In a grim reminder of a justice system gone adrift, Ronald Exantus — the man who killed 6-year-old Kentuckian Logan Tipton in the dead of night — has been rearrested, this time in Florida, after a controversial early parole release that sparked public outrage.
Exantus, now 42, was convicted in 2018 of multiple assaults after he broke into the Tipton family’s home in Versailles, Kentucky, in 2015. Though he wasn’t convicted of murder — thanks to a jury’s “not guilty by reason of insanity” verdict — the facts were clear: he crept into the family’s home and repeatedly stabbed a sleeping child in the head with such force that the butcher knife bent.
And yet, after serving just seven years of a 20-year sentence, Exantus walked free on October 1 under Kentucky’s Mandatory Reentry Supervision law, bolstered by education and “good behavior” credits. The parole board had recommended he remain locked up. The Department of Corrections overruled the board.
Exantus’ brief taste of freedom ended with handcuffs in Florida. Marion County deputies arrested him for violating his parole and failing to register as a convicted felon, a requirement under Florida law within 48 hours of relocating. He was found living across from an elementary school — the same kind of innocent environment he once shattered.
Sheriff Billy Woods didn’t mince words: “The fact that he was living right next to an elementary school is even more repulsive… I have no tolerance for this type of dangerous person flaunting our laws and thinking he would hide out in our county.”
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Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier echoed the outrage, saying officials are already working to send Exantus back to Kentucky. “This dangerous individual who murdered a child by repeatedly stabbing him in the head was in Florida. We are not tolerating that,” he stated.
Breaking: Ronald Exantus arrested in Florida; officials working to send him back to Kentucky, AG says: https://t.co/5jCkLK9Cmn pic.twitter.com/4HKn0kx3GG
— WKYT (@WKYT) October 9, 2025
The release ignited a public firestorm. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, speaking for President Donald Trump’s administration, stated bluntly: “It’s wholly unacceptable for a child killer to walk free after just several years in prison.”
The facts of the case are not in dispute. On the night of the killing, Exantus — a dialysis nurse from Indianapolis — drove to Kentucky for no discernible reason. He entered the Tipton home through an unlocked door and attacked the family in their sleep. Logan was killed. His father and two sisters were stabbed. The court acknowledged that Exantus was mentally disturbed. That didn’t make the blood any less real.
Logan’s father, Dean Tipton, gave voice to the anguish, declaring, “I’ve told the court — if I ever cross paths with him, I will kill the man.”
His mother, Heather Tipton, said the justice system offered no protection, not even a courtesy call when Exantus was released, offering, “It just feels like a 6-year-old’s life is worth more than ten years in prison.”
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