Former Mr Bungle member convicted of first-degree murder
Theobald Lengyel, a founding member of American experimental rock band Mr Bungle, has been convicted of murdering his partner, Alice Herrmann.
Lengyel co-founded Mr Bungle in 1985, and played the saxophone for the group before departing acrimoniously in 1996. He also went by the alias of Mylo Stone, and played on their eponymous debut album, released in 1991, as well as their sophomore record, 1995’s Disco Volante.
The murder of Herrmann was the centre of a six-week trial at Santa Cruz Superior Court. Tragically, Herrmann disappeared on December 3rd, 2023, and the remains of her body was later discovered at Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley, California.
Due to Lengyel’s lack of cooperation with the relevant authorities, he was a person of interest from the beginning of the case, but it took until the fourth week of the trial for a piece of evidence to emerge that swayed the verdict.
An audio file was produced which captured a verbal altercation between the couple on the night of Herrmann’s murder, which then turned physical. According to prosecutors, the audio footage also included Lengyel strangling Herrmann to death. The three-hour tape, which was recorded by Herrmann, was played in full at Santa Cruz Superior Court on October 1st.
In the audio file, the couple can allegedly be heard arguing after Herrmann told Lengyel that she wanted to stay at home rather than go out. In response, Lengyel shouted at Herrmann, “I could mash your fucking brain.” The situation turned physical as Herrmann was desperately gasping for air, and begging for Lengyel to stop.
Following the conclusion of the trial, the jury only deliberated for a day before concluding that Lengyel had committed first-degree murder.
At no stage during the trial did Lengyel’s legal representatives deny that Lengyel was responsible for the death of Herrmann. However, they did not believe that the act of fatal violence qualified as first degree murder. Defence attorney Annrae Angel said in her opening statement on September 4th, “The evidence will find that Lengyel killed her but also that he loved her.”
Herrmann and Lengyel had been in a relationship since 2017. She is survived by her adult daughter.
Lengyel left the music industry behind after being dismissed from Mr Bungle, and most recently worked in financial technology. The band’s Trevor Dunn said of Lengyel’s exit in 2005: “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.”
The former musician is set to be sentenced in November, and is set to face life in prison.
For help, advice or more information regarding domestic abuse in the UK, visit the Refuge charity website. In the US, visit the National Domestic Violence Hotline
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