He Broke into Family’s Home and Used Their Kitchen Knife to Kill Sleeping 6-Year-Old — and Now He’s Released

He Broke into Family’s Home and Used Their Kitchen Knife to Kill Sleeping 6-Year-Old and Now He’s Released

Ronald Exantus, convicted in the 2015 killing of Logan Tipton, has been granted parole after serving about seven years of a 20-year sentence

October 4, 2025 Lexington, Kentucky A Kentucky man convicted of breaking into a family’s home and fatally stabbing a 6-year-old boy as he slept has been released from prison on parole, according to state records, reigniting outrage from the victim’s family and community.

Ronald Exantus, now 39, was sentenced in 2018 to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty but mentally ill to the manslaughter of Logan Tipton, a first-grader from Versailles, Kentucky. Exantus served roughly seven years behind bars before being granted release by the Kentucky Parole Board late last month.

The decision has stirred emotional responses across the state, as many residents remember the crime — one of the most disturbing in recent Kentucky history.

The Crime

In December 2015, police say Exantus broke into the Tipton family’s home in Versailles in the early morning hours. He entered through an unlocked door, went upstairs, and took a kitchen knife from the home before walking into Logan’s bedroom.

Authorities said Exantus then stabbed the sleeping 6-year-old multiple times, killing him before the boy’s father tackled and restrained him until police arrived.

Exantus, who worked as a nurse at the time, told investigators he had been experiencing “a dream-like state” and claimed voices in his head directed his actions. A court-ordered psychiatric evaluation later determined he suffered from schizoaffective disorder, but was competent to stand trial.

The Trial and Sentence

In 2018, a jury found Exantus guilty but mentally ill of first-degree manslaughter and burglary. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, a term far shorter than the potential life sentence prosecutors had originally sought for murder.

The jury’s verdict reflected a compromise: acknowledging his mental illness while holding him criminally responsible. At the time, prosecutors and defense attorneys both described the case as “uniquely tragic.”

Parole and Reaction

According to the Kentucky Department of Corrections, Exantus became eligible for parole after serving one-third of his sentence. His early release was approved during a closed hearing in August 2025.

The Tipton family learned of his release only after it occurred, family members said.

“Our hearts are broken all over again,” said Logan’s mother, Heather Tipton, in a statement to local media. “He took our son’s life in the most horrific way possible, and seven years is nothing compared to what we’ve lost.”

The Kentucky Parole Board did not publicly explain its reasoning but cited Exantus’s compliance with mental health treatment, a clean institutional record, and the recommendation of psychiatric professionals. He will remain under supervised parole for the remainder of his term and must continue mental health care as a condition of his release.

Officials and Public Response

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman criticized the decision, calling it “a miscarriage of justice for the Tipton family and the community.”

“The public deserves to know how someone capable of such a crime can walk free after serving barely a third of their sentence,” Coleman said.

Advocates for criminal justice reform, however, argued that the case reflects the system’s challenge in dealing with severe mental illness.

“This was a man who needed treatment and received it,” said Sarah Downing, director of the Kentucky Mental Health Justice Project. “The law requires parole boards to consider rehabilitation, not vengeance.”

Remembering Logan

Logan Tipton’s death shook Versailles and inspired community vigils, playground dedications, and scholarships in his memory. Teachers remembered him as a cheerful and imaginative child who loved soccer and superheroes.

Local residents held a candlelight vigil Friday night near Huntertown Elementary School, where Logan had been a student, to honor his memory and express frustration with the parole decision.

“We just want justice to mean something,” said family friend Mark Pruitt, who helped organize the vigil. “You shouldn’t be able to kill a child in cold blood and walk out in seven years.”

A Broader Debate

The case underscores a persistent tension between mental health considerations and public safety in the criminal justice system, a debate that has intensified in recent years as states reassess sentencing practices and prison overcrowding.

Legal experts note that parole decisions often weigh rehabilitation progress heavily, particularly in cases where the offender was found mentally ill but not irredeemable.

“This is an emotionally charged case that tests the balance between justice and compassion,” said Dr. Elaine Porter, a criminal law professor at the University of Kentucky. “But it also reveals how little confidence the public has in that balance when a child’s life is lost.”

Looking Ahead

According to corrections officials, Exantus will be required to live in a monitored facility in Louisville and report to a parole officer regularly. Any violation of his parole terms could result in his immediate re-incarceration.

For the Tipton family, however, the release marks another painful chapter in a tragedy that never truly ends.

“We’ll never get Logan back,” said Heather Tipton. “All we can do now is keep his memory alive and make sure people remember what happened.”