An Ohio judge has defended his decision to release the woman accused of killing three-year-old Julian Wood in the streets just days before the fatal stabbing, despite being referred for a mental health evaluation.
Records obtained by Fox 8 shows that a Rocky River Municipal Court magistrate referred Bionca Ellis, 32, for a mental health evaluation after she apparently became unresponsive at a hearing following her arrest on a probation violation on May 29.
But Judge Brian Hagan said the organization that handles mental health evaluations did not have anyone available and thought it would be unfair for Ellis to remain in jail for days on a minor charge.
“There was no red flag up on that pole,” Hagan said, explaining that there were “no signs of mental anguish, no signs of prior violent acts.”
He said he wouldn’t have done anything differently, even now, knowing Ellis is charged with aggravated murder in the boy’s death.
Judge Brian Hagan released Bionca Ellis, 32, from custody just days before she allegedly killed a three-year-old boy and injured his mother.
A magistrate had requested that Ellis be detained for a mental health evaluation.
“I trust the way the court handled the matter,” he told Fox 8.
“We did it by the letter of the law, there was nothing there that would set off alarm bells.”
But it has since been revealed that Ellis had a criminal record dating back several months in three different states, and once even confessed to police that he had murdered someone and wanted to kill again.
In January, Ellis was arrested in Bakersfield, California, charged with three counts of “personal assault” for allegedly assaulting three people, Fox 8 reports.
The following month, he allegedly told Cleveland police that he had killed a woman in California and wanted to kill again.
Local police then transported Ellis to a hospital for a mental health evaluation, as Bakersfield police officers determined that his confession was not credible because it did not match any unsolved cases.
Ellis was arrested on May 29 when police discovered a warrant for her arrest.
In March, Ellis was arrested in Florida after booking a hotel room in Kissimmee but lacking the money to pay for it.
He spent a month in prison for breaking and entering.
Then, on May 29, just four days before she allegedly followed Julian and his mother out of the Giant Eagle grocery store in North Olmstead, Ohio, and slashed the young man in the face and neck, police found her walking to the bus stop in a wheelchair and discovered that there was a warrant for her arrest.
She had been accused of stealing $69 worth of merchandise from a Walmart last May and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor unauthorized use of property.
Ellis escaped with six months of probation, but failed to complete the required burglary education program and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
When she was detained, police body camera footage showed her almost dancing as she excitedly proclaimed, ‘They’ll take me for free!’
Ellis is accused of killing three-year-old Julian Wood just three days after his release.
However, when he appeared in court to face the probation violation, Magistrate Gregory Sponseller seemed concerned about his mental state.
He could be heard in the hearing audio wondering if Ellis was paying attention or falling asleep, repeatedly asking the suspect if she could hear him until he decided she needed a mental health evaluation.
“We’re going to hold her for a Recovery Resource evaluation,” he ordered.
“I’m not sure he fully understands the simple requirements that the court has imposed on him,” he said.
Ellis’ mother, Yolanda Eggleton, now says she believes both the judicial system and the mental health system failed her daughter.
He said Ellis had been suffering from mental health problems for years and suggested he may have been “hallucinating” when he allegedly killed Wood and stabbed his mother, Margot, on June 2.
‘Bionca has been taking several medications that haven’t worked,’ Eggleton he told Fox 8. “Hallucinations and voices took over.”
He added that he believes police should have done more to check Ellis’ mental state following his alleged confession and proclamation that he wanted to kill again.
“This won’t be the last time,” Eggleton warned.
“And it’s so sad and so tragic that a baby had to lose its life…an innocent baby.”
Eggleton went on to express his condolences to the Wood family over the outage and said he was shocked when he heard the news.
“When I found out, I was devastated, I am devastated,” she said. ‘No child should ever lose their life.
“She was with my grandchildren,” Eggleton added. “She could have been one of my grandchildren.”
Police say Ellis followed Julian and his mother, Margot, out of the Giant Eagle supermarket while brandishing a stolen knife.
Police say Ellis first encountered Julian and his mother, Margot, 37, as they were leaving the Giant Eagle grocery store and followed them to their car, brandishing a knife he allegedly stole from a thrift store. Volunteers of America hand nearby.
He then allegedly stabbed the boy in the face and back while he was sitting in the shopping cart, then slashed his mother as she tried to carry her son to safety. according to Cleveland 19.
Ellis was found a few minutes later walking down a nearby side street, still holding a bloody knife, police said.
She had no prior connection to the Wood family, authorities say, calling the attack “a totally random act of violence.”
Ellis now faces charges including murder, aggravated murder, attempted murder, felonious assault, child endangerment, tampering with evidence and misdemeanor robbery.
Ellis’ defense attorney suggested in court that she has “notable mental health issues”
When he faced those charges in court Monday, his defense attorney suggested he has “notable mental health issues.”
He noted that the suspect initially appeared in the video with her head down and refused to answer any of the judge’s questions about whether or not she had read the indictment.
It was only after a judge ordered an attorney from the public defender’s office to go to the Cuyahoga County Jail and read the indictment to Ellis that the suspect appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
She was then seen smiling and almost laughing as the judge read the charges against her, and even turned directly to the camera and smiled.
The judge then proceeded to set Ellis’ bail at $5 million and ordered the suspect to return to court next Monday.
