Woman accused of stabbing, killing 3-year-old in Ohio claims she’s killed before in Bakersfield
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated to clarify details of the case against Ellis.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A woman accused of murdering a child outside a Cleveland, Ohio supermarket claims she has killed before — in Bakersfield.
Bionca Ellis is accused of fatally stabbing a 3-year-old boy outside the supermarket. Ellis is facing charges of murder, aggravated murder, attempted murder, and more. The 32-year-old pleaded not guilty to all seven of her charges at her arraignment Monday.
According to police, the motive for the stabbings is unclear and appears to have been a random attack.
Still, according to court records, Ellis told police that a few months ago, she killed a woman in Bakersfield and dumped the body in an unknown area, possibly near a river.
Kern County criminal case records show Ellis was accused of three counts of misdemeanor battery charges in late January after being a patient at Kern Medical, where she allegedly attacked three hospital staffers. Police reports say Ellis refused to leave the hospital after receiving treatment, and when security tried to remove her, she kicked two security guards and a nurse. No court hearings are scheduled in connection to those charges.
In regard to the possible murder in Bakersfield, Ellis’ depiction to Cleveland police was vivid, describing in the court records the victim was a white female, approximately 5 feet, 6 inches, 150 pounds, and was a bartender or worked at a bar.
17 News reached out to the Bakersfield Police Department about the claimed murder. A spokesperson said: “Ellis did make some spontaneous statements, which were relayed to our investigators. This information was shared with the other investigators to ensure that the information provided wasn’t consistent with unsolved homicides that we were investigating.”
Bakersfield police did not have enough evidence to hold Ellis on a murder case, according to the spokesperson.
“The information does not match any cases actively being investigated, and at this time, Ellis is not a person of interest or being investigated for any offense,” police said.
Many questions remain including if Ellis did in fact kill someone in Bakersfield? Is there an unsolved murder that could have been at the hands of this accused killer? Does Ellis have an alleged pattern of spontaneous killing? Bakersfield police claims the case regarding Ellis in Bakersfield is closed.
Police previously arrested Ellis on allegations of petty theft from a Walmart in Ohio, arrested her for a non-violent crime in Florida, and NBC News spoke to a detective who is working on her case currently and said there was nothing in her past to suggest “that she has any violent tendencies.”
Prosecutors in Ohio said Ellis may be eligible for the death penalty in the Cleveland 3-year-old’s murder.
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