A Kentucky man found not guilty by reason of insanity in the fatal stabbing of a sleeping 6-year-old boy was released from custody Wednesday, reigniting anguish and anger from the child’s family over the outcome of the case.
Ronald Exantus completed the full prison term he received in connection with the violent Dec. 7, 2015, attack that killed kindergartner Logan Tipton, and was released by the Kentucky Department of Corrections.
“Pursuant to state laws passed by Kentucky’s General Assembly, Ronald Exantus has served the sentence issued by the Woodford Circuit Court and has been released. He is no longer in the custody of the Department of Corrections. The Kentucky Parole Board did not release Exantus, and he was not released early,” the Kentucky Department of Corrections said in a statement reported by WKYT.
Exantus is not subject to any additional probation tied to Logan’s death.
Logan’s father, Dean Tipton, said the legal system left his family serving a far harsher sentence than the man charged in the attack, who was convicted on assault-related counts.
“The judge and jury gave this monster a slap on the wrist while handing down a life sentence to my family,” the grieving father wrote Wednesday in a Facebook post.
“Trying really hard to not let this break me….I’ve carried so much over the years since Logan going to be with our Lord. I have woke up everyday, put on my fake ass smile and have carried on with life and literally living through hell. Today though, I’m having a hard time trying to figure out how to go on with life. Knowing that this monster gets to walk free and live his life, while I lay in this bed and my baby boy is in the grave. This may be my breaking point,” he added.
Exantus, now 42, had entered a home in Versailles, Kentucky, where authorities said Logan was fatally stabbed as he slept.
Exantus also stabbed Dean Tipton and his two sisters, telling the one sibling, Dakota, that he would kill the entire family.
The madman was arrested and tried for the kindergartner’s killing but was found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity after his attorney argued Exantus was genetically schizophrenic, WKYT reported.
Exantus, a former dialysis nurse, was instead sentenced to a maximum of 20 years behind bars for assault charges against the three other family members during his 2018 trial.
During his time in prison, Exantus received nearly nine years of sentence credit, speeding up his release.
He was first released on parole on Oct. 1, 2025, but was quickly back behind bars after moving to Florida when he failed to register as a convicted felon and violated his parole eight days later.
He was extradited to Kentucky, where he served out the remainder of his sentence locked up until Wednesday.
During that time, the Kentucky State Legislature passed Logan’s Law, which amended the state’s parole eligibility for violent offenders, changed insanity defense procedures and eliminated some of the early-release options.
Despite the bill being signed into law by Gov. Andy Beshear in April, it does not retroactively affect Exantus’ release, allowing him to walk free.
“So I’ve come to terms that even though we got Logans Law passed it is still not enough,” Dean Tipton wrote on Facebook Saturday. “Violent criminals should not be able to knock so much time off their sentence.
“So this is my next goal. Im going to fight to have the amount of time limited and considering on how Violent the crime is no time being knocked off. Our judicial system as a whole needs to be over hauled and I am gonna fight for more change,” he said.
Dean Tipton notably threatened to kill Exantus after his initial release, warning his son’s killer of his fate if the two ever crossed paths.
“I’ve had my talks with God cause I’m not afraid to tell you all, I told the court — if I ever cross paths with him, I will kill the man. I will kill him where he stands,” he previously told WKYT.
