Teen whooped with excitement after throwing fatal rock in Jeffco spree, second accomplice testifies

Alexa Bartell Provided by Jefferson County Sheriff s Department Joseph Koenig whooped with excitement after he threw a rock into a passing car s windshield and killed the driver two years ago his friend testified Friday during Koenig s jury trial in Jefferson County District Court Koenig let out the whoop when he saw -year-old Alexa Bartell s car had veered off the road after it was hit with the rock on Indiana Street near the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge on April Nicholas Mitch Karol-Chik testified Friday He was excited Karol-Chik narrated jurors He would just look at us with this big smile on his face Koenig is charged with first-degree murder in Bartell s death as well as attempted murder and related counts for his role in a rock-throwing spree that personnel say he Karol-Chik and a third teenager Zachary Kwak carried out that night The teens threw landscaping rocks at a number of cars both parked and moving before hurling the rock through Bartell s windshield in the last attack of the night prosecutors allege All three men were at the time of the rock-throwing spree each is now Koenig s celebration after hitting Bartell s car was in line with how they d reacted to past impacts Karol-Chik testified The men would cheer and compliment each other whenever a rock struck a motorcycle he reported If they missed they were disappointed he reported Koenig s defense attorneys have conceded he helped to cause Bartell s death and noted that he should be held responsible But they argued during opening statements that he was guilty not of first-degree murder but of the less serious charge of manslaughter because none of the teenagers intended to hurt anyone that night We only thought of them as cars Karol-Chik testified Friday But we never thought of who may be driving them Kwak and Karol-Chik have both pleaded guilty in Bartell s killing and as part of their plea deals are required to testify against Koenig Prosecutors say Koenig threw the fatal rock Koenig s defense attorneys say Kwak threw the fatal rock Following his arrest six days after the killing Karol-Chik for months informed investigators that Kwak threw the rock that killed Bartell including through three proffer interviews in which he offered information to prosecutors in order to seek a plea agreement Not until a fourth and final proffer interview did Karol-Chik decisively name Koenig as the person who threw the last rock Karol-Chik admitted on cross-examination You knew what you needed to say in this last interview Koenig s defense attorney Martin Stuart revealed during cross-examination I did Karol-Chik explained And that was that Joe threw the rock Stuart explained I knew that I had to tell them the truth Karol-Chik declared Well you started out saying that you aren t sure that Joe threw the rock and by the end of the interview you are That is correct Karol-Chik testified He testified Friday that he lied until the last interview to try to protect Koenig who was at the time his best friend and almost close enough to be brothers Kwak was a newer friend who the pair had known for about a month Karol-Chik testified He announced he agreed to pin the crime on Kwak after talking with Koenig after Bartell s death We went over everything that happened and it was at that time that Joe disclosed to me that we wouldn t have to worry about it we ll just say that Zach did it Karol-Chik testified But under cross-examination Karol-Chik testified he genuinely deduced Kwak threw the fatal rock and that he thought he remembered Kwak handling that particular rock which was bigger than the other rocks they d collected that night He testified that he advised Kwak not to use that rock because it was too big but that Kwak informed him that he would throw it if Karol-Chik would not The rock weighed pounds testified Dan Manka an investigator with the Jefferson County Sheriff s Office Stuart suggested Karol-Chik pointed a finger at Koenig only to secure a plea deal with the district attorney s office that would allow him to avoid a life prison sentence and that he tailored his testimony to match the prosecution s theory of events after prosecutors offered no deal after the first three interviews in which he named Kwak as the person who threw the fatal rock Was the truth that Joseph Koenig threw the rock that killed Alexa Bartell Chief Deputy District Attorney Katharine Decker demanded on redirect Yes Karol-Chik testified Related Articles Teens drove mph before fatal throw in Jeffco rock-throwing spree accomplice testifies Trial opens for suspect in Jeffco rock-throwing spree that killed Alexa Bartell Second teen in Jeffco rock-throwing spree that killed Alexa Bartell pleads guilty to murder Teenage suspect pleads guilty in Jeffco rock-throwing spree that killed Alexa Bartell Rock-throwing individuals turned back to take photo of fatal crash as memento Jeffco affidavit says Karol-Chik s testimony Friday followed Kwak s testimony Thursday and differed on several details Kwak declared he didn t throw any rocks during the several hours that he hung out with the other teenagers that night and had petitioned to go home Karol-Chik disclosed all three teenagers threw the rocks and that Kwak never petitioned to leave Karol-Chik also revealed Koenig was driving at about mph when he threw the rock that killed Bartell while Kwak declared the speed was mph Both testified that Koenig sped up before the fatal throw The two men s testimony aligned on the major events of the night including that they carried out a series of escalating pranks and rock-throwing before Bartell was killed After her death Karol-Chik commented he knew they d expletived up when he drove by the area again later that night and saw crisis vehicles he testified Neither Karol-Chik nor Kwak has been sentenced their sentencings are set for early May Karol-Chik faces between and years in prison Kwak could be sentenced to between and years in prison Koenig faces a mandatory life prison sentence if he is convicted of first-degree murder Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day