An Ohio woman stabbed another woman and her 3-year-old son Monday afternoon in a random attack that killed the toddler.
Emergency medical services responded to the parking lot of a Giant Eagle grocery store in North Olmsted and took Julian Wood and his 38-year-old mother, Margot Wood, to St. John Medical Center, according to WOIO.
Margot Wood is expected to make a full recovery, but the little boy died from his injuries.
North Olmsted Police Captain Eric Morgan said officers found the suspect, identified as 32-year-old Bionca Ellis, nearby, and she was still carrying the kitchen knife she used to attack the boy and his mother.
She made an initial appearance via video Tuesday afternoon and was charged with aggravated murder. A preliminary hearing has been set for Monday, and her bond was set at $1 million.
Detective Sgt. Matthew Beck said investigators have not uncovered a motive, but “everything learned thus far points that this was a random act of violence.” Ellis had no prior contact with the victims, he said, and prior to the attack, she had no “known violent criminal history.”
Beck told WJW that surveillance video showed Ellis getting the knife from a nearby Volunteers of America store. Afterward, she walked into the Giant Eagle, passing Wood and her son. Then she followed them into the parking lot to their car.
Ellis stabbed the boy in the face and back and his mother in the shoulder, Beck said, and the attack took about five seconds.
Ellis did not resist when officers caught up to her.
She had been charged with stealing from a Walmart in 2023 and was convicted on a reduced charge of unauthorized use of property.
Ellis and the victims had no prior interactions before this incident, said Beck.
According to court records, in 2023 Ellis was charged with stealing from the Walmart in North Olmsted and convicted of reduced charge of unauthorized use of property.
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[Featured image: Julian Wood/GoFundMe]
