Overview
- A judge sentenced Kevin Lychwick to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Thursday for the April 2024 killing of his neighbor, Carlos Maldonado.
- Prosecutors relied on ballistics tying a 9mm Luger found in Lychwick’s car to bullets recovered from Maldonado and on state crime lab DNA that placed Lychwick’s profile on the weapon’s grip.
- Prosecutors also presented notes listing Maldonado as a ‘target’ and trail‑camera footage that showed Lychwick carrying a shovel, tarp, boots and black garbage bags toward the hill where the body was later found.
- Lychwick represented himself at trial, did not testify or call witnesses, had repeated outbursts in court, and a jury convicted him in June after deliberating for less than an hour.
- Lychwick said he will appeal and a restitution hearing is scheduled for October, while Maldonado’s family said the conviction and sentence do not erase the loss they continue to live with after his body was found six months after he disappeared.