GOLDEN, Colo. (May 2, 2025) – Zachary Hiestand Kwak was sentenced to 32 years in the Department of Corrections for his role in a series of rock-throwing attacks on the night of April 19, 2023. Kwak previously pleaded guilty to three charges and agreed to testify in the trial against his co-defendant, Joseph Koenig. As a result of his plea, he faced a minimum of 20 years and up to 32 years in prison.
On May 10, 2024, Karol-Chik pled guilty to the following charges:
Added Count 14: ASSAULT IN THE FIRST DEGREE- EXTREME INDIFFERENCE – Section 18-3-202(1)(c), C.R.S. (F3) (naming Alexa Bartell)
Added Count 15: ASSAULT IN THE SECOND DEGREE – Section 18-3-203(1)(b), C.R.S. (F4) (naming 3 victims with injuries from 4/19/23)
Added Count 16: CRIMINAL ATTEMPT TO COMMIT ASSAULT IN THE SECOND DEGREE – Section 18-3-203(1)(b);18-2-101, C.R.S. (F5) (naming remaining 3 victims from 4/19/23)
Kwak took the stand during Koenig’s jury trial, telling jurors that he helped gather the rocks used that night and handed them to Karol-Chik and Koenig, but insisted he never threw any himself.
After a two-week trial, jurors found Koenig guilty on all nineteen charges brought against him, including Murder in the First Degree- Extreme Indifference, which carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
At today’s hearing, when considering the range of 20-32 years, Deputy District Attorney Brynn Chase reminded the court that Kwak had already received a significant benefit by avoiding a murder conviction. She emphasized that when crafting the plea offer, prosecutors had already weighed “the most significant piece of mitigation”—that Kwak’s actions were confined to a single night.
Chase identified “one of the most offensive components of this offense” as Kwak’s decision to take a photograph, as the trio drove back by the site where Alexa’s vehicle left the road. “Only Mr. Kwak knows the purpose of taking that photograph,” she said, noting he had a phone in his hand yet chose not to call for help.
She also stressed the lasting impact of the case, not just on Alexa’s loved ones and the community, but on those who worked it. “The first responders, law enforcement, anyone who touched this case, quite frankly, is unable to forget or let go of the gravity and disturbing nature of this case.”
Family members of Bartell once again addressed the court, one by one, tearfully recounting the impact of Alexa’s death. Many of them also addressed Kwak’s decision to take a photograph and questioned Kwak’s truthfulness about his actions that night.
Jenna Griggs, Alexa’s girlfriend and the person who discovered her in the vehicle after she had been killed, delivered an emotional statement to the court, saying, “I’m more angry today than I’ve been in the past.” She described her ongoing struggle to make sense of Alexa’s death and the pain of knowing that the image which haunts her—one she “pleads with God to erase from [her] mind every night”—is something “he chose to photograph as a fun memory.”
Through tears, Alexa Bartell’s mother, Kelly Bartell, once again spoke of the devastating loss of her daughter. She also addressed the defendants’ actions after Alexa’s death, telling the court, “It’s not just what happened that night, it’s how they behaved afterward that makes this even more unbearable.” She continued, “Not one of them tried to help her. Not one of them showed even the smallest shred of humanity.”
“These men will still get to see their families, speak to them, and be held again, someday,” she said. “I will spend the rest of my life visiting a grave site. I am serving a life sentence of pain.” She urged the judge, “Please strongly consider sentencing to the fullest extent.”
Kwak also provided a statement to the court, stating his decisions that night and in the aftermath are something he must carry for the rest of his life. “I know Ms. Bartell was a million things to a million different people. I can see the full effects of what I’ve done, and I know I cannot change it. All I can do now is say I’m sorry.”
In delivering his sentence, District Court Judge Christopher Zenisek acknowledged he must balance the mitigating and aggravating factors in the case, including Kwak’s mental health diagnosis and his age at the time of the crime, with the overwhelming impact on the community and the brutal nature of Alexa Bartell’s death, describing it as “a sheer disregard for human life.”
Referencing a family member’s earlier statement that “the world needs more people like her,” Zenisek responded, “I don’t think more truer words have been stated in this courtroom.”
The judge also pointed to evidence that contradicted Kwak’s version of events, noting that while he listened closely to Kwak’s testimony and apology, “what I’ve heard a lot of was some pretty carefully choreographed walking of the line between saying you didn’t throw, but accepting minimal pieces of the night of death and destruction.”
Ultimately, Kwak was sentenced to 27 years in the Department of Corrections on Count 14, followed by an additional 5 years on Count 15 to be served consecutively, and 8 years on Count 16, to be served concurrently. Upon release, he will serve 5 years of mandatory parole.