Suspect in fatal Ohio toddler stabbing outside Giant Eagle was released just days before attack: report

Bionca Ellis, who is accused of fatally stabbing 3-year-old Julian Wood in North Olmsted, Ohio, reportedly was released by a judge three days before the attack.

"There wasn’t any red flags shooting up that pole. There wasn’t any indications here. No sign of any mental distress. No sign of any previous, violent acts," Rocky River Judge Brian Hagan told the station about his decision to release Ellis three days before she allegedly killed toddler Julian Wood in the Cleveland-area suburb of North Olmsted.  Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

In the days leading up to the stabbing, Ellis was taken into custody by police for a probation violation in connection to a 2023 arrest involving petty theft at a Walmart store, Fox 8 reports. A magistrate at Rocky River Municipal Court then referred her to a mental health evaluation following her behavior in the courtroom, but Judge Brian Hagan told Fox 8 the organization doing those had nobody available and Ellis would have had to sit in jail for days on a minor offense.