3 Teens Arrested After Woman, 20, Fatally Hit By Rock While Driving

JEFFERSON COUNTY, CO — Three suspects have been arrested in connection with the death of Alexa Bartell, a 20-year-old woman who was killed on the night of April 19 when a rock was thrown through her windshield, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said in a news release Wednesday.

Local authorities arrested Joseph Koenig, Nicholas “Mitch” Karol-Chik, and Zachary Kwak, all 18 years old, overnight Tuesday at their homes in Arvada. All three are suspected of throwing rocks and all three are facing charges of first-degree murder, extreme indifference, authorities said. Additional charges are expected to be filed.

Bartell's vehicle was the last of multiple vehicles struck by large landscaping rocks in a spree at 100th and Simms in Westminster after 10 p.m. April 19, according to authorities. While it remains unclear which suspects were driving during the spree, the suspect vehicle is a black 2016 Chevy Silverado, the sheriff said.

Authorities said Bartell was on her phone talking to a friend just before the attack, after which the phone went silent. Bartell's friend tracked her phone and drove to the location on Indiana Street, where they found her car off the roadway in a field and Bartell dead inside, authorities added.

"Ultimately, mobile device forensics and supporting information from the public helped lead to the identification and arrest of the suspects," the sheriff's office said in Wednesday's news release. "Investigators were glad to be able to notify Alexa’s family and the other victims of these arrests."