The Colorado teens accused of killing a 20-year-old woman by throwing a large rock on her vehicle allegedly snapped a photo of the wreckage as a souvenir, CBS News reports.
On April 19, Alexa Bartell was on the phone with a friend and driving near the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge when she was struck in the head by a rock. The friend was able to track the phone and found Bartell dead in her vehicle, which had veered into a field.
Prosecutors later charged the three 18-year-olds – Nicholas Karol-Chik, Joseph Koenig, and Zachary Kwak – with first-degree murder in connection with Bartell’s death.
Court documents released Thursday allege that the teens intentionally drove toward Bartell’s vehicle and slowed down to take a photograph of the crashed car as a “memento” of what happened, according to CBS News.
“We have to go back and see that,” one of the teens allegedly said, according to records obtained by the Colorado Sun.
Karol-Chik allegedly told police that he felt “a hint of guilt” passing Bartell’s vehicle, an arrest affidavit states, according to The Associated Press. The three teens did nothing to help Bartell following the killing. Kwak claimed that he took the photo because he thought his friends would want the image as a reminder of what happened.
Police arrested the teens earlier this week in Arvada, a Denver suburb, after they were identified based on cellphone data and information from a friend of the teens who had been socializing with them before they began hurling rocks at vehicles.
At least some of the teens have allegedly been throwing rocks at vehicles since February.
More than 500 people gathered Saturday for a memorial service to remember Bartell, according to the Denver Post.
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[Feature Photo: Alexa Bartell/Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office]
