January 1, Teen Trio Charged With First-Degree Murder

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Three Colorado teenagers have been charged with first-degree murder with extreme indifference for their alleged involvement in the death of 20-year-old Alexa Bartell. Joseph Koenig, Nicholas “Mitch” Karol-Chik, and Zachary Kwak are accused of throwing a heavy landscaping rock through Bartell’s windshield as part of a twisted rock-throwing spree that targeted multiple vehicles on the same night.

Shocking details have emerged in the case, including the trio returning to the crash scene to snap a photo of Bartell’s car as a “memento” and later talking about how they were now “blood brothers” who could never speak of what happened.

The trio allegedly took the large landscaping rocks from the edge of a Walmart parking lot and loaded them into a Chevy Silverado 1500 pickup truck. When asked how many rocks they grabbed, a witness said “as much as they could carry.” The witness also reportedly knew that “something bad was going to happen” and insisted the others take him home.

Koenig allegedly threw the rock that hit Bartell, and Kwak told investigators that it sounded like a “rail gun” shooting concrete when it smashed through the windshield.

Bartell was found dead by her friend, who had been talking to her on the phone when the rock hit her. The friend tracked her location down using an app after Bartell went silent.

Shocking photos show the shattered windshield and the back window blown out. The three suspects are also believed to have carried out several other similar rock attacks on drivers the same night that Bartell was killed, with at least seven vehicles targeted and two drivers suffering minor injuries.

I am absolutely disgusted by the actions of these three teens. This is a heinous crime that has robbed a young woman of her life and left her loved ones devastated. It is incomprehensible that these teenagers could engage in such reckless behavior and then take a photo of the victim’s car as a “memento.” Their alleged actions are an affront to the Constitution and the values that this country was founded upon.

I hope that justice will be served in this case and that the families of Alexa Bartell and the other victims find some measure of peace and closure. It is time for our society to take a hard look at the culture of violence and impunity that is increasingly pervasive among some of our youth and to take action to address it before more innocent lives are lost.

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source: nyPost