TOLEDO, Ohio (Court TV) — An Ohio teenager accused of murdering her adult boyfriend’s mother appeared in court for her arraignment.
Kaitlyn Coones, 18, pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including aggravated murder in the death of Nicole Jones, 53. Nicole was the mother of Coones’ boyfriend, 34-year-old Jonathon Jones.
Kaitlyn Coones appears in court Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. (Court TV)
In court documents obtained by Court TV, prosecutors accuse Coones of strangling Nicole and beating her with a rock on April 19, 2023. Following the murder, Coones and Jonathon allegedly cleaned the scene and disposed of Nicole’s body in a dumpster.
Coones allegedly told police she initially instructed Jonathon to kill his mother because she “was preventing them from being together.” When Jonathan failed to act, Coones allegedly took matters into her own hands.
Afterwards, the couple fled to Mexico, where they were arrested in May. Nicole’s body has not been found.
At her arraignment in February, Coones formally accepted her court appointed counsel. A pretrial hearing was scheduled for April 3, and the judge set a bond of 1.75 million.
On April 3, the hearing was rescheduled for April 24.
