An Ohio woman has been sentenced to life in prison without the chance of release after fatally stabbing a 3-year-old boy outside a grocery store.
Bionca Ellis, 34, stole two knives from the Volunteers of America Thrift Store near the Giant Eagle supermarket in North Olmsted on June 3, 2024, according to a news release from the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office.
She then proceeded into Giant Eagle, where she spotted Julian Wood, 3, and his mother, 37. The suspect then followed the victims into the parking lot, where she stabbed the toddler many times while he was sitting in a shopping cart, according to the statement.
The toddler’s mother attempted to remove him out of the cart and was stabbed, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Ellis was swiftly captured by North Olmsted police officers, who noticed her strolling with a knife in her hand, according to the release.
The patients were both transported to a neighboring hospital. Julian’s mother received treatment for her injuries, but the toddler could not be rescued and was declared dead.
Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley stated about Monday’s punishment, “In my years as Prosecutor, I have seen unimaginable acts of violence — but this is among the most heartbreaking.”
Ellis was sentenced after a jury found him guilty of nine counts, including aggravated murder, felonious assault, child endangering, and aggravated theft, after a week-and-half trial.
Ellis has a history of schizophrenia, and her defense team had entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, but the jury eventually rejected that argument, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
According to the Associated Press, Ellis’ attorneys, Fernando Mack and Carlos Johnson, stated after Monday’s sentencing that the ruling was “the wrong outcome,” and that their client would appeal the verdict and punishment.
Julian’s father, Jared Wood, stated after his son’s death, “All of our hearts will forever be missing a piece.”
Margot Wood, the toddler’s mother, who was also hurt in the incident, said, “That woman murdering my son replays in my head every day.” “I can still see the terror in his eyes, and it haunts me every day,” News 5 Cleveland stated.
“Just because you have a mental illness does not justify you murdering my son,” she stated, referring to the perpetrator.
PEOPLE contacted Ellis’ attorney, Fernando Mack, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, and the North Olmsted Police Department for more information, but they did not answer immediately.
A GoFundMe page set up to help the Wood family had received more than $278,000 as of Tuesday, Oct. 28.
