blocks away with a deep booming sound and a concussive force that rattled windows and set dogs barking. Several neighbors called 911 to report the explosion.

“It was like when there’s an earthquake and you wake up scared and looking around,” said Hortencia Saldana, who lives three houses away. “I heard a transformer blow up once. It sounded like that. It was awful.”

Another neighbor, Rick Guerrero, said the two witnesses to the blast were badly shaken by the sight.

“They were sitting on the curb after the cops came,” he said. “They were crying and saying their ears were ringing.”