A Waukesha man accused of killing his neighbor is about to take one of the riskiest routes in criminal law: going it alone at trial. With his public defender now off the case, he is set to represent himself when jury selection begins Monday, June 8. The trial is expected to run all week.
Judge denies another delay
At a June 2 hearing, Waukesha County Judge David Maas signed off on the public defender’s request to withdraw and then shut down the defendant’s bid to push the trial back for a third time. "541 days in isn’t when you should be ramping up your defense and prepare for trial," Maas said in court. When the defendant suggested he only planned to represent himself "until I find my own defense," the judge warned that no new attorney would be able to jump in on such short notice, according to FOX6 News Milwaukee.
Prosecutors' account of the killing
Prosecutors say 56-year-old Carlos Maldonado was shot in April and that a passerby discovered his body months later, wrapped in a tarp near the apartment building in October 2024, according to TMJ4.
Court filings and local reporting state that Kevin Lychwick is charged with first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse, and investigators say bullets taken from Maldonado’s body matched rounds fired from a gun recovered in Lychwick’s vehicle, as reported by WTMJ.
Hit list and other evidence
Police say a handwritten "hit list" was found in Lychwick’s apartment, with names, social media handles, phone numbers and addresses, and that Maldonado’s name appeared at the top, according to CBS58. Authorities have told reporters that none of the other people on the list have been harmed.
Prosecutors have highlighted the list, the firearm and a combination of surveillance and body-cam footage as key pillars of their case, according to coverage from WISN.
What’s next
Lychwick remains in jail on a $5 million cash bond and is due back in court Monday, June 8, for the start of trial, which is expected to take the full week. The early going will likely revolve around jury selection and legal sparring over his decision to represent himself.
Local reporters say the case is currently set to move ahead on schedule, although the court’s calendar will ultimately dictate how smoothly things proceed. Recent hearings on scheduling and trial logistics have been detailed by FOX6 News Milwaukee and in coverage of related pretrial filings by WTMJ.
Legal note
Criminal defendants have a constitutional right to represent themselves, but judges must ensure that giving up counsel is done knowingly and intelligently. That standard was laid out in Faretta v. California and further discussed in Iowa v. Tovar. Courts may also consider whether a defendant is competent to act as their own lawyer in order to protect the fairness of the trial.
The weeklong proceeding will be the first time jurors hear the full narrative of what prosecutors say happened to Maldonado and why they believe the evidence points to Lychwick. All eyes in the courtroom will be on how a man facing a homicide charge handles the high-stakes job of being his own attorney.
