One of three men accused of fatal stone throwing pleads guilty

One of three men accused of killing a woman on a Colorado highway last year after she allegedly threw rocks at cars has pleaded guilty, prosecutors said.

Nicholas Karol-Chik, Joseph Koenig and Zachary Kwak each originally faced more than a dozen charges, including murder, in connection with the death of 20-year-old Alexa Bartell, who was found dead in her car northwest of Denver.

They were also accused of injuring three other people when several moving vehicles were hit by stones on April 19, 2023.

The three were 18 years old at the time of their arrest.

According to a press release from the Colorado First Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Kwak, now 19, pleaded guilty on Friday to first-degree assault, second-degree assault and attempted second-degree assault.

“As part of his plea today, Kwak agreed that with respect to Bartell’s death, the defendant acted knowingly and under circumstances that demonstrated extreme indifference to the value of human life by behaving in a manner that posed a grave risk of death,” prosecutors said.

Authorities said Kwak, who allegedly threw the rock that killed Bartell, said, “We need to go back and look at this” and took a photo of the crash. He told investigators he believed the other two men “would want it as a souvenir,” an affidavit said.

Kwak faces a prison sentence of 20 to 32 years, the press release states.

The verdict is scheduled for September 3, after Karol-Chik and Koenig have been tried in separate proceedings, the press release said.

CNN’s Andy Rose contributed to this report.

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