Judge orders Colorado rock-throwing death suspects to go to trial
The suspects arrested and accused in the rock-throwing death of Alexa Bartell appeared in Jefferson County Court on Wednesday for a preliminary hearing. The judge in the case has ruled that there is enough probable cause for the suspects to go to trial.
The 20-year-old died in April after she was struck by a rock that was thrown into her windshield and others were injured in similar incidents.
Joseph Koenig, Nicholas "Mitch" Karol-Chik and Zachary Kwak are each facing 13 charges in connection with rock-throwing attacks that killed Alexa Bartell and injured others. All of the suspects were 18 years old and seniors in high school at the time of their arrests. One attended Ralston Valley High School, one Standley Lake High School in Westminster, and the other attended online school.
On Wednesday, prosecutors outlined the case against the suspects in court. They called witnesses to testify about the evidence, including Jefferson County investigators, who reviewed pictures of several incidents of windshields damaged in the alleged rock-throwing attacks.
In addition to the first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder charges, they are also facing multiple counts of assault and attempted assault.
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Bartell, of Arvada, was killed late at night on April 19 when a rock crashed through her windshield as she was driving on the 10600 block of Indiana Street close to the Jefferson County and Boulder County lines. Her vehicle left the roadway and ended up in a field. She was on the phone talking to a friend when she was struck and the phone went silent.
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Two other people were also hurt in earlier rock attacks that night. Seven vehicles in total were hit by what authorities now describe as "large landscaping rocks." It's believed the suspects were in a moving vehicle when the rocks were thrown.
A memorial for Bartell with flowers and pinwheels now sits along a fence next to Indiana Street where she died.
The three suspects remain in custody without bond. The defense has requested that each suspect be tried separately. That will be decided during a hearing scheduled for December.