COLORADO, DENVER — Prosecutors have charged three 18-year-old teens, Nicholas “Mitch” Karol-Chik, Joseph Koenig, and Zachary Kwak, with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, second-degree assault, and attempted second-degree assault in connection to the death of Alexis Bartell and the alleged attacks on six other cars in suburban Denver.
The announcement was made on Wednesday by First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King. Investigators reported that two other drivers also sustained minor injuries.
Lawyers for Karol-Chik, Koenig, and Kwak declined to comment, and during a short court hearing, they refused to have the charges read. Holly Gummerson and Tom Ward represent Karol-Chik and Koenig, respectively, while Emily Boehne is Kwak’s lawyer.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office revealed that Bartell was speaking with a friend on the phone when a rock hit her on April 19. The friend located Bartell’s lifeless body in her vehicle, which had crashed into a field, after the call ended abruptly.
During the investigation conducted by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Karol-Chik stated that he and Koenig had hurled rocks, including a statue, at passing cars on at least ten other occasions before Bartell was killed.
Karol-Chik claimed that Kwak had heard about their activities and requested to join them, according to the affidavits.
While Karol-Chik and Kwak gave different versions of who threw the rock that resulted in Bartell’s death, Koenig did not communicate with investigators after his arrest, as per the arrest affidavits.
