Former Mr Bungle member found guilty of girl’s murder

Theobald “Theo” Lengyel, former member of Mr. Bungle, was found guilty of first-degree murder in the December 2023 killing of his girlfriend.

A jury in Santa Cruz deliberated for only one day before returning a guilty verdict on Friday (October 11). Lengyel now faces life in prison when sentenced in November.

Alice “Alyx” Kamakaokalani, 54, was reported missing last year and was last seen on December 3, 2023. The Capitola Police Department and El Cerrito Police Department subsequently launched an investigation into her disappearance.

Police asserted that foul play had occurred, and Lengyel was later identified by authorities as a suspect.

Then in January, he was arrested on murder charges after the human remains of a person suspected of being a Kamakaokalani were found in a wooded area of ​​Berkeley Park in Capitola, California, while her car was last seen outside Lengyel’s home.

During the trial, prosecutors presented an audio file downloaded from Kamakaokalani’s phone that recorded the pair arguing the night of her murder, and then an audio recording of how prosecutors say Lengyel choked Kamakaokalani to death.

Prosecutors discovered the recording only on September 22 – a month after the trial began. For Related pressin the audio recording, the couple can be heard arguing after Kamakaokalani told Lengyel she didn’t want to go out that evening. Lengyel then allegedly shouted at Kamakaokalani, “I can crush your f***ing brains.”

The argument then turned physical, with an audio file recording Kamakaokalani pleading for her life and gasping for air.

Lengyel and Kamakaokalani were previously married, and stores like Stereogum reported that Lengyel had previously been investigated for domestic violence. The couple divorced in 2017 and that same year, Kamakaokalani filed a restraining order against Lengyel.

The musician is best known as one of the founders of the Californian art metal band Mr Bungle, which was formed in 1985. He played keyboards and saxophone on their first two releases for Warner Bros. – on the 1991 self-titled album and the 1995 album. “Disco Volante” – and stayed with the band for about a decade before leaving.

Mr Bungle disbanded in 2000. However, they reunited in 2020, releasing a re-recorded version of their 1986 demo “The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny”. Lengyel did not attend the convention.