Nicholas "Mitch" Karol-Chik, Joseph Koenig and Zachary Kwak have all been charged with one count of first-degree murder with extreme indifference, six counts of attempted first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree assault and three counts of attempted second-degree assault.
The trio showed up to court with each of their respective attorneys and were brought together, then placed in the jury box, their hands shackled at their waists.
Throughout the proceeding, they stared forward and answered the judge's questions rapidly — saying nothing but "Yes, your honor" when asked about things related to their case and scheduling.
All three were denied bail, and none of their lawyers objected to the terms surrounding the decision.
Of the three defendants, Karol-Chik, who was wearing eyeglasses for the hearing but not in his mug shot, seemed to pay the most attention to detail, and even appeared slightly shaken up as he left the courtroom.
Defendant Nicholas “Mitch” Karol-Chik conversing with his legal team.
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
None of the young men ever looked at the visitors in the courtroom's gallery, which contained both their parents and the parents of Bartell.
After the hearing, Bartell's parents were taken away through a back entrance of the courthouse, and Kwak and Karol-Chik's parents refused to comment. Koenig's family could not be reached.
The judge overseeing the case, Judicial District Court Judge Christopher Zenisek, decided to set a motions hearing for May 16 after the attorneys and defendants all waived a public reading of the new charges.
Karol-Chik, Kwak and Koenig were each ordered to be held without bond at their first court appearance last week, and while bail was once again denied, it's set to be discussed again on May 16, according to Zenisek.
The teens are accused of driving around in a black 2016 Chevy Silverado on the night of April 19 and attacking motorists with large rocks. They targeted at least seven vehicles during their deadly rampage; twenty-year-old Bartell was fatally wounded by a rock that the teens allegedly threw at her car, smashing right through its windshield and sending the vehicle off the road.
"Alexa’s vehicle was the last of a series of vehicles struck by large landscaping rocks in a spree that began shortly after 10 p.m. that night at 100th and Simms in Westminster," the sheriff's office reported.
Defendant Joseph Koenig listens as he's formally charged with first-degree murder.
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
According to Jefferson County District Attorney's Office spokesperson Brionna Boatright, authorities are looking into the possibility of more victims being out there. But none have come forward yet.
"The investigation into other, similar incidents is ongoing," she says.
According to the arrest affidavits, Karol-Chik told cops that he and Koenig had been "involved in throwing objects since at least February on ten separate days."
A source at the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office called the case "incredibly disturbing," telling Westword, "We have no history with this; we have not seen this before. It's shocking and it's devastating. It's just horrible."
The source said that investigators are looking into a chilling Facebook photo that was purportedly posted to Koenig's personal page back in December, which shows a sticker on a motorcycle that says: "JUST KILLED A WOMAN...FEELING GOOD."
Investigators are working to determine the photo's relevance and whether it's important to the case, according to the source.
The "JUST KILLED A WOMAN...FEELING GOOD" line was made famous by a YouTube and Twitch streamer named @TommyInnit, who uttered it after he killed a woman during a Minecraft gaming session. One clip of @TommyInnit saying the phrase has been viewed over one million times.
