An ex-member of Mr. Bungle was convicted of first-degree murder

On Friday, October 11th, Theobald “Theo” Brooks Lengyel, a former member of Mr. Bungle, was found guilty of first-degree murder and faces a life sentence. The musician, 55, was charged with the murder of Alice “Alyx” Kamakaokalani Herrmann, 61, inside her Capitola, California, home. A jury in a Santa Cruz County courthouse deliberated for a day before returning a guilty decision, according to CBS San Francisco. An audio tape of Hermann pleading for her life as Lengyel strangled her to death was aired throughout the six-week trial; it was purportedly taken from Hermann’s phone. Law enforcement authorities launched a missing person inquiry after Hermann was last seen on December 3, 2023. Lengyel was taken into custody on January 2nd after her remains were discovered in Berkeley, California’s Tilden Regional Park. Lengyel was a founding member of Mr. Bungle and played keyboards, clarinet, and saxophone for about ten years, according to SFGate. The band’s first two major label albums, “Mr. Bungle” (1991) and “Disco Volante” (1995), as well as the demo “The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny” were recorded by him. Bassist Trevor Dunn of Mr. Bungle stated in a 2005 Q&A session that Lengyel left the band on bad terms.

We unanimously decided to go on without him 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. Trevor Dunn