SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KRON) — A Santa Cruz County jury found a former Bay Area rock band member guilty of murdering his girlfriend, Alice “Alyx” Kamakaokalani Herrmann. Deliberations ended on Thursday when jurors convicted Theobald “Mylo” Lengyel of first-degree murder.
Evidence at trial showed Lengyel, 56, of El Cerrito, was a heavy drinker and the troubled couple had frequent verbal arguments. On the night of the murder, Dec. 4, 2023, the couple was arguing inside Herrmann’s Capitola beach house. Herrmann wanted to stay home and go to bed because she had to work in Berkeley the next morning. Lengyel wanted his girlfriend to go out and play pool with him.
District Attorney’s Office Inspector Steven Ryan testified that what started out as a couple’s quarrel turned into a murder after Lengyel pinned Herrmann down and strangled her.
The trial, which began in August, took a dramatic turn when jurors listened to a chilling, three-hour-long audio tape that was recorded by the murder victim’s phone. It’s unclear if Herrmann intentionally recorded her own homicide using the iPhone app, “Just Press Record for iOS,” or if the app inadvertently recorded.