Kevin Lychwick was also sentenced for hiding Carlos Maldonado’s remains, which went undiscovered near their Waukesha apartment complex for months.

WAUKESHA, Wis. — Kevin Lychwick will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole after a Wisconsin judge sentenced him for killing his neighbor, Carlos Maldonado, and concealing the man’s body in a wooded area near the apartment complex where they both lived. The Aug. 20 sentence followed a June jury verdict finding Lychwick guilty of first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse.

The sentence closed the trial phase of a case that began with a disturbing discovery on Oct. 30, 2024, when Maldonado’s badly decomposed remains were found outdoors near the Waukesha apartment property. Investigators eventually connected the death to Lychwick through a collection of evidence that prosecutors said included surveillance footage, handwritten documents, rope and a firearm. Lychwick represented himself during his June 2026 trial, denied killing Maldonado and continued to maintain his innocence at sentencing.

The most direct consequence of the sentencing was the judge’s decision that Lychwick would never become eligible for release on the homicide conviction. First-degree intentional homicide carries a mandatory life sentence under Wisconsin law, but the court had authority to decide whether Lychwick could ever seek release. Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge David Maas chose life without parole. Lychwick also received 12½ years for hiding a corpse, consisting of 7½ years of confinement and five years of extended supervision, to follow the life sentence.

Maldonado’s family used the sentencing hearing to describe what his death had taken from them. His sister and daughter told the court that Maldonado had survived cancer and was in remission, leaving him hopeful about the future before he was killed. His daughter said she would never again see her father and questioned why anyone would have wanted him dead. His sister accused Lychwick of taking a life that was not his to take. The judge had asked news organizations not to identify the relatives by name or show their faces during coverage of the hearing.

Those statements shifted the hearing away from the physical evidence that had dominated the trial and toward the effects of Maldonado’s death. Prosecutors said Maldonado was killed in April 2024 but remained hidden for roughly six months before his body was found. By then, decomposition limited what investigators could determine about the exact sequence of the shooting. Prosecutor Chelsea Thompson told the court that the state believed Lychwick shot Maldonado twice and left his body concealed in the wooded area. Some details of how the shooting unfolded were presented as the prosecution’s theory rather than as facts established by the condition of the remains.

The state’s case did not depend on a single piece of evidence. During the investigation, police searched Lychwick’s home and recovered handwritten material that prosecutors portrayed as especially important. One document referred to an undertaking called “Operation Slop Shop” and identified Maldonado as a threat. Other writing referred to threats from an earlier operation as having been “neutralized.” Prosecutors also introduced a handwritten list containing Maldonado’s name and the names of other people with whom investigators said Lychwick had grievances. Authorities took the writings seriously enough that, after his arrest, prosecutors argued that people named in the materials could be at risk if he were released.

Investigators also found physical evidence that prosecutors tied to the concealed body. White rope recovered from Lychwick’s residence was described as matching rope associated with Maldonado’s remains. Police searched Lychwick’s vehicle and recovered a 9 mm Luger-style handgun. Investigators concluded that the weapon had fired projectiles recovered from Maldonado’s body. Earlier reporting based on the criminal complaint said the medical examiner classified Maldonado’s death as a homicide after multiple gunshot projectiles were found during the examination of his remains.

Video evidence also became part of the prosecution’s reconstruction of the case. Court coverage described surveillance showing Lychwick in the area near where Maldonado’s body was later discovered. Prosecutors argued that his movements around the apartment property and wooded hillside supported their claim that he had concealed the remains. The body was close enough to the residential complex that the case centered not on an effort to move Maldonado far away, but on hiding him in vegetation and covering the remains until someone eventually found them months later.

Lychwick rejected the prosecution’s account. Before trial, he had pleaded not guilty. He later dismissed his public defender and chose to act as his own attorney, with standby counsel available. In his opening statement, he told jurors that he was not a killer and had not committed the crime. He also alleged that authorities had manipulated evidence and argued that he was being treated unfairly. The jury nevertheless found him guilty on both counts after the four-day trial in June.

His decision to represent himself became a significant feature of the proceedings. News organizations covering the trial reported repeated arguments between Lychwick and Maas over courtroom procedure, evidence and Lychwick’s conduct. At various times, Lychwick protested the proceedings, accused the court of denying his rights and resisted directions from the judge. Maas stated during the trial that he believed Lychwick had pretended to sleep, and observers reported that Lychwick at one point put balled-up paper in his ears. The disruptions did not stop the state from completing its case or the jury from reaching a verdict.

The courtroom conflict continued at sentencing. Lychwick again disputed the outcome and said he believed the conclusion of the case was unfair. Thompson, meanwhile, described his trial behavior while arguing for the strongest available punishment. Maas ultimately rebuked Lychwick’s repeated interruptions and protests, telling him that the courtroom tactics had reached their end. The judge’s remarks came before he imposed the sentence that permanently foreclosed parole on the homicide count.

The case had initially drawn attention months before Lychwick’s arrest because Maldonado’s body was not immediately identified. Police said the remains were too decomposed for a visual identification, and authorities later used dental records to establish that the dead man was Maldonado. An autopsy conducted Nov. 1, 2024, identified evidence of gunfire and led the medical examiner’s office to rule the death a homicide. Investigators then worked backward from the concealed remains, examining activity around the apartment complex, interviewing people and eventually focusing on Lychwick.

The investigation reached a new stage when officers obtained search warrants and recovered the writings, rope and other evidence later shown to jurors. Police also located the firearm in Lychwick’s vehicle. Authorities said the combination of the weapon evidence and the documents strengthened their case that Maldonado’s death was not a random act by an unknown person. The prosecution’s theory was that Lychwick had developed a grievance against his neighbor, though public reporting has not established a simple, independently verified explanation for what caused that grievance or why Maldonado became a target.

For Maldonado’s relatives, that unanswered question remained part of the loss even after the verdict. His daughter told the court she did not know whether Lychwick hated her father and suggested she might never receive an explanation because he continued to deny responsibility. Her comments underscored a distinction between what the criminal proceeding resolved and what it could not: A jury decided who was legally responsible for Maldonado’s killing, but the courtroom did not provide his family with a clear, accepted account of why it happened.

Currently, Lychwick is serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole for the homicide, with the separate sentence for hiding the corpse ordered in addition. The convictions remain the legal resolution of the case unless altered through post-conviction or appellate proceedings. No later court ruling overturning the verdict or sentence had been reported as of the latest review.

Author note: Last updated September 28, 2026.