Teen gave boyfriend five hours to kill his mum - or she would (original) (raw)

Kaitlyn Coones had a history of running away from the children’s homes she was placed in, but when she went missing in April 2020, the authorities were concerned she may have been kidnapped. Coones, 17, had been staying at a children’s home in Canton, Ohio when she disappeared. She had an older boyfriend, Jonathon Jones, 33, and the courts had ordered him to stay away from her. But Coones had managed to sneak out at night to meet Jones at a local restaurant so they could be together.

Jones drove them to his mum’s home in Sylvania Township, a suburb of Toledo. Jones’ mum, Nicole, 53, disapproved of the relationship, so Coones crawled in through a window and hid in his bedroom, knowing that if the police found out she was there, Jones would be in serious trouble.

Nicole Jones was attacked in her kitchen (

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ABC 13)

Just a month earlier, Jones had been convicted for charges relating to his relationship with Coones, which started when she was just 15. He pleaded guilty to child endangerment and pandering obscene material after having sex with Coones and taking pictures of her when she was underage and in the custody of social services. Jones was ordered to wear a GPS tracking device before his upcoming sentencing and banned from seeing Coones. They had defied the court order.

When the children’s home reported Coones missing, the authorities were very concerned for her safety. Jones was an older man, facing charges for his inappropriate relationship with a minor. Had he forced Coones to run away with him? Had he abducted her?

Soon after, a member of staff at the home received a message, allegedly from Coones. It said that she had “killed two people” and was on the run. It also said one of the victims was Jones’ mum.

The police went to Nicole’s home, but there was no trace of Coones or Jones. And Nicole was missing. In the kitchen, there were signs that someone had tried to clean up blood on the floor and under the fridge.

On 6 May, a nationwide manhunt was launched. With Jones’ recent convictions, the investigators determined that Coones had most likely been kidnapped, perhaps after Jones had killed his mother.

The pair were last seen in Nicole’s car, in Arizona, heading towards the Mexican border.

Jones was still wearing his GPS device so the police were able to track him as the pair headed into Mexico. He missed his sentencing court appearance. Finally on 8 May, they were found in Chihuahua, Mexico. They had Nicole’s ID and credit cards.

The couple were questioned by the police, but it soon became clear that Coones hadn’t been kidnapped at all. In fact, she confessed that the whole thing – including Nicole’s murder – was her idea. During interviews, a truly shocking story was revealed.

Jonathon Jones lived with his mum, Nicole (

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ABC 13)

Shocking deadline

Coones said Nicole had been “interfering” in her relationship and it started pushing them apart, so she wanted Nicole gone. She admitted that on 19 April, she gave her older boyfriend a deadly ultimatum. She gave him five hours to kill his mum, or she would do it herself. Coones threatened to end their relationship if he didn’t go through with it. When the time was up and Jones hadn’t acted, Coones gave him an extra hour. When he still hadn’t killed Nicole, Coones stepped in.

Coones told the police that she had gone outside to find a large rock. Nicole was standing in front of the fridge, bending down, when Coones attacked her from behind. Coones hit her over the head with the rock and strangled her to death. Jones was allegedly sitting in the living room at the time of the attack – but he then played his part.

Jones helped Coones get rid of his mother’s body. They drove to a local store and bought tarpaulin and bin bags, where they were recorded on surveillance cameras. They wrapped Nicole’s body in the tarp and put her in the trunk of her own car and attempted to clean up the crime scene.

They then drove to an apartment complex and threw Nicole’s body into a dumpster. The police believe her remains were picked up by a rubbish truck and taken to landfill. Jones’ GPS tracker confirmed the chain of events.

Jones had served in Afghanistan (

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ABC 13)

Coones told the police she thought the killing would “bring them closer together as a couple”. Coones and Jones were both charged with murder. It was decided that Coones would be tried as an adult.

Nicole’s heartbroken family desperately wanted to find her body so they could have a proper burial, but were unable to. There had been three weeks between the body being picked up and the crime being discovered. A search, across two jurisdictions, would have been complex and very costly. Nicole’s body has never been found.

Lawyers for Coones insisted she was the “victim” who had been under the control of Jones. They said she couldn’t have physically killed Nicole on her own and there was no evidence that she had sent the message to the staff member at the home.

Back in custody, Jones was sentenced to 54 months in prison in connection with the earlier charges relating to Coones. Then he and Coones made a plea deal.

Jones had served in Afghanistan (

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ABC 13)

Prosecutors dropped multiple additional charges against the pair as they pleaded no contest to charges of aggravated murder and abuse of a corpse in June this year.

The judge heard of Coones’ difficult time in foster care homes and that Jones had been diagnosed with PTSD after military service in

Afghanistan. However, he said their troubled histories did not absolve their actions.

Shattered family

Coones, now 18, and Jones, 34, were both sentenced to life in prison with the chance of parole after 25 years. Nicole’s grieving brother, Robert Jones, shared the trauma of the murder and the agony of not being able to lay Nicole to rest.

Kaitlyn Coones in court in June

“There are no words that can describe the depth of our grief, the extent of our pain, or the magnitude of our loss,” he said. “Her murder has shattered our world, leaving a void that can never be filled.”

After the sentencing, a civil lawsuit for wrongful death was filed by Nicole’s family against Coones and Jones for damages. The agony of not having Nicole’s body only added to her family’s grief.

Nicole’s brutal murder was the result of a chilling five-hour ultimatum by a teenage girl. It was thought Coones had been kidnapped but she and Jones had been in it together.