[UPDATE 10/14/24]: Former Mr. Bungle multi-instrumentalist Theobald “Theo” Lengyel has been found guilty of the first-degree murder of his girlfriend, Alice “Alyx” Kamakaokalani Herrmann. It took one day for the Santa Cruz jury to return the guilty verdict after having heard a three-hour recording the victim made on the night of her murder.

Herrmann, 61, was last seen alive on December 3rd when she joined her canoe club teammates in the Santa Cruz harbor. She was reported missing later that month when she did not show up to a family gathering in Hawaii. Lengyel was arrested in January shortly after her remains were found in a wooded area in Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley. Lengyel’s trial began in August, but the bombshell phone recording was not discovered until September 22nd.

Jurors listened to the entire three-hour recording where Herrmann can be heard struggling and begging for her life as Lengyel taunted her while he choked her to death. Excerpts from the transcript are available on KRON-TV. It is unclear whether Herrmann intentionally recorded the audio or her phone inadvertently recorded it, but prosecutors wrote in court documents that Lengyel was the one who turned it off at 12:11 a.m. on December 5th, roughly 40 minutes after Herrmann’s death. In light of the new evidence, the District Attorney’s Office motioned to have an additional charge of torture added to the indictment.

In addition to the recording, prosecutors presented digital evidence linking the founding member of ’90s alternative rock band Mr. Bungle to the murder. Inspector Steven Ryan testified that he found Google Maps searches on Lengyel’s phone for the exact wooded location where Herrmann’s body was discovered. Numerous traffic cameras also captured Lengyel driving the victim’s red Toyota Highlander SUV on the evening she was killed, with detectives later finding the car in front of Lengyel’s house. The defendant’s legal counsel at one point during the trial admitted that Lengyel killed Herrmann in an attempt to get a lesser conviction for his client than first-degree murder. Lengyel, who faces life in prison for the conviction, is due to be sentenced on November 7th.

Theo Lengyel played on Mr. Bungle’s early releases including 1986 demo The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny and the band’s first two major label albums, Mr. Bungle (1991) and Disco Volante (1995). The multi-instrumentalist mostly played saxophone but also contributed clarinet and keyboards. He left the band in 1996 due to creative differences, with bassist Trevor Dunn writing in a 2005 online Q&A, “We unanimously decided to go on without [Lengyel] because he wasn’t growing with the rest of the band and we were running out of things for him to do. He got pissed off and I haven’t heard from him since.”

[1/3/24]: Former Mr. Bungle member Theo Lengyel was arrested on Tuesday in Capitola, CA on murder charges in the killing of his girlfriend Alice “Alyx” Kamakaokalani Herrmann. Lengyel helped form the avant jazz-metal band back in 1985 and played with the group through 1996.

Herrmann, 61, was last seen on December 3rd. The Capitola Police Department opened a missing persons investigation on December 12th and quickly naming Lengyel a “person of interest.” While Hermann was missing, Lengyel, 54, reportedly traveled from his home in El Cerrito to Portland, OR and also refused to cooperate with investigators.

Suspicions mounted when detectives found Hermann’s red Toyota Highlander SUV parked in front of Lengyel’s home, and as the inquiry continued, “It became clear that foul play was involved,” per a police press release. The investigation led authorities to the discovery of human remains believed to be Hermann’s in a wooded area within Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley, about 80 miles north of Capitola. Those remains are pending DNA confirmation. Lengyel was booked into the Santa Cruz County jail where he is being held without bail.

“The diligent work of our investigators, in coordination with our law enforcement partners, has led to the apprehension of Thoebald Lengyel in connection with the tragic homicide of Alice Kamakaokalanil,” Capitola Chief of Police Andrew J. Dally said in a statement. “We extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the victim during this difficult time.”

Lengyel played on Mr. Bungle’s early releases including the 1986 demo The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny and the band’s first two major label albums Mr. Bungle (1991) and Disco Volante (1995). The multi-instrumentalist mostly played saxophone but also contributed clarinet and keyboards. He left the band in 1996 due to creative differences, with bassist Trevor Dunn writing in a 2005 online Q&A, “We unanimously decided to go on without [Lengyel] because he wasn’t growing with the rest of the band and we were running out of things for him to do. He got pissed off and I haven’t heard from him since.”