Former Smith’s Resturant employee convicted in 1991 double murder

SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV) - A former employee of The Smith's restaurant has been convicted of a 1991 double murder in Prunedale.

According to the Monterey County District Attorney, 86-year-old Ira Ulyesses Bastian was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for the murders of George Smith and Eva Thompson.

Both were killed at The Smith's restaurant in Prunedale on Nov. 11, 1991, with the jury finding Bastian committed the murders.

George Smith owned the restaurant along with his wife Anna Smith, with both living at the restaurant with Eva Thompson, Anna's mother, living with them.

Anna had found George Smith stabbed 11 times with a kitchen knife. Anna soon found that her mother, Thompson, had been beaten and strangled with her throat slit using the same knife. The Smiths' bedroom was burglarized, with cash being stolen from it. The knife used was found in a laundry hamper in the hallway.

Bastian claimed not to have been at the restaurant for more than a year before the murder, despite shoe impressions being comparable to shoes Bastian owned.

Bastian was considered a suspect during the initial investigation yet no charges were filed.

It was not until 2024, and earlier this year, that new DNA testing provided support that Bastian's DNA was on the shoes, the handle of the knife, and a shirt worn by Thompson.

Bastian is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 24, facing life in prison without any possibility of parole.