SYLVANIA TOWNSHIP, OH – In a startling courtroom scene last Friday, a 17-year-old, Kaitlyn Coones, was charged with the savage murder of her boyfriend’s mother, 53-year-old Nicole Jones. The alleged homicide took place in Jones’ Sylvania Township home in May, with a rock being the purported weapon of choice.
Prosecutors suggest that Coones had been clandestinely living in her boyfriend, Jonathan Jones’, room in his mother’s house. They believe she used his bedroom window to keep her presence a secret from Nicole. The prosecution posits that Nicole’s resistance to the relationship between Coones and Jonathan was the catalyst for the alleged murder.
On the day of the fatal incident, Coones is said to have presented Jonathan with a macabre choice – to murder his mother within a five-hour limit. When he didn’t comply, she reportedly extended the deadline by an hour before allegedly committing the act herself. The prosecution alleges that Coones strangled Nicole and delivered a lethal blow to her head with a rock while she was in the kitchen with Jonathan in the living room.
After the alleged murder, the pair are said to have purchased trash bags and a tarp to wrap Nicole’s body. They cleaned up the crime scene and discarded Nicole’s body in a dumpster at a nearby apartment complex. Investigators are worried that Nicole’s remains may never be recovered.
Coones had been reported missing from state custody by Stark County Children’s Services the month before the murder. After Nicole’s death, local police considered Jonathan a suspect in Coones’ disappearance. It was later suspected that the pair had escaped to Mexico.
U.S. Marshals tracked down and apprehended Jonathan in Mexico on May 8, leading to the discovery of Coones. She now faces charges of aggravated murder, murder, tampering with evidence, and abuse of a corpse. Coones’ defense attorney, Ann Baronas, is arguing that her client is a victim of Jonathan.