Renowned Former Rock Musician Charged with Girlfriend’s Homicide

(UnitedHeadlines.com) – On Jan. 2, Theobald “Theo” Lengyel, 54, an original member of the 1980s band Mr. Bungle, was arrested for the murder of Alice “Alyx” Kamakaokalani Herrmann, 61.

Herrmann, his girlfriend, was reported missing Dec. 3, after she was last seen in Santa Cruz County, according to the Capitola Police Department. Along with the El Cerrito Police Department, the Capitola Police Department began investigating her disappearance on Dec. 12.

During the investigation, the Capitola Police said they discovered foul play was involved in her disappearance, and police identified Lengyel as a suspect. According to police, in the days after her disappearance, he allegedly drove over 600 miles from his home in El Cerrito, California, to Portland, Oregon. While he was out of town, police located Herrmann’s car parked in front of his El Cerrito home. Lengyel was arrested after human remains, believed to be Herrmann, were discovered by investigators in an area in Berkeley, California’s Tilden Regional Park.

Court records show that the victim filed a restraining order against Lengyel in 2017, before she filed for divorce later that year.

In 1985, Mr. Bungle was formed by high school friends in Humboldt County in northern California, including Lengyel, bassist Trevor Dunn, vocalist Mike Patton and guitarist Trey Spruance. The experimental rock band gained popularity during the alternative rock boom of the 1990s. On several recordings, including the 1991 self-titled debut album and the 1995 album, “Disco Volante,” Lengyel played the saxophone, keyboards and clarinet. In 1996, Lengyel left the band and did not participate in the reunion tours that began in 2020. In 2005, Dunn stated that Lengyel left the band on bad terms, adding that he was mad and Dunn has not heard from Lengyel since he left the band.

Lengyel, who is being held without bail, is charged with one count of first-degree murder, felony burglary and auto theft charges and is scheduled to appear in court Jan. 16.

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