Murder trial set for Theo Lengyel after two days of harrowing testimony in Alyx Herrmann case

Testimony this week from two detectives and a coroner brought to light gruesome new details in the case of Theobald “Theo” Lengyel, the former rocker accused of murdering Capitola resident Alice “Alyx” Herrmann following her disappearance in December 2023 and the subsequent discovery of her body in a park in Contra Costa County. 

Lengyel, a former member of the acclaimed experimental rock band Mr. Bungle, was a minor celebrity during the 11-year span in which he played woodwinds for the band. Because of his renown in the music world, news of Lengyel’s arrest has been covered by national outlets and music magazines like Rolling Stone.

The erstwhile performer took to a different kind of stage, donning a bright orange jail shirt, when he appeared on Tuesday before Judge Nancy de la Peña in Santa Cruz Superior Court. Lengyel, 54, has been held without bail since his arrest in January. In February, Lengyel pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, first-degree residential burglary and the unlawful taking of a vehicle. 

During the two-day hearing, which concluded Wednesday, the courtroom was thronged with friends and supporters of Herrmann, 61, who spoke to the strong impression the local left with her charm and intelligence.

“She was a musician, pescatarian, soft-spoken lover of life and an adventurous athlete even at 61, with a strong connection to the sea, to her daughter, and to the many friends who loved her very much,” Herrmann’s friend Betsy Marvit told Lookout in January.

Marvit said that Herrmann held a Ph.D. in neuroscience, a black belt in taekwondo and spoke multiple languages. 

In early January, more than 100 community members gathered to remember Herrmann’s life in a ceremony at the Santa Cruz Harbor. 

Lengyel was largely still at the hearing, the outcome of which would determine whether the case would proceed to a jury trial. During the hearing, a team of district attorneys for the county interviewed three key witnesses to attempt to establish Lengyel’s guilt on the three charges. 

Criminal cases for serious charges like murder typically have preliminary hearings preceding a jury trial. The purpose of such hearings is for the prosecutors to convince the judge that there is enough evidence to proceed to trial, while the defendant’s lawyer attempts to convince the judge of the opposite. At such pre-trial hearings, the standard for evidence is lower than at a jury trial, meaning not all evidence and witnesses are called; de la Peña simply had to be convinced there was sufficient evidence to support the three charges. 

At the two-day hearing, the three witnesses told a harrowing story, elucidating a grisly autopsy report, panicked conversations Lengyel had with his family and Herrmann’s, and DNA evidence previously unknown to the public. Lengyel’s defense lawyer questioned witnesses about Lengyel’s behavior and intent at different points in the witness’ narrative — arguing to the judge that the related burglary and vehicle theft charges were not supported by evidence, and that the evidence did not support a first- or second-degree murder charge, either.

After 30 minutes of back-and-forth arguments on Day 2, de la Peña ruled that the charges were warranted and the case could proceed to a jury trial. 

“Based upon the evidence that the court does have, the court does say, it appears to the court that counts 1, 2 and 3” – meaning burglary, auto theft and murder – “have sufficient cause,” de la Peña said. De la Peña then scheduled an arraignment for June 26. 

Witness: Detective Michael Olivieri, El Cerrito Police Department

Assistant District Attorney Emily Wang first called Detective Michael Olivieri of the El Cerrito Police Department to describe the initial investigation. Olivieri said he was called into work on Dec. 12, 2023, to investigate her missing-person case. At that time, Herrmann had not been seen in the Santa Cruz area since Dec. 3.

As Olivieri explained, Lengyel owned a house in El Cerrito, while Herrmann lived in Capitola; the two split time between the two places over the five years during which they dated. 

Olivieri said he spoke to Herrmann’s brother Eric Herrmann, who told him that his sister was supposed to come on a family trip to Hawaii. When she didn’t arrive at the airport, the family got suspicious. Eric Herrmann went to her house in Capitola with the police, and saw that her wallet, watch and phone were at home without her — which he told Olivieri was out of character for her. 

At the same time that Eric Herrmann was being interviewed, Lengyel arrived at the police department in El Cerrito. Olivieri “excused himself,” he said, and went to speak to Lengyel. Lengyel did not admit to killing Herrmann, said Olivieri: “He did not speak directly to me about the incident at all.”

“And he was there to turn himself in, so that would increase your suspicions?” Wang asked Olivieri, who replied in the affirmative. Olivieri said he did not arrest Herrmann, however, because “at that point, it was still an open investigation.”

Olivieri said the police obtained a search warrant for Lengyel’s El Cerrito house and for the red Toyota Highlander parked in front, which was registered to Alice Herrmann. The SUV had four “dime-sized” splotches of something red in a wheel well and in the trunk. Both the prosecutor and the defense agreed that the substance was Herrmann’s blood, as confirmed by DNA evidence.

Next, the police searched Herrmann’s house in Capitola, and took a hairbrush and a toothbrush to use as “DNA reference samples,” Olivieri said. 

Olivieri also described using an automated license plate recognition software to see if the Highlander had moved in the previous week. A photo from the software system from 3:44 p.m. on Dec. 5, 2023, showed the Highlander at an intersection in El Cerrito with Lengyel driving the car alone, he said. 

Witness: Detective Zackary Currier, Capitola Police Department

Later, prosecutors also called Capitola Police Department Detective Zackary Currier, who had been the department’s lead detective on the case, to the stand. 

Currier said that he subpoenaed cellphone records and email records for Herrmann. According to geolocation data, her phone did not leave her Capitola house from Dec. 3 through Dec. 8, when it ran out of battery power. Herrmann was last seen at the Santa Cruz Harbor on Dec. 3. Currier said Herrmann’s employer was concerned when she did not arrive at work on Dec. 5 for a team meeting. 

Currier testified that Lengyel sent a text message to his brother, Jed Lengyel, who lived in Oregon, on Dec. 8. This message read: “Brace yourself, it’s worse than you think.” 

According to Currier, Lengyel drove up to Portland, Oregon, to visit his brother the same day. Lengyel arrived in Portland with his dog, Trav, and told Jed that he hoped he would take Trav, and give his truck to Jed’s son. Lengyel then took a train back to the Bay Area.

Lengyel nor his counsel denied the witness’ descriptions of his physical movements in the days leading up to his arrest. His lawyer asked the detective and the court to note Lengyel’s generosity toward his family and the dog, and emphasized that Lengyel arrived in Portland with dog food to keep Traveler well-fed. 

The prosecutors described Lengyel’s travels to Portland as a clear “attempt to flee,” a point that would help establish their argument that Lengyel committed murder in the first or second degree. Defense attorney Annrae Angel disputed their interpretation.

“I disagree that he’s trying to flee,” Angel said to the judge. “He’s found himself in a situation, he doesn’t know what to do, and he’s doing the best he can to figure it out. He was taking Trav to Portland so that Trav would be well taken care of by his brother.

“I don’t think there was evading happening here,” Angel continued. “I don’t see anything in any of that that supports the first-degree” murder charge.

Currier also described a bruise on Lengyel’s left biceps, a detail that would become important later with the coroner’s testimony. Currier says the mark was about 3 by 4 inches. 

“To me, it looked like someone had bit him,” Currier said. 

On Dec. 30, 2023, Lengyel called the detective from Fast Eddy’s Billiards in Capitola. Currier said Lengyel was “confused on why he wasn’t arrested yet. He was baffled by it, and [said] Capitola PD has done some blunders.” 

“Was he willing to tell you what happened to Miss Herrmann?” Wang asked. 

“No,” Currier replied. 

Soon after, Lengyel was captured on video by a Ring camera inside Ms. Herrmann’s Capitola residence. Currier said he had watched the surveillance video and described Lengyel walking around the house for nine minutes before leaving.

Currier then said that Lengyel called Eric Herrmann, Alice Herrmann’s brother, speaking to him for 2½ hours. 

“Did Eric confirm to you that Mr. Lengyel apologized to him?” the assistant district attorney asked. 

“Yes,” Currier said. Currier said that Lengyel told Eric Herrmann that “he didn’t mean to hurt anybody, and that people were so fragile and that people break easily.” 

Next, Wang asked about Alice Herrmann’s body: “Did Mr. Lengyel say to Mr. Herrmann what he had done with Ms. Herrmann since?” 

“Yes,” Currier said. “He said that he had placed Ms. Herrmann in a fetal position and covered her with rocks. He said something to the effect of ‘there’s no peace for me’ because he made somebody expire.” 

Lengyel then told Eric Herrmann that he “brought a rope out into [Tilden] Park [a regional park in the Berkeley hills] and tried to hang himself above where Ms. Herrmann’s body was placed.” However, the branch was too high and he wasn’t able to hang himself, Currier said.

Lengyel sat still, staring downward as Currier described this secondhand conversation. Neither he nor his attorney objected to any of Currier’s recollection of the specifics of the conversation.

Witness: Dr. Stephany Fiore, Santa Cruz County coroner

Dr. Stephany Fiore, forensic pathologist for the Santa Cruz County coroner’s office, testified regarding the autopsy of Ms. Herrmann, which she performed on Jan 4. 

Fiore described Herrmann’s body as being in a state of “advanced decomposition” due to scavenging animals. Because Herrmann was “partially skeletonized and was missing a lot of her organs and soft tissue,” Fiore said her ability to “make solid or concrete opinions about exactly what happened” was “limited.”

Fiore noted that Herrmann’s neck and head were in good condition. Fiore looked for signs of strangulation and found “fractures” in the “thyroid cartilage.” Her nose cartilage appeared broken, and there were other bruises on her skin. 

“Based on the totality of the autopsy that you performed as well as the anthropology report that was also generated, did you have an opinion on the cause of death?” Wang asked. 

“I did,” Fiore replied. “I concluded that her death was from homicidal means, meaning that somebody else produced or was responsible for her death.” The thyroid cartilage injury, Fiore said, was typically a result of “neck compression” and/or “strangulation.” 

“Something like a chokehold might produce those types of fractures, or even the suicidal hanging will produce those fractures,” Fiore said. “Anything that’s pressing on the neck, up in the high portions of the neck, can cause those kinds of fractures.” Fiore said that “chokehold strangulation,” where the “neck is placed into the crux of your elbow and squeezed from the side,” would be consistent with the injuries observed. 

But ultimately, Fiore said “the cause of death was listed as homicide, by unspecified means.” 

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