TOLEDO, OH — In a case out of Lucas County, 18-year-old Kaitlyn Coones and her 33-year-old boyfriend Jonathon Jones have been sentenced to 25 years to life for the 2023 murder of Jonathon’s mother, Nicole Jones.
The sentencing was delivered by Lucas County Common Pleas Court Judge Gary G. Cook on Tuesday.
The couple was accused of killing 53-year-old Nicole Jones using a rock and by strangulation, reportedly after Kaitlyn Coones gave Jonathon an ultimatum to eliminate his mother, who was said to be interfering in their relationship. Following their arrests, both defendants struck plea deals with the prosecution, pleading no contest to one count of aggravated murder and one count of abuse of a corpse. Additional charges were subsequently dropped.
“In their recorded interviews both defendants detailed wrapping the body of Nicole Jones and tarps and placing her in the trunk of her own vehicle. The two of them had to dinner with the body of Nicole Jones still in the truck of the vehicle,” Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Liptack-Wilson said during testimony.
Lucas County Prosecutor Julia R. Bates described the murder as a “horrific event” and expressed relief at the resolution of the case, hoping it would bring peace to the victim’s family. According to local reports, Kaitlyn Coones had been living at the Jones residence after running away from a foster home, unbeknownst to Nicole Jones.
They later bought supplies and dumped the woman’s body in a dumpster.