Man Convicted in 6-Year-Old Logan Tipton’s Death Arrested Again Just Days After Release

The man who fatally stabbed 6-year-old Logan Tipton as the child slept in his Kentucky home has been arrested again just days after his release from prison.

Ronald Exantus, 42, was taken into custody on Thursday, Oct. 9, in Marion County, Florida, according to a news release from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO). Authorities say he failed to register as a convicted felon within the required 48-hour period.

Officials had informed Logan’s family that Exantus would serve six months of parole in Florida before returning to Kentucky supervision, according to reports from WKYT, WHSV, and WAFB. The MCSO later learned that Exantus had relocated from Kentucky to Marion County, where deputies found him living in a home immediately adjacent to an elementary school.

“The fact that he was living right next to an elementary school is even more repulsive,” Sheriff Billy Woods said in a statement. “I have no tolerance for this type of dangerous person flaunting our laws and thinking he would hide out in our county.”

Exantus served seven years of a 20-year prison sentence following his 2018 conviction for stabbing Logan Tipton in December 2015. According to Florida Department of Corrections records, he began parole supervision on October 6.

On the night of the killing, Exantus drove from Indianapolis to the Tipton family’s home in Versailles, Kentucky. Authorities said he entered the home while the family slept, took a knife from the kitchen, and attacked Logan as the boy lay in bed, CBS News reported. Logan’s father, Dean Tipton, was injured while subduing the intruder, and two of Logan’s sisters were also hurt.

A jury later found Exantus not guilty of murder by reason of insanity, but convicted him on multiple assault charges. Court records show the jury also returned a not guilty by reason of insanity verdict on the burglary charge.

During his sentencing, Logan’s parents described the horror of that night.
“When I got to the top of the stairs, he attacked me with a knife,” Dean Tipton told WKYT. “He stood up with me on top of him, just stood up and threw me 10 to 15 feet across the room and went after my daughter.”

Logan’s sister, Dakota Tipton, recalled, “He stabbed me in the back, and then stomped on my head. I remember waking up across the room, and I looked and he was killing Logan and Logan was screaming.”

Logan’s mother, Heather Tipton, spoke through tears during Exantus’ sentencing hearing. “He didn’t just kill my son,” she said, according to LEX 18. “He killed every member of my family. Every single one of us is a completely different person than we were when we went to bed December 6.”

“You took a human being’s life,” Dean Tipton said. “Mentally ill or not, your life should be at least life in prison without the possibility of parole. It just seems like a 6-year-old’s life is worth more than 10 years in prison.”