Teen Who Gave Older Boyfriend 5 Hours to Kill His Mom Before Doing It Herself Sentenced

Both Kaitlyn Coones, 18, and Jonathon Jones, 33, accepted plea deals in the case this week -- pleading no contest to aggravated murder and abuse of a corpse in the slaying of Jones' mother, Nicole Jones.

They were sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole in 25 years, according to 13 ABC.

Back in November, a judge decided Coones would be tried as an adult; she was 17 at the time of the crime. Her boyfriend's mother allegedly disapproved of their relationship.

"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, and at one point in the interview, she even mentioned to killing her," Detective Jake Albright with Sylvania Township said previously, according to Cleveland 19 News.

After that five-hour window passed, authorities say Coones gave Jones an additional hour, before allegedly taking matters into her own hands.

"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 said in court, per WTVG.

“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,” said prosecutor Jennifer Liptack-Wilson.

Police believe the two bought a tarp and trash bags to wrap the body in, before throwing it into a nearby dumpster, which has since been emptied; they do not believe they'll recover a body. GPS devices on Jones -- who was awaiting sentencing for another criminal case at the time -- showed him traveling to the store for supplies and dumpster.

After Coones was reported missing on April 11, 2023, the U.S. Marshals Service's Missing Child Unit issued a press release about their disappearance at the time. The release made no mention of the murder, however, saying Jones was wanted for "pandering obscene material and child endangerment," while Coones was classified as an "endangered missing child." The two were found in Mexico the following month.

A detective testified Coones also admitted to killing Nicole during an interview with the FBI, claiming she committed the act on her own. Her attorney, however, previously said her client is a victim of Jonathan Jones, who was not supposed to have any contact with the teen following a previous conviction about their relationship.

The two still face a wrongful death lawsuit, with Nicole's estate seeking $25,000 in damages.