SYLVANIA TOWNSHIP, Ohio — More than a year after Sylvania Township woman Nicole Jones was killed, two people were sentenced to life in prison Tuesday after pleading no contest to murder charges.
Kaitlyn Coones, 18, and Jonathon Jones, 34, both pleaded no contest to one count each of aggravated murder and abuse of a corpse in the Lucas County Common Pleas Court.
The state agreed to dismiss various other charges against the two in exchange for the pleas.
Both Coones and Jones will be eligible for parole after 25 years.
"This was a horrific event," prosecuting attorney Julia Bates said in a statement Tuesday. "We are relieved to reach a resolution in this case. We hope this brings some measure of peace to Nicole Jones's family. May her memory forever live in their hearts."
Coones was arrested on accusations that she killed 53-year-old Nicole Jones, the mother of her adult boyfriend Jonathon Jones. Coones was 17 years old at the time of the killing in April 2023. Authorities began their investigation after conducting a safety check at Nicole Jones' home.
Jonathon Jones and Coones were arrested in Mexico on May 8, 2023, after a manhunt when authorities believed he went on the run with Coones. Jones was wanted for charges out of Wood County for pandering obscene material and child endangerment.
Coones was charged as an adult in the killing in January 2024.
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According to court documents, Coones told Jones his mother was preventing them from being together and instructed him to kill her. When he did not follow through with her demands, Coones allegedly strangled and struck Nicole Jones with a rock, killing her. Coones told law enforcement that she and Jonathon Jones went to the store and bought a tarp and cleaning supplies.
Coones and Jonathon Jones then allegedly took Nicole Jones's body to a dumpster at an apartment complex. Surveillance video and GPS tracking through Jones's ankle monitor corroborated Coones's statements regarding the dumpster and purchases, according to authorities.
"On or about April 19, 2023, the defendants, with prior calculation and design, caused the death of Nicole Jones while also treating a human corpse in a way that would outrage community sensibilities without legal authorization."
Authorities have not located Jones's body.
On April 18, Robert Jones, the administrator of Nicole Jones' estate, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Coones and Jonathon Jones. According to court documents, the suit seeks relief in the form of $25,000 in addition to other damages.
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