Theobald "Mylo" Lengyel was sentenced Thursday to 25 years to life in Santa Cruz Superior Court for the December 2023 murder of Alice “Alyx” Herrmann at her home in Capitola.

Lengyel, 55, was convicted last month of first-degree murder in the case, after weeks of testimony that included an ex-wife and sister testifying to Lengyel's violent moods, particularly when drunk. The prosecution capped off their case playing a three-hour audio recording, whivh Herrmann had clandestinely made the night of her death, depicting her final hours and a rage-filled Lengyel, who ended up strangling her to death after a fight over whether they should go out to a bar that night.

At one point in the recording, Lengyel can be heard saying, "You’re gonna fucking die right now. Are you ready?"

As Lookout Santa Cruz reports, Lengyel briefly spoke at the hearing, saying that Herrmann's death was "like a cloud with no silver lining at all." He added, "There’s nothing I can say that will make any difference, I am sorry. There’s no way to make up for the light that she would have shone in the future."

Theresa Mulder, a member of the local canoeing group Herrmann belonged to, Outrigger Santa Cruz, gave a victim impact statement at the hearing, per Lookout Santa Cruz. She spoke in particular about the harrowing audio recording.

"We sat on those benches and heard him torture her, we heard him taunt her, we heard her take her last breath," Mulder reportedly said. "We heard a cruel and vicious betrayal of trust. She recorded that evening for a reason. She wanted to be heard, and so we listened."

Mulder spoke also about how the killing had brought up painful memories for other members of the canoeing group. "For some of the women on our team, this betrayal has triggered painful memories of past trauma... For many, this makes us feel generally unsaf," she said. “Violence against women is designed to do that, any form of violence against any one of us creates an undercurrent of fear in each of us."

Judge Nancy de la Peña spoke before delivering the sentence, calling the case, per Lookout Santa Cruz, "maybe unlike anything I have seen in almost 30 years as a public defender, five years with county council, and now almost four years on this bench."

Judge de la Peña added, "There is no justice in a case like this, but the court can impose the sentence."

A sentence of 25 years to life means that Lengyel will not be eligible for parole for at least 24 years, with credit for time served, at which point he will be 79 years old. His attorney, who argued against the killing being first-degree murder, has said they intend to file an appeal.

Herrmann, who was 61 at the time of her death, had been in a relationship with Lengyel since 2017. She had a PhD in neuroscience and had met Lengyel through work, in the financial tech sector.

Lengyel, using the name Mylo Stone, was an original member of the alt-rock band Mr. Bungle with Faith No More frontman Mike Patton, when both were teenagers. He left the band under unfriendly cirumstances in the mid-1990s. He had worked as a software engineer for many years while making music on the side.

Previously: Theobald Lengyel Convicted In December Murder of Girlfriend Alyx Herrmann, Which Was Captured on Tape