Colorado — A Colorado man who reportedly had a “big smile on his face” after throwing a rock off an overpass at a vehicle, killing the driver, was convicted of murder.
Joseph Edwin Koenig, 20, was charged with 19 felonies in connection with Alexa Bartell’s death in April 2023 and found guilty by a jury of all of them.
Koenig was one of three teenagers riding in a truck that reportedly reached speeds of up to 103 mph on a road in Jefferson County, Colorado. That night, the three boys took turns throwing rocks at passing cars, including Bartell’s Chevrolet Spark.
The other two passengers in the car, Nicholas Karol-Chik and Zachary Kwak, pleaded guilty and testified against their former friend.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, Karol-Chik admitted to participating in the same rock-throwing activity on multiple occasions.
While testifying against Koenig, he told the court that Koenig let out a satisfied whoop when he noticed Bartell’s car veer off the road and into a fence.
Karol-Chik told the court that Koenig was “excited.” He would simply look at us with a big smile on his face.
Karol-Chik pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, attempted murder in the first degree, and a crime of violence. Kwak pleaded guilty to three assault charges, including one count of first-degree assault in connection with Bartell, and his sentence is expected to be 20 to 32 years in prison. They’ll be sentenced in May.
During Koenig’s trial, Karol-Chik admitted on the stand that he made inconsistent statements to police. He stated that he and Koenig intended to “say that [Kwak] did it,” pointing the finger at their friend.
Even though Karol-Chik had genuinely believed Kwak had thrown the 9.3-pound rock that killed Bartell, he eventually admitted it was Koenig.
Koenig is scheduled to be sentenced on June 3.
