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NY Post
New York Post
4 May 2023


NextImg:3 teens charged with murder in deadly Colorado rock-throwing attack

Three Colorado teenagers arrested last week for allegedly hurling a large rock that killed driver Alexa Bartell have been formally charged with murder and a dozen other crimes.

Nicholas “Mitch” Karol-Chik, Joseph Koenig and Zachary Kwak, all 18, each face charges of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, second-degree assault and attempted second-degree assault in Bartell’s killing and alleged attacks on six other cars in suburban Denver, First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King announced Wednesday.

“Based on the available facts and after careful legal analysis, we have filed charges and will now move forward with a criminal prosecution,” King said in a statement.

All three suspects, dressed in orange jumpsuits, appeared in court during a brief hearing Wednesday afternoon. They did not make any statements beyond saying, “Yes, Your Honor,” reported ABC News.

The defendants’ attorneys declined to have the charges against them read aloud.

The teen suspects are being held in jail without bond. They are due back in court for another hearing on May 16.

Alexa Bartell, 20, was killed on April 19 near Denver when a large rock was hurled at her car.
Jefferson County Sheriff's Office

Alexa Bartell's shattered windshield

The landscaping rock taken from a Walmart went through the driver’s windshield and caused her to crash in a field.
Jefferson County Sheriff's Office

Bartell, 20, was driving home from work at 10:45 p.m. April 19 when a large landscaping rock was hurled at her from a passing vehicle, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

The woman was on the phone with a friend when the stone came crashing through her windshield, killing her.

The line suddenly went silent, so Bartell’s worried friend tracked her down using her phone’s location.

Bartell’s lifeless body was discovered in her mangled car resting in a field by the road.

Joseph Koenig

Joseph Koenig, 18, faces first-degree murder and other charges in the rock-throwing spree.
AP

Nicholas "Mitch" Karol-Chik

Nicholas “Mitch” Karol-Chik told investigators that he and Koenig had throwing rocks at cars on at least 10 other days before Bartell’s killing.
AP

Zachary Kwak

Zachary Kwak allegedly took a statistic photo of Bartell’s mangled car after her death as a “memento.”
AP

Following his arrest in Bartell’s killing, Karol-Chik told investigators that he and Koenig had thrown rocks and even a statue at passing cars on at least 10 other days before the deadly incident.

Kwak heard about what they had been doing and asked to join them, according to Karol-Chik’s account as reflected in arrest affidavits.

Karol-Chik also revealed that Koenig slowed down their car so Kwak could snap a sick photo of Bartell’s wrecked vehicle in the field.

Bartell's friend tracked her phone and found her dead in her car resting in a field.

Bartell’s friend tracked her phone and found her dead in her car resting in a field.
9News

He said all three got excited every time they hit a car with landscaping rocks taken from a Walmart parking lot, but acknowledged he felt “a hint of guilt” passing by Bartell’s car, according to court documents.

Kwak said he took the photo because he thought that Karol-Chik or Koenig would want to have a “memento” of what had happened, according to the affidavits.

Two other drivers suffered minor injuries as a result of the teens’ rock-throwing spree, according to police.

With Post wires