WAUKESHA, Wis. (Court TV) — A judge warned a man convicted of killing his neighbor to stop interrupting the prosecutor during sentencing on Thursday.
Kevin Lychwick, 63, was convicted of first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse in the death of his neighbor, Carlos Maldonado, 55. Maldonado was killed in April 2024, but his remains weren’t found for several months.
Kevin Lychwick appears at his sentencing on Aug. 20, 2026. (Court TV)
At trial, prosecutors said that Lychwick tied the victim to a chair and then shot him twice before dragging his body into the woods and leaving it to decompose under a tarp. Lychwick, who represented himself, claimed that he was framed by the police and said he was innocent of all charges. Among the evidence prosecutors said pointed to the defendant was a series of notebooks found to contain a “hit list” with the victim’s name on it.
Prosecutor Chelsea Thompson urged Judge David Maas to sentence Lychwick to life in prison without the possibility of parole, citing not only the crime for which he was convicted, but also his online behavior. Thompson said that the defendant is “deeply in love” with a 17-year-old girl in Iowa as well as a teenager in Wisconsin. “He is 60 years old, trying to have a relationship with a 17-year-old,” Thompson said. “He has searches of the age of consent in various states: Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin. This is predatory and pretty close to grooming behavior.”
Lychwick interrupted several times as Thompson spoke. He yelled, “I object to this diatribe” and “This is outrageous! I refuse to listen to this!” as Thompson detailed the defendant’s disturbing behavior.
Thompson noted Thursday that Lychwick “refused to participate” in his trial, despite representing himself pro se. “He would keep his head down, he would keep his eyes closed. The court noticed at one point he had balled up paper in his ear,” Thompson said. “What got him out of that tantrum, I suppose, was the medical examiner’s testimony. When I started showing photos from the autopsy, he looks up almost like he’s admiring his work. It was eerie and extremely unsettling to see.”
Lychwick caused delays during his trial earlier this summer when he refused to leave his cell to come to court, claimed he was too sick to be in the courtroom and repeatedly failed to abide by rules of evidence.
Maldonado’s daughter was emotional as she addressed the court. “At the end of the day, this shouldn’t have happened and I think the defendant tried to play God and I don’t think anybody has that right. My dad was supposed to be here; my dad was supposed to live longer,” she said, noting that the victim was in remission from cancer.
“I address the court on this dark day for justice by declaring again my innocence in this matter. At no time have I ever killed anyone,” Lychwick said as he addressed the court on Thursday. “My forced trial in this matter was a travesty of justice; I reaffirm this. And I will fight to clear my good name and overturn this unjust conviction as long as it takes and to see that justice is served upon those who have wrought this immeasurable suffering upon myself and upon the relatives and loved ones of Mr. Maldonado as well.”
Maas showed no sympathy for the defendant as he began to hand down the sentence. “Mr. Lychwick, your protestations in this case are the fantasies and the ravings of a narcissist. That’s what it comes down to,” he said. “The stunts that you have pulled are the last-ditch efforts of someone who recognizes that their reckoning is coming. And today, Mr. Lychwick, you are out of stunts. You are out of options. You are out of tricks. You are out of carnival acts. Today your reckoning has come.”
Maas sentenced Lychwick to life in prison without the possibility of parole for homicide and 7 1/2 years in prison for hiding a corpse, to run concurrently.
“I wish to file my appeal,” Lychwick said before he was led out of the courtroom.
