Theobald Brooks “Theo” Lengyel, the former Mr. Bungle saxophonist and a founding member of the experimental rock band, was arrested and charged with murder on Tuesday (January 2) after police discovered body parts following the disappearance of his girlfriend, Alice Kamakaokalani Herrmann, reports The New York Times. “As the investigation progressed, it became clear that foul play was involved, leading to the identification of Theobald Lengyel as a suspect,” the Capitola Police Department said in a statement.
Herrmann was last seen in Santa Cruz, California, on December 3 and was formally reported missing by her family on December 12. According to a police statement, her red Toyota Highlander SUV was discovered at Lengyel’s house in El Cerrito, an hour-and-40 minute drive from her home in Capitola. Investigators found human remains in Berkeley’s Tilden Regional Park and are still in the midst of the identification process.
The El Cerrito Police Department claims Lengyel has not cooperated with its investigation. After Kamakaokalani’s disappearance, Lengyel left the city to drive to Portland, Oregon, police said.
Mr. Bungle formed in 1985 in Eureka, California. The band’s original lineup featured singer Mike Patton, guitarist Trey Spruance, bassist Trevor Dunn, drummer Jed Watts, and Lengyel on alto saxophone, clarinet, and keys. Lengyel played with the band both live and in studio, appearing on the 1986 demo The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny and the three demos that followed, as well as the studio albums Mr. Bungle, in 1991, and Disco Volante, in 1995. He departed that following year. Afterward, he went on to release music as Mylo Stone.
