Rock-throwing suspects turned back to take photo of fatal crash as memento, Colorado authorities say

DENVER -- Three men who authorities say threw rocks at vehicles last week, killing 20-year-old Alexa Bartell, turned around after the fatal crash and took a photo of the woman’s car as a memento, according to a Jefferson County sheriff’s affidavit.

One of the 18-year-old suspects told investigators he felt “a hint of guilt,” and said that he and one other man had thrown rocks at vehicles on at least 10 separate days since February. Another suspect was described by a friend as participating in “destructive behavior” because he liked to cause “chaos,” according to the 10-page affidavit released Thursday.

Joseph Koenig, Nicholas “Mitch” Karol-Chik and Zachary Kwak, all 18, appeared in Jefferson County District Court for the first time Thursday morning after they were arrested earlier this week for investigation of first-degree murder in Bartell’s death. She was struck by a rock and killed while driving her car on Indiana Street near the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge around 10:45 p.m. April 19.

After investigators used cellphone location data to pinpoint the three men as suspects, both Karol-Chik and Kwak gave interviews to investigators and described the fatal attack. Karol-Chik said Kwak threw the fatal rock; Kwak said it was thrown by Koenig. Koenig declined to speak with police.

The rock made a “very loud noise” like a “rail gun” striking concrete when it hit Bartell’s car, Kwak told investigators. After the impact, he said, “‘We have to go back and see that,’” Karol-Chik told police. The men turned around at the next intersection and passed by Bartell’s car. They stopped and Kwak took a photo as a memento, according to the affidavit.

After the attack, the trio went home. They met up the next day to “get their stories straight” about what happened, according to the affidavit.

“Joseph and Mitch were talking about them now being ‘blood brothers’ and they could never speak of the incident,” Kwak told investigators, according to the affidavit.

During the attacks that night, the men used “marine” terms when throwing the rocks, Kwak told investigators.

“Mitch would say things like, ‘contact left,’ before Joseph would throw the rock at a car on the left side of theirs,” according to the affidavit.

Authorities believe all three men threw rocks at cars during a crime spree in west metro Denver on April 19. In addition to Bartell’s killing, six other cars were damaged and two drivers injured in the attacks in Boulder County, Jefferson County, Westminster and Arvada, authorities have said.

The day after the attacks, investigators pulled cellphone data for phones that pinged on four cell towers near the locations where drivers had been hit with rocks. Eleven phone numbers pinged off all four towers, but only one phone number matched the time and location of the attacks exactly, according to the affidavit.

That phone belonged to Koenig, according to the affidavit.

Acting on a tip five days later, investigators spoke with a 20-year-old former coworker of Koenig, who said he was with Koenig, Karol-Chik and Kwak on the night of the attacks. The four friends went to a Walmart near West 72nd Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard around 8:30 p.m., the friend said, where the three men picked up landscaping rocks from the edge of the parking lot and loaded them into their truck.

The 20-year-old said he “knew something bad was going to happen, so he insisted they take him home, which they did,” according to the affidavit. When the trio drove off, Koenig was driving the truck and Karol-Chik was in the front passenger seat and Kwak was in the back seat, according to the affidavit.

The friend told police that Koenig frequently engaged in destructive behavior, and that when asked about it, he would say he liked to create chaos, according to the affidavit.

Jefferson County District Court Judge Mark Randall ordered all three men held without bond during their brief court appearances Thursday.

Randall advised the three suspects that the court had found probable cause for filing charges of first-degree murder with extreme indifference against them and issued orders to protect victims, Bartell’s family members and two witnesses in the case. He scheduled a court hearing for the filing of charges on May 3.

“Frankly put, Judge, the community is outraged,” prosecutor Padraic Emerine said in court. “This was an extremely reckless and irresponsible situation that the defendant was involved in that, unfortunately, cost the life of a very innocent and very young woman in this case.”

Denver Post staff writer Bruce Finley contributed to this report.