Background: Bionca Ellis appears in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, court on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025 (WKYC/YouTube). Inset: Julian Wood (Ripepi Funeral Home).
A woman sat stoically in an Ohio courtroom on Wednesday as she learned she had been convicted of killing a toddler in a grocery store”s parking lot.
Bionca Ellis, 34, was found guilty of all nine charges in the stabbing of 3-year-old Julian Wood and his mother, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office announced. Those charges included aggravated murder, attempted murder, felonious assault, and endangering children.
It was midday on June 3, 2024, and 37-year-old Margot Wood and Julian were shopping at a Giant Eagle supermarket in North Olmsted, a suburb of Cleveland. Bionca Ellis was next door at a Volunteers of America Thrift Store, where she “stole two knives,” authorities said.
Ellis is said to have then walked next door into the supermarket, “spotted” the mother and son, and “followed them.” Margot Wood paid for their groceries, and they left the store, walking into the parking lot, prosecutors said. But still, Ellis lurked behind.
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The now-convicted defendant followed them to their vehicle and “immediately stabbed the 3-year-old,” who was in the shopping cart, “multiple times,” the prosecutor’s office stated. “His mother attempted to pull him out and was also stabbed. Several people called the police and reported the stabbing.”
North Olmsted police officers responded to the scene and saw Ellis walking toward a nearby road “with a knife in her hand,” authorities said. She was arrested.
Margot Wood and Julian were transported to an area hospital, where the child passed away. Margot Wood was treated for her injuries.
She remembered her son as a jury found Ellis guilty on Wednesday.
“We just want to thank everyone for the love and support for our son,” Margot Wood said, per Cleveland-based NBC affiliate WKYC. “Everybody that’s visited him, commented, sent love, we appreciate you guys so much. This was for him today.”
Ellis had reportedly submitted a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. Authorities did not believe the suspect and victims had any prior connection — and that the attack was a “random act of violence,” the local outlet reported. It took jurors about 24 hours of deliberating before they returned with the guilty verdict.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley said his “thoughts and prayers remain with the Wood family. I can’t imagine the anguish they must feel after the loss of Julian.”
Ellis is set to be sentenced on Oct. 27. Under Ohio law, she faces up to life in prison and the possibility of the death penalty.
