A toddler and his mother’s visit to an Ohio grocery store turned fatal when a woman, at random, attacked them using knives she had stolen just before. The attack, all of five seconds long, claimed the 3-year-old’s life and injured the mother. Now, the woman convicted of the crime has just learned her fate.
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It was June 3, 2024, in North Olmsted, Ohio — a suburb about 20 minutes south of Cleveland — when 3-year-old Julian Wood and his mother Margot Wood were leaving out from a Giant Eagle grocery store. Authorities say Bionca Ellis followed the pair into the parking lot when Margot was about to unload her groceries into her car, and ambushed them.
Ellis, armed with two knives that she had just stolen from the Volunteers of America Thrift Store next door, stabbed little Julian twice as he sat in the grocery cart. His mother was also injured in the attack as she tried to pull her son from the shopping cart, but survived. Julian did not.
The attack happened in only five seconds, and after, Ellis simply walked away. She was arrested by North Olmsted police minutes later — still carrying the kitchen knife she used in the murder. She was charged with aggravated murder, murder, attempted murder, felonious assault, endangering children and misdemeanor theft.
Margot testified that she didn’t have any previous encounters with Ellis before that day, and that the sudden attack came out of nowhere.
Ellis’ defense attorneys first argued she was not guilty by reason of insanity and she was ordered to undergo multiple health assessments. She was previously found incompetent to stand trial, local news channel WOIO reported, and it took about five months for her competency to be restored.
After that, it only took one week of testimony for Cuyahoga County jurors to find the 34-year-old guilty Wednesday (Oct. 15) of nine criminal counts. She will be sentenced on Oct. 27.
Loved ones said Julian, remembered for his infectious smile and rambunctious attitude, loved dinosaurs and school. A GoFundMe was created by the family, with a goal of $10,000 “for donations to help with the cost of funeral arrangements and to cover any time off work.” It has raised almost $300,000.
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