The court found the former member of Mr. Bungle guilty of murdering his girlfriend

A founding member of the experimental rock band Mr. Bungle was found guilty on Friday (October 11) of first-degree murder in the killing of his girlfriend after prosecutors in California found an audio recording the victim recorded on her phone as he fought for her. life.

A jury in Santa Cruz deliberated for a day before finding Theobald “Theo” Lengyel guilty of first-degree murder for killing his girlfriend Alice “Alyx” Kamakaokalani Herrmann on the night of Dec. 4, 2023, inside her Capitol home, KSBW – TV was mentioned. Lengyel faces up to life in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced in November.

Lengyel, 55, was arrested in January after investigators found Herrmann's remains in a wooded area of ​​Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley. Herrmann was reported missing last month after she failed to show up for a family gathering in Hawaii.

On Oct. 1, prosecutors played audio recorded on Herrmann's phone pleading for her life as her boyfriend strangled her to death, KRON-TV was mentioned.

It's unclear whether Herrmann, 61, recorded the audio on purpose or if the app accidentally recorded it.

District Attorney Inspector Steven Ryan testified that investigators didn't discover the chilling audio until Sept. 22, 2024, a month after Lengiele's murder trial began.

The recording begins with Lengyel playing the piano before getting angry with Herrmann for not wanting to go outside to play pool. Herrmann repeatedly says she doesn't want to go because she has to work at Berkeley the next day.

Minutes after their argument, Lengyel can be heard threatening his girlfriend, saying: “I could mash your brains with an asterisk.”

According to prosecutors, the verbal dispute escalated into a physical fight. Herman was then heard pleading for her life, gasping for air.

Lengyel left Mr. Bungle in 1996 after playing saxophone, clarinet and keyboards on several recordings, including their self-titled 1991 debut album and Disco Volante in 1995. He did not participate in any of the band's recent reunion tours, which began in 2020.

Mr. Bungle was formed in Humboldt County, Northern California in 1985 by high school friends including guitarist Trey Spruance, bassist Trevor Dunn and singer Mike Patton, who went on to perform with Faith No More. Mr. Bungle experimented with funk, heavy metal, electronic, jazz and other musical styles, gaining popularity during the alternative rock boom of the 1990s.

In a Q&A in 2005, Dunn said that Lengyel left the band on bad terms, SF gate was mentioned.