JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — Deputies have arrested three young men on murder charges in connection with a series of rock-throwing incidents that claimed the life of a 20-year-old woman last week.
Joseph Koenig, Nicholas “Mitch” Karol-Chik and Zachary Kwak, all 18, were arrested at their homes in Arvada and charged with first-degree murder with extreme indifference, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.
Koenig, Karol-Chik and Kwak are accused of throwing large landscaping rocks at moving vehicles on the night of April 19, according to deputies. One of the rocks hit Alexa Bartell’s car as she was on the phone with a friend around 10:45 p.m., crashing through the windshield and killing her.
Deputies last week said the friend tracked Bartell’s phone after she went silent on their call. The friend found her dead in her car, which had been driven into a field.
Investigators said it was not clear Wednesday which of the suspects allegedly threw the rock that killed Bartell. At least six other vehicles were also targeted between 10 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. on April 19, with two other drivers suffering injuries after rocks went through their windshields, authorities said.
Deputies used mobile device forensics and information from the public to zero in on Koenig, Karol-Chik and Kwak as suspects in the incidents. Authorities said the three are expected to face additional charges.
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