Colorado authorities arrested three 18-year-old suspects in connection to a string of rock-throwing incidents, including one that killed 20-year-old Alexa Bartell.
The suspects were identified as Joseph Koenig, Nicholas “Mitch” Karol-Chik and Zachary Kwak. The high school seniors were all arrested at their homes in Arvada, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
The teens currently face first-degree murder charges. Other charges are expected to be added. Authorities did not say what led them to the suspects.
Bartell was reportedly driving and talking to a friend on the phone when it suddenly went silent on the night of April 19. That friend tracked Bartell's phone and drove to the location. That's where she found Bartell dead inside her car.
Authorities said someone was either standing on the side of the road or passing by in another vehicle when they threw a large rock through Bartell's windshield, which struck and killed her.
"She was a very big personality. Everybody loved her," Bartell's friend Samantha Motisi said during a visit to a makeshift memorial at the crash site.
Authorities said they received more than five other reports about rocks being thrown at vehicles on that same night.
This story was originally published by Scripps News Denver.
