JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — The three people charged in the death of a 20-year-old woman who was killed when a rock was thrown into her vehicle last April pleaded not guilty in court Monday afternoon.
Alexa Bartell was killed as she drove on Indiana Street near Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge on April 19, 2023. At the time, Bartell was on the phone with a friend, and the line went silent. Bartell's friend tracked down her phone and drove to the location to find Bartell dead inside her car, which was off the roadway in a field.
The suspects, Joseph Koenig, Nicholas Karol-Chik and Zachary Kwak, were arrested six days later.
In Jefferson County District Court on Monday afternoon, Koenig, Karol-Chik and Kwak each pleaded not guilty to all of the charges they face.
9NEWS Legal Expert Scott Robinson said these not guilty pleas don't rule out plea bargains later on.
"It is certainly possible prosecutors will try to work out a deal with one or two of the individuals if they have decided to focus on one of the young men," Robinson said. "Typically in cases like this, prosecutors are going to insist that if there is some sort of plea bargain that it be entered into well in advance of the first trial."
Karol-Chick's trial is scheduled first, for June.
Four new charges have been filed against Koenig after two more victims came forward. Court documents show the new charges stem from two separate rock-throwing incidents in February 2023.
The new charges include two counts of attempted first-degree murder, and two counts of attempted second-degree assault.
In court Monday, prosecutors said Karol-Chik told investigators last year he and Koenig threw rocks on 10 separate nights from February to April 2023. The defense said that in that same interview, Karol-Chik said the prior incidents involved property damage and not moving cars.
"If there are in fact additional incidents, each one is another layer of the prosecution’s case against the defendants. The more incidents they were involved in, the less likely it was simply a spur of the moment," Robinson said.
Each suspect is charged with first-degree murder for the death of Bartell and multiple counts of attempted murder. The attempted murder charges are related to other incidents that occurred the same night Bartell was killed. Six other drivers, whose cars were hit the night Bartell died, survived.
According to an arrest affidavit from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, one man reported that he saw a rock come through his windshield. He said it hit him in the shoulder and landed in his front seat.
Investigators also spoke with another person who reported that he had been with the three suspects earlier in the evening and witnessed them loading landscaping rocks from a Walmart into their truck.
The suspects' arraignments were delayed multiple times. The most recent delay was due to the snowstorm last month, which resulted in the closure of the Jefferson County courthouse.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Investigations & Crime