Defendant in deadly Colorado rock-throwing case sentenced to 45 years in prison
The first of three defendants in the deadly Jefferson County rock-throwing case was sentenced on Thursday. Nicholas "Mitch" James Karol-Chik pleaded guilty last May in Alexa Bartell's death in an agreement reached with the prosecution.
Karol-Chik pleaded guilty to his role in a series of rock-throwing attacks between Feb. 25, 2023 and April 19, 2023. In that agreement, the prosecution dismissed the original charges and added three new charges, including second-degree murder, criminal attempt to commit murder in the first degree, and crime of violence.
According to the plea agreement, prosecutors said Karol-Chik would serve a minimum of 35 years and up to 72 years in the Department of Corrections. The judge said the deal did not allow for sentencing in the youth offender program. As part of the agreement, Karol-Chik agreed to testify against fellow defendant Joseph Koenig.
On Thursday, the judge sentenced Karol-Chik to 45 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections.
Bartell's parents spoke at the sentencing, detailing how the actions of the then-teenagers impacted the rest of their lives.
"The brutal reality is I will never hold her in my arms, hear her laugh, or experience the life she should have. It haunts me every day," said Bartell's mother, Kelly Bartell.
"Alexa was my everything in life. She was my pride and joy. She was a beautiful person inside and out. She was a very respectful, caring, intelligent young lady," said Bartell's father, Greg Bartell.
Another defendant in the case, Zachary Kwak, also pleaded guilty in an agreement reached with the prosecution. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday.
Last week, the third defendant, Koenig, and the only suspect who didn't reach a plea agreement with prosecutors, was found guilty by a jury of first-degree murder and more than a dozen other charges in Bartell's death and a series of rock-throwing incidents. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 3.
Twenty-year-old Bartell was struck and killed late at night on April 19, 2023, when she was struck by a rock that was thrown into her windshield. Several others were injured in similar incidents with what authorities described as "large landscaping rocks," concrete, and in one case, a statue.
