A kidnapped 17-year-old girl murdered her captor’s mother after giving him five hours to complete the task – before taking matters into her own hands.
Kaitlyn Coones, from Cleveland, Ohio, murdered 53-year-old Nicole Jones with a rock and strangled her in her own kitchen – days after she was snatched by convicted pedophile 33-year-old Jonathan Jones, it is claimed.
After allegedly committing the brutal crime, the pair fled and fled across the southern border.
The U.S. Marshals Service Missing Child Unit and the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force (NOVFTF) began searching for both Coones and Jones in connection with the teen’s kidnapping and murder of Jonathan Jones’ mother in Sylvania Township.
Jones was wanted by the Wood County Sheriff’s Office for pandering obscene material and child endangerment, while Coones had been reported to Canton police after going missing in April 2023.
Kaitlyn Coones, 17, allegedly killed the mother of her convicted Ohio pedophile kidnapper
Coones, 17, allegedly used a rock to bludgeon Nicole Jones to death
In August, Jones, 33, was charged with aggravated murder, murder, assault, aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse
The pair were subsequently found in Ahumada, Chihuahua, in northern Mexico.
Although still 17, Coones is being treated as an adult and charged with aggravated murder, murder, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse.
Coones was allegedly picked up at a restaurant by Jonathan Jones, who took her back to the home he shared with his mother, Nicole.
Coones crawled in through Jones’ bedroom window to hide from his mother, who, sixteen years her senior, disapproved of her son having anything to do with the 17-year-old.
Prosecutors allege Coones gave Jonathan an ultimatum to kill his mother because she felt she was interfering in their “relationship.”
Coones told him he had five hours to carry out the murder, but he failed to do so even after giving him an extra hour, and decided to take it upon himself.
“Kaitlyn told Jonathan that they had 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, and at one point in the interview she even said that she had to kill her. Sylvania Township Detective Albright said in court Friday.
Nicole Jones, 53, was beaten to death with a rock and strangled in the kitchen of her home
Jonathan Jones lived at home with his mother Nicole in this house in Sylvania Township, Ohio
Prosecutors say Coones became so frustrated with Jonathan Jones’ inaction that she committed the cold-blooded murder.
“She went outside to get a rock and when Nicole Jones stood in front of the refrigerator in the kitchen, unaware of Kaitlyn’s presence, she punched Nicole Jones several times and strangled her,” prosecutor Andy Lastra said of Lucas County.
Jonathan Jones was reportedly sitting in the living room at the time as the brutal act was carried out.
The pair then went to some local stores in Jones’ car, where they bought tarpaulin and garbage bags to wrap the body and clean up the bloody scene in the kitchen.
Nicole’s body was placed in Jones’ car, which was driven to a nearby apartment complex and thrown into a dumpster that was eventually taken to the landfill.
Police say it is unlikely Nicole Jones’ body will ever be found.
Jonathan Jones is said to have been in the living room at the time as the brutal act took place
Coone’s attorney said the teen was the victim of Jonathan Jones, who should not have had any contact with her
In an interview with the FBI, Coones made detailed statements and admitted to the murder of Nicole Jones. She will be photographed in court on Friday
The two suspects quickly headed south and crossed the border into Mexico, where they were eventually arrested.
In court Friday, prosecutors said Canton police contacted Sylvania Township police in May to check on Nicole Jones.
It came after they received word from a foster home where Coones had lived that the teen had texted a nurse saying she had killed two people and was on the run.
They told police that a 17-year-old foster child in the custody of Stark County Children Services, who was living in a group home, was missing.
They said the teen, Coones, allegedly sent a text message to a home health nurse from the group saying she had killed two people and that she was on the run.
In an interview with the FBI, Coones made detailed statements and admitted to the murder of Nicole Jones.
Her data on where the body had been dumped matched GPS information tracked on Jonathan Jones’ phone and watch.
Coone’s attorney, Ann Baronas, said the teen was the victim of Jonathan Jones, who should not have had any contact with her.