A heartbroken family is demanding justice in a Cleveland courtroom after a horrific act of violence shattered their lives. Bionca Ellis, 32, is accused of fatally stabbing three-year-old Julian Wood and attacking his mother, Margot Wood, as they were leaving the Giant Eagle grocery store in North Olmstead on June 3.
During her court appearance on June 10 at the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, Ellis displayed an unsettling demeanor, seemingly unfazed by the gravity of the proceedings.
In a poignant plea to Judge Nancy Margaret Russo, Julian’s devastated father, Jared Wood, urged for a strict punishment. “Do everything you can to keep this monster behind bars,” he implored, reflecting the immense sorrow and outrage felt by his family.
Further distressing the courtroom, Ellis was noted smirking and smiling at the cameras as her charges were announced. She faces a series of severe charges, including one count of aggravated murder, two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, endangering children, tampering with evidence, and misdemeanor theft.
According to the prosecution, the tragic encounter began when Ellis, allegedly armed with a stolen knife from a nearby Volunteers of America Thrift Store, followed Julian and his mom to their car. She is accused of brutally stabbing Julian multiple times as he sat in the shopping cart, and then attacking his mother as she frantically tried to protect her son.
Police apprehended Ellis just minutes later, walking down a side street still armed with the knife.
While Margot Wood is on the road to recovery, the young Julian tragically succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.
Overcome with grief, Jared shared in court, “That day, one week ago, she took everything from us. There’s nothing that could ever replace my son or anything that my wife and I, even our other kids, are going through.”
The community has rallied around the Wood family, setting up a GoFundMe to assist them during this unimaginable time. The family shared on the fundraising page, “Our family is overwhelmed with sadness. We have no explanation as to how or why this happened, it was a random act of violence. There was no prior altercation, they did not know each other… this was a malicious random act. She has devastated our family beyond words, she took something from us we can never get back.”
Despite pleading not guilty, Ellis’s bond was set at a steep $5 million. She is scheduled to return to court on June 17, as a family and a community wait for justice.