JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — The trial for the remaining suspect accused of throwing rocks at several cars in Jefferson County last year, injuring seven drivers and killing a 20-year-old woman, has been delayed after a judge ordered he submit to a mental health evaluation.
The trial for 19-year-old Joseph Koenig was set to begin July 19 after the two other suspects — Zachary Kwak and Nicholas Karol-Chik — took plea deals in the case, facing a combined maximum of 104 years in prison for the killing of 20-year-old Alexa Bartell.
The delay comes after Koenig’s defense attorneys requested to introduce evidence and witness testimony from experts in ADHD and late adolescent brain development due an "impaired mental health condition," according to court documents.
It's not clear how long the trial could be postponed.
Once Koenig undergoes that mental health evaluation at the Jefferson County Jail under the supervision of the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo, the judge will decide whether the defense can present that testimony to the jury, according to our partners at The Denver Post.
Koenig, along with Kwak and Karol-Chik, is accused of throwing landscaping rocks at cars in Jefferson County in April of 2023, one of which was hurled at Bartell’s car, who was discovered fatally-injured by a friend who went to check on her after she “abruptly stopped talking” on the phone, according to prosecutors.
The trio was arrested several days after Bartell’s death, when a tipster told police a coworker discussed the rock-throwing incidents while they were both at work.
Koenig pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder back in April.
"It's going to be a tough sailing for him"
Colorado legal experts said in May that following Karol-Chik's and Kwak's plea deals, Koenig's attorneys will have a harder time convincing a jury of his innocence, should a trial take place, as the plea agreements will require both Karol-Chik and Kwak to testify truthfully.
"He's either going to be forced into a deal himself, if one is offered to him, or he's going to have to take trial and claim that the other two participants somehow are lying, and that the prosecution gave the deal to the wrong person, and that he is not guilty as a primary participant in this horrific killing," defense attorney Christopher Decker told Denver7. “It's going to be tough sailing for him.”
Stan Garnett, a former Boulder County District Attorney, told Denver7 the plea deal also offered both Karol-Chik's and Kwak the ability "to maximize the case against the one they think is the most responsible."
"The judge will listen to their testimony as well and he himself will decide, does he think they're genuine and trying to help the prosecution, trying to help the process? Or are they simply trying to minimize their own punishment?” Garnett said.
Koenig’s next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 23.
