Video Shows Suspect Following Mom, Boy in Grocery Store Before Fatal Attack

Surveillance video shows a woman accused of following a mother and her 3-year-old son through an Ohio grocery store before stabbing them in the parking lot last week, killing the toddler, according to local authorities.

The victims, identified as 3-year-old Julian Wood and his mother, Margot Wood, 38, of North Olmsted, Ohio, were shopping at a Giant Eagle grocery store in the Cleveland suburb on June 3 when a female suspect began following the mother and her son, the North Olmsted Police Department (NOPD) said in an online statement.

The footage recently released by the police department shows the suspect trailing the mom and child out of the store and into the parking lot moments before the fatal attack.

The suspect, 32-year-old Bionca Ellis, of Cleveland, Ohio, was quickly arrested after the attack and is facing multiple charges, including murder, attempted murder and felonious assault, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley said in a statement. Ellis, who is being held on a $1 million bond, is due back in court on Monday.

“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,” NOPD Sergeant Matt Beck said in a statement shared on social media. “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.”

Newsweek reached out via email to O’Malley’s office and the NOPD for comment and an update. It was unclear at the time of publication whether Ellis had retained an attorney who could speak on her behalf.

The surveillance footage captured inside the grocery store shows Elis, who can be seen carrying a knife that police say she stole shortly before from a nearby thrift store, entering the grocery store at 2:58 p.m. The video shows Ellis walking near the self-checkout area before she passes Margot Wood, who was pushing Julian in a shopping cart.

Immediately after Wood walks by Ellis, the video shows the suspect turning around and following the mother and child.

Shortly after 3 p.m. on June 3, the NOPD dispatch began receiving multiple 911 calls reporting a black female dressed in all black “stabbing people in the parking lot of Giant Eagle.”

Officers responding to the scene found Ellis walking nearby, still carrying the kitchen knife used in the attack, according to the NOPD. The mother and son were transported to St. John’s Medical Center, where Julian Wood succumbed to his injuries and Margot Wood was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, the police department said.

“This case is truly devastating,” O’Malley said. “I want to express my heartfelt condolences to the Wood family during this difficult time. As a father, I could not begin to imagine this grief, but I can promise that we will do everything in our power to bring justice for Julian Wood and the Wood family.”