Waukesha man sentenced to life in prison for killing neighbor, hiding body in woods
WAUKESHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A Waukesha man will spend the rest of his life in prison for killing his neighbor and hiding his corpse behind their shared apartment complex.
A jury found 63-year-old Kevin Lychwick guilty in June after a turbulent trial, where he represented himself.
On Thursday, Aug. 20, Lychwick was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing 55-year-old Carlos Maldonado in 2024.
Kevin Lychwick
The decision marks the end of an exhausting process for the court, and especially for Maldonado's family.
"I will never get to see my dad again," wept Maldonado's daughter, as she asked Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge David Maas to impose the strongest sentence.
Prosecutors said Lychwick shot Maldonado twice and wrapped his body in a tarp, hiding it in the woods behind their shared apartment complex.
Maldonado's remains were found months later by a maintenance worker.
Prosecutors cited a mountain of evidence proving Lychwick was responsible, including video of him on the scene, a gun matching the bullets that killed Madonado in his car, and most notably, a handwritten hitlist in his apartment titled "Operation Slop Shop" bearing Maldonado's name, listing him as a "threat" that had been "neutralized."
"The evidence suggests that you had Mr. Maldonado tied to a chair, that you shot him in the stomach, that you shot him in the face, that you dragged his body into the woods to be hidden from his family for months," described Judge Maas.
Despite the evidence and guilty verdict, Lychwick maintains his innocence, alleging he was framed by police and did not know Maldonado.
He had several outbursts in court throughout the jury trial and Thursday's sentencing, even as Maldonado's family shared their heartbreak in emotional statements to the judge.
"At no time have I ever killed anyone, nor did I have any part in the tragedy that befelled [sic] the decedent, Mr. Maldonado," said Lychwick.
"Maybe God will forgive you, but I won't. I won't. I will never forgive you," cried Maldonado's daughter.
Judge David Maas criticized Lychwick's behavior and lack of remorse throughout the case.
"Your protestations in this case are the fantasies and the ragings of a narcissist," said Judge Maas. "The stunts that you have pulled are the last-ditch efforts of someone who recognizes that their reckoning is coming. Today, Mr. Lychwick, you are out of stunts, you are out of tricks, you are out of carnival acts. Today your reckoning has come."
The judge became emotional himself while addressing Maldonado's family.
"I hope that the conviction of Mr. Lychwick and the sentence of the court brings you some measure of closure," he said, noting true justice cannot be served when a loved one has been lost.
Lychwick told the judge he plans to appeal his conviction.