Quick Take:
Capitola Police have arrested Theo Lengyel, the boyfriend of Alice “Alyx” Kamakaokalani Herrman of Capitola, who has been missing since Dec. 3. Investigators found human remains in Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley, and the Contra County Coroner’s Office is working to identify them.
Police arrested the boyfriend of Alice “Alyx” Kamakaokalani Herrmann, a Capitola woman who has been missing since early last month and charged him with murder Tuesday after finding human remains in a park in Berkeley.
Capitola Police Department say they arrested Theo Lengyel, 54, also known as Mylo Stone, on Thursday in collaboration with the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office, El Cerrito Police Department, and the Department of Justice. He was taken into custody in Santa Cruz County.
Herrmann, 61, was last seen in Santa Cruz more than two weeks ago, on Dec. 3. Relatives reported her missing Dec. 12. El Cerrito investigators previously said they found her red 2007 Toyota Highlander in front of her boyfriend’s home in El Cerrito, an East Bay city north of Berkeley.
In mid-December, police deemed Lengyel a person of interest and said he had not cooperated with the investigation. Investigators said that he had traveled to Portland, Oregon, in the days immediately following Herrmann’s disappearance.
Capitola Police did not respond by publication time regarding what led them to arrest Lengyel.
Since Contra County Coroner’s Office has not completed DNA confirmation to identify the remains as Herrmann’s, those that knew her are hoping for the best. Theresa Mulder, a coach for the nonprofit, recreational outrigger canoe paddling group Outrigger Santa Cruz of which Herrmann is a member, called the news “shocking and saddening.”
“[Investigators] haven’t completed the DNA testing yet, so I’m still holding my breath,” she said. “But even without the results, they seem to have some proof.”
Mulder said Herrmann is a good person who always treats those around her well and “never had a bad word to say about anybody.”
“She is just a nice, dependable person who would show up, work hard, and always had a little smile on her face,” she said. Mulder recalls a particularly hot, humid 18-mile race in Hawaii, where Herrmann playfully splashed Mulder with water to cool her off as they competed.
“You always try to splash forward to cool your teammates off, but I was behind her, and nobody really thinks of the person behind you,” she said. “It was a pretty advanced race and she was great that whole trip.”
Outrigger Santa Cruz member Micki Karrer participated in several races with Herrmann as a teammate, and said that she’s always upbeat and positive: “she’s just always had a beautiful aura and spirit about her.”
Karrer said that on Dec. 3 — the last day anyone saw Herrmann — Outrigger Santa Cruz had a practice, and that Hermann was her usual friendly self.
“She just looked so content, happy, and at peace, which is what the water does to you,” she said. “Especially with the people that you paddle with.”
She added that she thinks the authorities handled the case very well, and that she, too, is hoping for the best as the Contra Costa Coroner’s Office works to identify the remains found in Berkeley.
“Obviously they have to confirm the DNA testing,” said Karrer. “But if it is her, I just hope that she’s at peace and that she wasn’t in pain.”
Mulder said that she hopes that the arrest will lead to closure for Herrmann’s family soon. “It’s not the ending I wanted,” she said. “But it’s at least good to know that there may be justice.”
Lengyel is a founding member of a Humboldt-based funk-metal band Mr. Bungle, with whom he played from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. The band included Faith No More singer Mike Patton.