Boyfriend arrested in disappearance of Capitola woman; human remains recovered
CAPITOLA, Calif. - A suspect in the case of a missing Capitola woman whose disappearance was later ruled a homicide has been arrested, authorities said.
Theobald "Theo" Lengyel, 54, was arrested on Tuesday in connection with the death of his girlfriend, 61-year-old Alice "Alyx" Kamakaokalani Hermann, according to the Capitola Police Department.
Human remains were also recovered in a wooded area in Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley, though it remains unclear if those are of Hermann.
Investigators ruled Lengyel as a suspect in Hermann's disappearance after it became clear that foul play was involved, authorities said. Lengyel, a former member of the musical group Mr. Bungle, had been uncooperative from the start of the investigation.
Hermann was last seen on Dec. 3 in Santa Cruz. Her family reported her missing after she missed her flight to Hawaii on Dec. 12.
Lengyel lives in El Cerrito, and the victim's car had been parked in front of his house.
Authorities have not provided details on how Hermann died.
Herrmann was a neuroscientist with a degree from Caltech and also competed with Outrigger Santa Cruz, a canoe paddling group for people of all ages. Herrmann was last seen with her paddling team on Dec. 3.
"I was not there the last day she paddled on the 3rd, but everybody said that she was excited about an upcoming trip to Hawaii and that she was in a great mood and happy. That’s how I remember her, smiley," said Theresa Mulder, an Outrigger Santa Cruz Women’s Coach.
Herrmann’s car was also found in El Cerrito in front of Lengyel's house. Lengyel is also known as Mylo Stone.
"As the investigation progressed, it became clear that foul play was involved, leading to the identification of Theobald Lengyel as a suspect. The investigation led investigators to a wooded area within Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley," said Andrew Dally, Capitola Police Chief
The identification of the human remains found in Tilden Park is pending DNA confirmation.
"If this turns out to be her, we definitely would like to commemorate her in some way. It’s not just within our club, she touched the entire paddling community," said Mulder.
The Santa Cruz County D.A.’s Office, along with the police in El Cerrito and Capitola, worked together to collect information on the case. Now those who know Alyx are simply trying to comfort each other.
"Our group is just going to have to heal and be there for each other because this is a very big hit for the paddling community," said Mulder.
KTVU reached out to one of Hermann’s brothers who said he had no other information about the case and that he was simply in shock and unable to talk about his sister.