A 17-year-old Ohio girl stands accused of brutally murdering her boyfriend’s mother. The motive behind this heinous act? A belief that the mother was standing in the way of their relationship.
The Canton Police Department was alerted to a potential crime on May 5 when they contacted the Sylvania Township police to conduct a welfare check on Nicole Jones, a 53-year-old woman.
Officers arrived at her residence on Timbers Edge Boulevard only to find that she was nowhere to be found.
However, the scene bore evidence suggesting that she had fallen victim to a homicide.
The Brutal Murder
The chilling details of the murder emerged during the investigation. Allegedly, 17-year-old Kaitlyn Coones gave Jonathan Jones, 33, a five-hour deadline to make a decision regarding killing his mother.
When no action was taken within that timeframe, Coones took matters into her own hands.
“Kaitlyn had told Jonathan that they needed to do something about his mother because she was preventing them from being together, and she gave him five hours to do something about her,” Detective Jake Albright of the Sylvania Township Police Department said in court Friday, according to Cleveland 19 News.
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“She went outside, retrieved a rock, and when Nicole Jones was standing in front of the refrigerator in the kitchen, unaware of Kaitlyn’s presence, bludgeoned Nicole Jones a number of times and strangled her,” Lucas County Prosecutor Andy Lastra alleged.
Investigators say the couple threw the woman’s body in a dumpster at an apartment complex, that was later taken to a landfill. The police believe they may never find the woman.
The Search for the Culprits
Soon after the discovery of the crime scene, an arrest warrant was issued for a juvenile female identified as Kaitlyn Coones.
She was charged with aggravated murder and tampering with evidence. The search for Coones and her boyfriend, Jonathan Jones, intensified when it was revealed that Jones was also wanted for unrelated offenses.
Coones had allegedly run away from a group home in Stark County, and alarming text messages were sent to a nurse in the home, claiming responsibility for the deaths of two individuals.
However, one of the reported victims was later found to be unharmed.
International Capture and Incriminating Evidence
The U.S. Marshals, joining the search for the fugitives, eventually apprehended Coones and Jones in Mexico. Shockingly, the couple was found in possession of Nicole Jones’ Social Security card, license, and other forms of identification.
They were also carrying a backpack with suspicious “burgundy stains.” These damning pieces of evidence would play a crucial role in the investigation and subsequent trial.
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Kaitlyn Coones: Tried as an Adult
The legal implications of this case took a significant turn when a Lucas County judge determined that Kaitlyn Coones would be tried as an adult for the murder of Nicole Jones.
According to the police report, Coones allegedly informed Jonathan Jones that they needed to take action against his mother, as she was perceived as an obstacle to their relationship.
The report further revealed that Coones confessed to killing Nicole Jones after issuing an ultimatum to Jonathan.
In May U.S. Marshals arrested Jonathan Jones for kidnapping Coones. They found the couple in Mexico, which police say is where they ran off to after dumping the body.
Jones is also charged with the murder of his mother.
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