[Watch previous FOX 8 News coverage in the player above.]
TOLEDO, Ohio (WJW) — An Ohio teen who allegedly gave her 33-year-old boyfriend an “ultimatum” to kill his mother for interfering in their relationship, then did it herself, is now facing a life sentence, along with her boyfriend, who admitted to helping cover it up.
After plea negotiations, Kaitlyn Coones, 18, and Jonathon Jones, 33, each pleaded no contest to charges of aggravated murder and abuse of a corpse Tuesday, June 4, according to a news release from Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates.
A judge sentenced each to life in prison with the eligibility for parole after 25 years.
“This was a horrific event,” Bates is quoted in the release. “We are relieved to reach a resolution in this case. We hope this brings some measure of peace to Nicole Jones’ family. May her memory forever live in their hearts.”
Coones, of Canton, admitted to killing Jonathon’s mother Nicole Jones in April 2023 by bludgeoning her in the head with a rock while her back was turned, then strangling her to death, Lucas County Assistant Prosecutor Andrew Lastra previously told NewsNation affiliate WJW. She was 17 at the time, but was ultimately tried as an adult.
Jonathon, of Toledo, also admitted to having a role in his mother’s murder and the cover-up, authorities said.
In April 2023, Coones was reported missing from her Canton foster home. She went to Toledo to be with Jonathon, who lived with his mother at her Sylvania Township home, according to authorities.
According to the police report, she snuck in through a window, and Nicole didn’t know she was there. Coones later told FBI agents she gave Jonathon “an ultimatum.”
“He had five hours to decide what they were going to do about his mother,” Sylvania Township police Detective Jake Albright wrote.
After that five hours had passed, Coones reportedly said she waited another hour.
“When he didn’t act, she went outside, found a large-sized rock and when Nicole was distracted in the refrigerator in the kitchen … Kaitlyn — by her own admission — bludgeoned Jonathon’s mom and strangled her,” Lastra said.
The pair hid her body in a dumpster in a nearby apartment complex, wrapped in a tarp, according to prosecutors. That dumpster was hauled off the next day and her body was never found, Lastra said.
Coones allegedly confessed to the killing while talking to one of her caregivers, who then alerted police. Deputy U.S. Marshals at the time had an arrest warrant for Jonathon Jones, for skipping his sentencing in Wood County on charges of endangering children and attempt to commit pandering obscenity, to which he had pleaded guilty.
A search ensued. The couple was found on May 8, 2023, weeks after the murder, in northern Mexico. They were driving Nicole’s 2021 Buick Encore and had the woman’s Social Security card, ID, credit cards and her health insurance card, according to the police report. Authorities also recovered a backpack with “burgundy stains,” it reads.
As part of the agreement, prosecutors dropped their remaining charges, which included felonious assault, aggravated burglary and robbery and tampering with evidence.
A civil lawsuit for wrongful death was filed in April against Jonathon and Coones, by attorneys representing Nicole Jones’ estate, court records show.
