Authorities in Colorado said that three men have been detained for allegedly hurling sizable landscaping rocks at least seven vehicles last week. The driver Alexa Bartell, 20, died in the seventh and last incident.
The suspects, all 18-year-old high school seniors, were detained at their parents’ houses in Arvada during the course of the previous night and are currently being charged with first-degree murder with the utmost disregard, according to a statement released by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday.
Authorities said they anticipate filing additional charges. The identity of the suspect or suspects, who have been named as Joseph Koenig, Nicholas “Mitch” Karol-Chik, and Zachary Kwak, is unknown, although all three are suspected of throwing rocks, according to the authorities. Authorities claimed that it appears they tossed the rocks while driving.
Bartell was killed on April 19 at about 10:45 p.m. when someone threw a huge rock through her windshield, according to the sheriff’s office. According to the sheriff’s office, six additional cars in the vicinity had rocks thrown at them one hour before Bartell was slain. Two of those instances involved minor injuries to the drivers.
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One of the four unharmed victims was a Lyft and Uber driver named Nathan Tipton. “When I found out that this series of events actually took a young lady’s life, I feel for Alexa and her family. It put me in a bit of a shock. My wife, it really got to her,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
“Nobody should lose their child for a random act. … It’s heartbreaking,” said Tipton, a dad of three. According to the sheriff’s office, the arrests were made possible by phone forensics and public knowledge. According to sheriff’s officials, the accused are scheduled to appear in court for the first time on Thursday.
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