Kentucky man who killed 6-year-old boy in 2015 expected to be released from prison again

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB/WKYT) — The man convicted in the fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Kentucky boy in 2015 will be released from prison again.

Ronald Exantus, 42, is scheduled to be released from the Kentucky State Reformatory on July 29, according to the Kentucky online offender database.

In a statement sent to WKYT, the Kentucky Department of Corrections confirmed Exantus' upcoming release.

"In November, the Kentucky Parole Board issued a serve out, which means the inmate is no longer eligible for parole. Every time it had the opportunity, the Parole Board recommended Ronald Exantus stay in prison. Ronald Exantus must remain incarcerated until his expiration of sentence date which is July 29," the statement said.

The Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet said in a statement Thursday afternoon that Exantus "will have served the sentence issued by the Woodford Circuit Court."

"The Kentucky Parole Board is not releasing Exantus, and he is not being released early," the statement said.

Exantus was released Oct. 1, 2025, on good behavior after serving less than half of his 20-year prison sentence for stabbing 6-year-old Logan Tipton to death in his bedroom 10 years ago in Versailles, Kentucky.

He was arrested a week later in Florida for failing to register as a convicted felon within 48 hours of moving to the state. Police there said Exantus was living in a home adjacent from an elementary school and blocks away from another school, and had not yet registered as a convicted felon, at the time of his release.

In November 2025, the Kentucky Parole Board revoked Exantus' Mandatory Reentry Supervision after conducting a file review, the Kentucky Justice & Public Safety Cabinet said in a news release at the time.

The board said its decision came after Exantus "admitted to violating the conditions of his supervision." Board members determined his failure to comply with the conditions of his supervision "constituted a significant risk to prior victims or the community at large and the offender cannot be appropriately managed in the community."

In its decision, the board wrote Exantus "violating his conditions and ultimately committing a new misdemeanor offense within days of his release further proves that he is not suitable for release."

The Kentucky Department of Corrections was required to release Exantus on Mandatory Reentry Supervision per Kentucky law, despite the parole board voting unanimously to keep him in prison every time it had the opportunity. The board doesn't have the authority to release inmates on MRS, which is a process governed by state law.

Exantus was sentenced in 2018 to 20 years in prison for stabbing 6-year-old Logan Tipton to death in his bedroom after breaking into a home on Douglas Avenue in Versailles on Dec. 7, 2015. He also stabbed Logan's sister, who survived, and assaulted their father.

He was arrested after Logan's father tackled him and held him down until police arrived.

During his six-day trial, the defense argued Exantus was insane at the time of the crime and in a state of psychosis. But both the defense and prosecution admitted that he killed the boy.

Exantus was found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity, but he was convicted for the brutal assaults on other family members the night he broke into the home.

His early release sparked Kentucky lawmakers to pass House Bill 422, also known as Logan's Law, which makes changes to sentencing and parole in Kentucky. Gov. Andy Beshear signed the bill into law in April.

Logan's Law expands the definition of a violent offender and increases the time certain offenders must serve before parole. That includes raising parole eligibility for life sentences from 25 to 35 years. It also limits early release options for violent felons.

The bill also reforms the statute on an insanity plea, and creates a pathway for severely mentally ill defendants to receive proper treatment. Additionally, it adds mandatory reentry supervision reform and make sure that if the parole board denies parole to someone convicted of a violent felony, that person would not be eligible for early release.

To read HB 422/Logan's Law, click here.

This story may be updated.