Three Colorado teens are behind bars for throwing a rock at an unsuspecting motorist, killing her.
The brazen crime took place on April 19th in Jefferson County. Authorities say 20-year-old Alexa Bartell was traveling while on the phone with friend Jenna Griggs. That is when Joseph Koenig drove his car close to Bartell’s car, allowing passenger Zachary Kwak to throw a large rock out the window at her windshield as she rode on a long stretch of Indiana Street between Denver and Boulder. Another passenger, Nicholas “Mitch” Karol-Chik, was also in the vehicle. After seeing the rock hit her window, Kwak told his pals they needed to return and see the damage they inflicted. Kwak then took photos of the damaged car that had driven off the road for “memento.” Griggs says the phone went silent as she talked to Bartell, so she quickly tracked her location. Sadly, Griggs discovered Bartell fatally injured in her car.
Investigators located “biological matter” in Bartell’s car and a large “landscaping rock” on the side of the street splattered with blood. The three met the day after the murder to concoct a story. They referred to themselves as “blood brothers” after the incident and swore never to reveal what happened. However, Karol-Chik told detectives exactly what transpired. Koenig, Karol-Chik, and Kwak, all 18, were arrested Tuesday and Wednesday in the Denver suburb of Arvada.
Investigators say other automobiles were struck during the trio’s bizarre crime spree. Police now believe they’d been throwing objects at cars in the area since at least February. All of them have been charged with first-degree murder and held without bond.
