Kevin Lychwick repeatedly clashed with the judge during a four-day trial that ended with convictions for killing Carlos Maldonado and hiding his body.
WAUKESHA, Wis. — Kevin Lychwick entered a Wisconsin courtroom in June as both a murder defendant and his own attorney, personally telling jurors that he had not killed his neighbor, Carlos Maldonado. Four days later, those jurors convicted him. Two months after that, a judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The unusual self-representation shaped the public face of the case but did not change the prosecution’s burden. The state still had to prove first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse beyond a reasonable doubt, and Lychwick’s courtroom disruptions were separate from the evidence jurors had to evaluate. Prosecutors relied on a handgun, handwritten documents, rope, surveillance evidence and the circumstances surrounding Maldonado’s concealed remains. The jury returned guilty verdicts on both counts June 11, 2026.
Lychwick had been represented by a public defender during much of the case. Shortly before trial, however, he dismissed attorney Pablo Galaviz and chose to proceed on his own. Galaviz remained available in the courtroom as standby counsel, a role that allowed Lychwick access to legal assistance while leaving him responsible for conducting his defense. The arrangement meant Lychwick would make his own arguments, respond to evidence and navigate courtroom rules normally handled by an experienced criminal defense lawyer.
In his opening statement, Lychwick directly denied the charges. He told the jury he was not a killer and said he had never killed anyone. He also argued that he did not know Maldonado well enough to have the hostility prosecutors attributed to him. At other points, he claimed police had altered video and audio evidence and described the prosecution as an effort to railroad him. Those assertions became part of his defense, but the jury ultimately rejected the broader claim that he had been wrongly accused.
The trial quickly became contentious. On the second day, Lychwick argued with Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge David Maas over the pace and fairness of the proceedings. He complained that the judge had limited his efforts to defend himself and repeatedly stated that he was participating under protest or duress. Maas, responsible for keeping the case moving and enforcing courtroom rules, challenged Lychwick’s conduct and at one point placed on the record his belief that Lychwick was pretending to sleep.
Observers also saw Lychwick put balled-up paper in his ears during testimony. Prosecutors later referred to that conduct at sentencing while describing the difficulties that marked the trial. The episode was striking, but the criminal case was resolved through the evidence presented to the jury. The court continued receiving testimony and exhibits despite the arguments and interruptions, and prosecutors completed their presentation within the four-day trial.
That evidence returned repeatedly to the place where Maldonado’s remains were found. His body was discovered Oct. 30, 2024, in a wooded area near the Waukesha apartment complex where both men lived. Decomposition was so advanced that authorities initially could not identify him visually. Dental records later confirmed the remains belonged to Maldonado. An autopsy detected multiple gunshot projectiles, and the Waukesha County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide.
Prosecutors believed Maldonado had been killed in April, leaving the body undiscovered for about six months. That delay created uncertainty about some details of the shooting. At sentencing, prosecutor Chelsea Thompson described a two-shot sequence, but she acknowledged that the condition of the remains prevented investigators from knowing every detail with certainty. The distinction was important: The state had proven intentional homicide to the jury’s satisfaction, but not every moment of the crime could be reconstructed from forensic evidence alone.
The prosecution therefore presented other evidence tying Lychwick to Maldonado. Police recovered a 9 mm handgun from Lychwick’s vehicle. Investigators determined that the weapon had fired the projectiles recovered from Maldonado’s remains, according to reporting from the trial and criminal case. Prosecutors treated that ballistic evidence as one of the strongest physical links between the defendant and the killing.
A search of Lychwick’s residence produced writings that gave the case its widely used “hit list” description. Prosecutors said one document was titled “Operation Slop Shop” and identified Maldonado as a threat. Other handwritten material referred to threats having been “neutralized,” and investigators found a list containing several names. Police said the other people appeared to be individuals with whom Lychwick had grievances. Authorities did not publicly characterize those people as prominent figures, and the writings were used chiefly to show Lychwick’s focus on Maldonado and the broader context of his notes.
There was also physical evidence involving rope. Investigators said white rope found in Lychwick’s home matched rope recovered in connection with Maldonado’s concealed body. At trial, jurors saw rope that investigators said had been associated with a chair inside Lychwick’s residence. Prosecutors combined that evidence with the firearm, writings and video to argue that the killing and concealment could be traced to Lychwick rather than to an unknown attacker.
Surveillance footage helped prosecutors construct activity around the property. Court reporting described video showing Lychwick moving near the area where Maldonado’s remains would later be discovered and appearing to check apartment windows. The state argued that the recordings were consistent with someone trying to avoid detection while going to the wooded hillside. Lychwick disputed the interpretation of evidence against him and challenged the integrity of recordings, but jurors had the opportunity to consider those objections before reaching their verdict.
His own pre-arrest public comments also resurfaced during the trial. A local television journalist had interviewed Lychwick outside the apartment complex shortly after the body was discovered. He said residents generally kept to themselves and portrayed the building as a place where neighbors got along. When acting as his own lawyer, he invoked parts of that earlier interview in arguing that he had no reason to kill Maldonado. Prosecutors countered with the handwritten materials that they said showed Maldonado had, in fact, been identified as a threat in Lychwick’s private notes.
By the time jurors began deliberations, the trial presented them with two sharply different accounts. Lychwick said he had been falsely accused and that the investigation was compromised. Prosecutors said the evidence formed a consistent chain: Maldonado was shot, his body was concealed near home, a gun tied to the bullets was found in Lychwick’s vehicle, matching rope and writings were recovered from his residence, and video placed him around the area where the remains had been hidden. The jury chose the prosecution’s account and found him guilty on both charges.
The consequences of that verdict became final at sentencing Aug. 20. Maldonado’s daughter and sister addressed Maas, describing him as a cancer survivor who had been in remission and believed he had more life ahead of him. Their statements brought attention back to the victim after a trial in which the defendant’s behavior had often generated headlines. Maldonado’s daughter said she still did not know why her father had been killed and doubted she would receive an answer from Lychwick because he continued to deny responsibility.
Lychwick did not use the sentencing hearing to accept the jury’s decision. He again maintained that he was innocent and criticized the case. Maas, who had spent the trial managing repeated disputes with him, responded sharply to continued interruptions and rejected Lychwick’s characterization of the proceedings. The judge then imposed a life sentence and ruled that Lychwick would have no opportunity for parole.
Maas also sentenced Lychwick for hiding Maldonado’s corpse. That count brought 12½ years, including 7½ years of confinement followed by five years of extended supervision, consecutive to the life sentence. Because the homicide sentence contains no parole eligibility, the additional term does not create a realistic release date but remains a separate punishment for concealing Maldonado’s remains after the killing.
The self-representation that made the proceedings unusual did not alter their ultimate legal result. Lychwick entered the trial speaking for himself, challenged the judge and prosecution directly, and personally told jurors that he was innocent. He left the case with two felony convictions and, after sentencing, no possibility of release on the murder count. Unless those judgments are later changed through post-conviction or appellate proceedings, the verdict and sentence remain in effect.
Author note: Last updated September 28, 2026.