How Giant Eagle stabbing suspect’s mental health could affect trial: I-Team
NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio (WJW) – The FOX 8 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 could affect what happens to Bionca Ellis in court.
We looked at what this means for her murder charges and, possibly, even the death penalty.
This week, we watched Ellis smile and make faces in Cuyahoga County Court as she began facing a list of charges. That was just the latest action putting a spotlight on her mental health.
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Then, consider the crime. North Olmsted police say Ellis attacked a boy and his mom outside the Giant Eagle, killing three-year-old Julian.
Meanwhile, we found a common thread in multiple police reports involving Ellis long before this. Time and again, Ellis told police she wanted to go to jail.
A report shows Ellis told Cleveland police she wanted to kill someone, and she’d kill if officers didn’t take her to jail.
Police in California charged Ellis with battery for assaulting staff at a hospital, and a report shows she wanted to stay in jail a minimum of two weeks.
Police in Florida arrested Ellis for trespassing as she said she would like to go to jail.
All of that happened before a judge in Rocky River Municipal Court released Ellis from jail on a probation violation even though a magistrate had called for 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 defendant competent to stand trial? The second issue is whether a not guilty by reason of insanity defense might be mounted in this case.”
We found this also could affect punishment. Cuyahoga County prosecutors have said they still could decide to seek the death penalty.
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But, Benza pointed out that in Ohio, certain mental health conditions prevent someone from getting a death sentence.
“Then, that defendant cannot be executed. Then, the only possible sentence is life without parole,” he said.
The mother of Ellis told us her daughter has struggled with mental health issues for a long time. Now, the courts could struggle dealing with that.
In fact, we’ve learned Ellis now sits in the Cuyahoga County Jail in isolation in the medical unit.
The law professor told us, when people charged with crimes try to use a defense of not guilty by reason of insanity, that works less then 1% of the time.
This case has just started moving through county court. Nothing has been filed yet regarding mental health.
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