The Prunedale Diner Murders of 1991, a cold case that haunted Monterey County for more than three decades, has finally resulted in a conviction.
On Tuesday, an 86-year-old former employee, Ira Ulysses Bastian, was found guilty of murdering George Smith and his mother-in-law, Eva Thompson, at Smith’s Restaurant in Prunedale.
A Brutal Crime at a Family Restaurant
On November 11, 1991, Anna Smith returned from errands to find the bodies of her husband, George Smith, 67, and her mother, Eva Thompson, 79, inside the family-owned restaurant.
According to prosecutors, George had been stabbed 11 times with a kitchen knife, while Thompson — who was physically disabled — was beaten, strangled, and had her throat slit in her hospital-style bed.
Investigators later recovered the knife in a laundry hamper at the scene. Shoe impressions also tied the crime to Bastian, who had previously worked at the restaurant.
“This case has weighed on this community for more than 30 years,” Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni said in a statement. “Thanks to advances in DNA testing and the persistence of investigators, justice has finally been served.”
