El Cerrito Police Department/Santa Cruz Sheriff's Office
The court listened to a horrific three hour audio clip reportedly found on the victim's phone -- on which she begged for her life while being strangled, as her killer says, "I could mash your f---ing brain."
TW: This story contains reporting on domestic violence.
A former jazz musician who also played as part of the band Mr. Bungle has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the brutal death of his girlfriend, per Associated Press.
The verdict comes after California prosecutors found a disturbing and horrifying audio file -- allegedly on the victim's phone -- which was recorded as Alice "Alyx" Kamakaokalani Herrmann fought for her life around 11:30 p.m., December 4, 2023 at her Capitola home.
During the trial, the jury and those in the courtroom listened to the three-hour long audio clip of Herrmann and her killer, Theobald "Theo" Lengyel. The audio wasn't discovered by prosecutors until after Lengyel's murder trial began.
WAGA/Fulton County Sheriff's Office
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View Story"I don't see how you could listen to something like that, what was being spoken by the defendant, the words he was using, the tone of it. The frankly sort of banal nature of this argument that led up to it, and not come to the conclusion that, we always believe was correct, which was first-degree murder," Steven Ryan, inspector with Santa Cruz County District Attorney Office, told media. The pair reportedly began arguing over Herrmann not wanting to play pool.
Herrmann was then heard begging for her life as Lengyel strangled her to death, per KSBW, pleading and gasping for air, while asking him to stop 53 times.
At one point, Lengyel threatened Herrmann, per KRON 4 and the Santa Cruz Sentinel, saying, "I could mash your f---ing brain." As the audio continues, Herrmann says she can't see, gasping for air, as Lengyel threatens her, "Okay. How do you want to die? Blunt trauma or something else… think you should be choked to death?”
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View StoryAlice "Alyx" Kamakaokalani Herrmann disappeared on Dec. 4, 2023, from her Capitola, Calif., home. Her family started to worry when she did not show up to a family gathering in Hawaii. She was a scientist.
Her boyfriend, Lengyel, was later arrested in January after Herrmann's remains were found in Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley, per El Cerrito police.
"It's over, but it’s not. It's not really. It'll never really be over," a friend of Herrmann, Amy Miyakusu, told KSBW.
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View StoryLengyel is best known as a former member of the Bay Area experimental rock band Mr. Bungle.
He played saxophone, clarinet and keyboards in the band for over a decade before leaving the group due to creative differences in 1996.
He is facing life in prison and is scheduled for sentencing in November.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages; Calls are confidential and toll-free.
