One of three men charged with fatal stone throwing pleads guilty

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

Nicholas Karol-Chik, Joseph Koenig and Zachary Kwak were each originally charged with 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 stones hit several moving vehicles on April 19, 2023.

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

Kwak, now 19, pleaded guilty Friday to first-degree assault, second-degree assault and criminal attempt to commit second-degree assault, according to a news release from the Colorado First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

“As part of today’s plea, Kwak agreed that, in light of Bartell’s death, the defendant acted knowingly and under circumstances that demonstrated utter indifference to the value of human life by engaging in conduct that posed a serious risk of death,” the district attorney’s office said.

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

Kwak faces 20 to 32 years in prison, the release said.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 3 following the separate trials of Karol-Chik and Koenig, the statement said.

CNN’s Andy Rose contributed to this report.

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