How Giant Eagle stabbing suspect's mental health could affect trial

NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio (WJW) – FOX 8's I-Team investigated what could stand in the way of justice for Julian Wood, the child murdered at a local grocery store.

Records show the suspect has a history of mental illness, so we wondered how that might affect what happens to Bionca Ellis in court.

We looked at what that means for his murder charges and, perhaps, even the death penalty.

This week, we saw Ellis smile and make faces in Cuyahoga County court as she began to face a list of charges. It was just the latest action highlighting his mental health.

Next, consider crime. North Olmsted police said Ellis attacked a boy and his mother outside the Giant Eagle, killing three-year-old Julian.

Meanwhile, we found a common thread in several police reports involving Ellis well before that. Over and over again, Ellis told police she wanted to go to prison.

A report shows that Ellis told Cleveland police she wanted to kill someone and would kill if officers didn't take her to jail.

California police charged Ellis with battery for assaulting hospital staff, and a report shows she wanted to stay in jail for at least two weeks.

Florida police arrested Ellis for trespassing because she said she would like to go to jail.

All of this happened before a Rocky River Municipal Court judge released Ellis from jail on a probation violation, even though a magistrate had requested a mental health evaluation.

So we turned to Michael Benza, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University.

“The criminal justice system focuses on three issues when it comes to mental health,” he said. “The first is: Is the accused competent to stand trial? The second question is whether a defense of not guilty by reason of insanity could be raised in this case.

We found that this could also affect punishment. Cuyahoga County prosecutors said they could still decide whether to seek the death penalty.

But Benza pointed out that in Ohio, certain mental health issues prevent a person from being sentenced to death.

“So this defendant cannot be executed. Then the only possible sentence is life without parole,” he said.

Ellis' mother told us that her daughter had suffered from mental health issues for a long time. Today, the courts may have difficulty resolving this problem.

In fact, we learned that Ellis is now in the Cuyahoga County Jail, in solitary confinement in the medical unit.

The law professor told us that when people accused of crimes try to invoke the not guilty by reason of insanity defense, it works less than 1% of the time.

This case has only just begun to be brought before the county court. Nothing has been filed yet regarding mental health.