Despite health problems as well as a last-minute decision to drop his attorney, Kevin Lychwick will stand trial for first-degree homicide as scheduled beginning June 8.
On June 2, Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge David Maas accepted the 63-year-old Waukesha man’s decision to represent himself during the weeklong trial, but rejected Lychwick’s effort to delay the trial over his general lack of readiness to proceed.
“Five hundred and forty-one days into a case is not to time to be ramping up your defense,” Maas said in response to Lychwick’s hope to be given more time to prepare for the trial pro se, without an attorney. “This is what you should have been doing over the past month, and the past year and a half.”
Maas’ decision comes at the end of a five-day period that began with what was supposed to be a routine jury status hearing on May 28, confirming both parties’ readiness for the trial and to address any last-minute matters. And there were plenty.
Homicide case is marked by long investigation and long court process
Lychwick is accused in the death of Carlos Maldonado, 56, whose badly decomposed body was found wrapped in a tarp Oct. 30, 2024, in a wooded area behind a Waukesha apartment building in the 1500 block of East North Street. He had been shot in the head and torso. Based on medical examiner reports and a six-week investigation by Waukesha police, his body was believed to have been placed there six months earlier.
Through the investigation, Waukesha police tied Lychwick to the homicide using video evidence from surveillance cameras, which showed Lychwick coming to and from the wooded area on several occasions. In addition, a gun that ballistic testing matched to the two bullets recovered from the body was found in Lychwick’s vehicle on Dec. 2. Duct tape and ropes similar to those found around the body were also in his possession.
Since he was charged in December 2024 with first-degree homicide and hiding a corpse, the case has proceeded slowly, despite Lychwick’s original request for a speedy trial.
An unsuccessful defense motion to suppress certain evidence and the assignment of Maas as the new trial judge (after his election to Bridget Schoenborn’s seat) contributed to delays in bringing the case to trial. But Lychwick has slowed down the process through requests to change his public defender attorneys as well as medical problems.
Attorneys Russell Jones and Abigail Ruckdashel withdrew from the case on Aug. 8, 2025. More recently, on May 26, Lychwick also asked his current attorney, Pablo Galaviz, to withdraw, just two days before a jury status hearing. In his motion, Galaviz indicated that Lychwick was considering representing himself at trial.
But the May 28 hearing, when Galaviz’s motion to withdraw would have been heard, never took place. Lychwick was admitted to a hospital that morning for an illness that not previously disclosed by the court. A May 29 hearing was also postponed due to his inability to appear.
The Waukesha County District Attorney’s Office, seeking to determine why Lychwick’s medical condition had prevented his court appearance, asked Maas to subpoena Wellpath, a medical provider for the Waukesha County Jail, on June 2 as part of the jury status hearing.
Hernia, kidney and prostate problems hamper Lychwick
Maas acknowledged a report by Wellpath and Lychwick’s own description of his health problems, which include a femoral hernia, a notable decline in his kidney function and blood panel results showing medical concerns. Lychwick said they are severe enough to doubt his ability to withstand the stress of a trial.
“I’m not ready for trial. My health is very bad,” Lychwick said in court on June 2.
He also criticized law enforcement officers’ efforts to return him into custody on May 30, following his treatment at Aurora St. Luke’s Hospital. “I did not appreciate being forced out of my hospital bed, back into the jail by two young thugs they sent to pick me up,” he said.
Lychwick said he also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, exacerbated by what he called “dungeon-like” conditions in the jail.
However, Maas noted that medical reports indicated that Lychwick was originally scheduled to have a Transurethral Resection of the Prostate procedure completed on March 12 but postponed it, only to have it done on May 28 – the date of his jury status hearing. Hinting that the timing was suspect, Maas said it nonetheless was insufficient to delay the trial for a fourth time since the case unfolded.
“Now you are using that as an excuse for not being prepared for trial,” Maas said.
Lychwick said he has ‘no choice’ but to represent himself
Though Galaviz had let the court know on May 28 that Lychwick intended to represent himself, the reasons were unclear – until the June 2 hearing.
“I am still ramping up my defense. I can prove that the evidence against me is tainted, especially through [shared legal documents from the investigation] of the body camera footage being altered, including the audio portion of it,” Lychwick told Maas.
He openly questioned the role of the State Public Defenders Office, asserting that attorneys appointed to defendants seemed oriented of moving them through the system quickly instead of adequately offering a defense. He disagreed with Galaviz’s unwillingness to address the evidence he feels he has on his side.
Asked by Maas if he felt ready to defend himself at trial, Lychwick replied: “Yes, I feel I have no choice.”
Following the formal colloquy, an interview in which Maas asked questions to determine Lychwick’s awareness of the legal challenges inherent in representing himself, the judge ultimately allowed Galaviz to withdraw as his counsel.
However, Maas also allowed Galaviz to be appointed as standby counsel, specifically to assist Lychwick with trial proceedings. It’s more of an effort to keep the proceedings orderly than to provide strategic help, Maas noted.
The trial will run June 8-12, beginning with jury selection.
Contact reporter Jim Riccioli at james.riccioli@jrn.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Judge allows Lychwick homicide trial to proceed despite challenges
Reporting by Jim Riccioli, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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