The third person charged in a fatal rock-throwing incident in 2023 was sentenced to life without parole Tuesday.
Joseph Koenig was also given an additional 60 years for killing Alexa Bartell. Two others were also charged in the death and pleaded guilty to other charges. A jury found Koenig, 20, guilty on 19 counts, including first-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder, second-degree assault, and second-degree attempted assault in April.
Koenig, Nicholas Karol-Chik, and Zachary Kwak were arrested for throwing landscaping rocks at passing cars in Jefferson and Boulder Counties on the night of April 19, 2023. The group allegedly hit at least six drivers, injuring several.
Bartell was driving when one of the rocks went through her windshield and hit her head. She died from her injuries. The Arvada resident had been talking on the phone with a friend at the time. After the call went silent, the friend tracked the location of the phone with a phone app.
Karol-Chik and Kwak pleaded guilty to their respective charges in May 2024. Karol-Chik was sentenced to 45 years for second-degree murder, criminal attempt to commit murder in the first degree and crime of violence. Kwak received the maximum 32 years for one count of first-degree assault, one count of second-degree assault and a count of criminal attempt to commit assault.
Koenig was originally set to go to trial last summer. But, it was delayed due to a required mental evaluation involving his ADHD diagnosis. His attorneys argued that he was only guilty of manslaughter. Prosecutors argued Koenig knew the risks of his actions.
- Driver convicted of first-degree murder in case teens who threw fatal rock at car
- Trial begins for third defendant in rock-throwing death of 20-year-old woman
- One of three Colorado teens pleads guilty in rock-throwing death of young woman
- Second Colorado teen pleads guilty in rock-throwing death of 20-year-old woman
