Judge declares woman unfit to stand trial after fatal knife attack on three-year-old outside supermarket

CLEVELAND – A woman who authorities say stabbed a 3-year-old boy sitting in a shopping cart outside an Ohio supermarket and injured his mother has been declared incompetent to stand trial.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John Russo announced the ruling Friday. He said Bionca Ellis, 33, of Cleveland, will remain hospitalized indefinitely and could eventually face trial when she improves. Her bail was set at $5 million shortly after the attack, and her trial was tentatively scheduled to begin on Dec. 9.

According to authorities, Ellis was at the Giant Eagle grocery store in the Cleveland suburb of North Olmsted on June 3 when she saw Julian Wood and his mother, Margot Wood, near the store entrance and followed them into the parking lot.

The mother was loading her groceries into her car when Ellis charged at her with a knife, stabbing the boy twice. The attack lasted less than five seconds before Ellis walked away. The boy died in hospital while Margot Wood was treated for a stab wound to the shoulder – a wound she suffered while trying to pull the boy out of the shopping cart during the attack, according to prosecutors.

Authorities have not given a motive for the attack, saying they believe it was a random incident. Ellis is being represented by the public defender's office, which does not typically comment on cases.