OAN’s Brooke Mallory
Friday, June 7, 2024 10:22 AM
A Cleveland woman has been charged with a string of felony charges, including murder and attempted murder, in connection with the stabbing death of a 3-year-old boy outside a northeast Ohio grocery store on Wednesday.
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Cuyahoga County authorities reported that Bionca Ellis, 32, is suspected of attacking and stabbing to death 3-year-old Julian Wood and his 38-year-old mother outside a Giant Eagle grocery store in North Olmsted on Monday.
North Olmsted Police officers responded to a 911 call about a stabbing in the grocery store parking lot, according to a release from the police department.
“All information gathered at this time indicates this was a random act of violence and that the defendant and victim never met,” said North Olmsted police spokesman Matt Beck.
Julian suffered two stab wounds and his mother suffered a wound to the shoulder, Beck said. Authorities said Julian bled to death after paramedics rushed him to a nearby hospital.
According to court documents: USA TodayEllis was indicted by a Cuyahoga County jury on two counts of murder and attempted murder, as well as criminal homicide, endangering a minor, tampering with evidence, theft and two counts of assault.
She is currently being held on $1 million bail.
Court documents filed Thursday in Cuyahoga County did not name an attorney for Ellis.
According to a press release from Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley, around 3 p.m. on the day of the incident, Ellis stole two knives from a thrift store next door to the Giant Eagle grocery store. Ellis then saw Julian and his mother leave the store after stealing the knives, prosecutors said.
Ellis chased the mother and son, then ran over and “stabbed the 3-year-old” who was in a shopping cart, O’Malley said. Ellis also attacked the mother when she tried to help Julian out of the cart, prosecutors said.
“This case is truly tragic,” O’Malley said in a statement. “My heartfelt condolences go out to the Wood family during this difficult time. As a father, I cannot imagine the grief they must feel, but I can assure you that I will do everything in my power to bring justice to Julian Wood and the Wood family.”
According to court records, Ellis had recently missed three months of rent payments, so lawyers for the real estate company K&D filed suit in Cleveland Housing Court in March, seeking permission to evict Ellis from the property.
a GoFundMe profile It was set up to help pay for the funeral expenses of Julian’s mother.
“I feel sick as I write this,” the fundraising page states. “Many of you have been following this horrific incident online, asking what happened and how could this have happened in our neighborhood. We honestly cannot explain why or how this happened… This was a random act of violence. There was no prior argument and the two women did not know each other… This was a malicious, random act. She has devastated our family beyond words… She has taken something from us that can never be replaced.”
Police declined to say whether they were considering the tragic attack a racist hate crime.
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