Ohio Teen Accused of Murdering Boyfriend’s Mother After 5 Hour Ultimatum

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A 17-year-old girl from Cleveland, Ohio, is facing charges related to the alleged murder of her boyfriend’s mother, which prosecutors claim occurred after she issued an ultimatum. Kaitlyn Coones is accused of bludgeoning 53-year-old Nicole Jones to death with a rock earlier this year. Coones had reportedly given her boyfriend, 33-year-old Jonathan Jones, five hours to carry out the murder himself, according to prosecutors.

Detective Jake Albright of the Sylvania Township Police detailed the alleged ultimatum in court, stating that Coones had expressed the need to take action against Jones’s mother, whom she believed was obstructing their relationship. When Jones failed to act within the given timeframe, Coones allegedly granted an extra hour before taking matters into her own hands.

Lucas County Prosecutor Andy Lastra told the court that Coones retrieved a rock from outside and attacked Nicole Jones as she stood in the kitchen, unaware of Coones’s presence. The assault reportedly involved multiple blows with the rock and strangulation.

During a court hearing on Friday, a judge ruled that Coones would be tried as an adult in the case. She faces charges of aggravated murder, murder, tampering with evidence, and abuse of a corpse. Jonathan Jones, who had previously been convicted in connection with his relationship with the underage Coones, was allegedly present in the living room during the fatal assault.

In August, Jones was charged with aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault, aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, tampering with evidence, and abuse of a corpse, according to court records.

Coones had been reported missing by Stark County Children Services just days before the incident. She had run away from a group home, prompting the Canton Police to contact the Sylvania Township Police to check on Nicole Jones’s safety. The teen had allegedly sent a text message to a group home nurse claiming responsibility for two murders and stating that she was on the run.

Jones reportedly picked up Coones at a restaurant, where she had sought refuge. She entered the home through a window to avoid detection by Jones’s mother, prosecutors claim.

Investigators assert that Coones gave Jones the ultimatum to kill his mother because she believed Nicole Jones was interfering in their relationship.

Detective Albright testified in court that following the murder, Coones and Jones purchased a tarp and trash bags from a local store. They wrapped Nicole Jones’s body and transported it to a nearby apartment complex, where they placed it in a dumpster that was eventually taken to a landfill. Authorities do not expect the body to be recovered.

In May, Coones and Jones fled to Mexico, where they were arrested. During interviews with FBI agents, they provided detailed statements admitting to the killing of Nicole Jones. The information they provided aligned with GPS data that tracked Jones’s phone to the dumpster where the body was discarded and the stores where the supplies were purchased.

Coones’s attorney, Ann Baronas, argued in court that the teenager was a victim of Jones, who was prohibited from having contact with her. Baronas also raised doubts about the origin of the text message in which Coones allegedly confessed to two murders.