The woman accused of killing a 3-year-old Ohio boy smiled and giggled in court Monday.
Bionca Ellis, 32, is charged with killing Julian Wood and wounding his mother, Margot Wood, according to WKYC.
Eliis was arraigned Monday before Judge Nancy Margaret Russo.
As Russo read the indictment against Ellis, the defendant bobbed and smiled.
That was not the only unusual behavior. During a video hearing, that preceded Ellis’s appearance in court, Russo had to instruct Ellis to raise her head, and when asked if she had read her indictment replied, “I don’t know.”
Ellis was later brought into court, where she said she had not read her indictment.
“I don’t want to read it,” she said.
“You don’t want to read it?” the judge replied. When Ellis said she asked her public defender not to read her the indictment, the judge read it in open court, triggering smirks and giggles from Ellis.
PURE EVIL: Bionca Ellis, woman accused of stabbing 3-year-old Ohio boy to death in grocery store parking lot, smirks and giggles as the charges are read to her
(Video via WEWS) pic.twitter.com/R2TTZLr2WZ
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After the indictment was read, Jared Wood, who is the slain boy’s father, spoke.
“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,” he said.
“It’s horrendous. I really wish no bail. Period. Or extend it to the max limit possible that you can, at the very least. Just do whatever you can to keep this monster behind bars,” he said.
Russo later set bond at $5 million. Ellis was indicted on one count of aggravated murder, two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault, one count of endangering children, one count of tampering with evidence, and one count of misdemeanor theft.
The stabbing took place in the parking lot of a Giant Eagle store in North Olmsted, according to WOIO.
North Olmsted police said Ellis is accused of stealing two knives from the Volunteers of America Thrift Store, next to the Giant Eagle. The victims were walking out of Giant Eagle when first Julian and then Margot were stabbed.
“The investigation into the motive of this attack is still ongoing, but everything learned thus far points that this was a random act of violence,” Sgt. Matt Beck said in a statement, according to Newsweek.
“Ellis and the victims had no prior interactions before this incident. Ellis is known to the North Olmsted Police Department for a prior offense of theft but has no known violent criminal history,” he said.
