Man released from KY prison early after killing child arrested in Florida
The man who killed a 6-year-old child in Kentucky and was released after serving less than half of his 20-year prison sentence was arrested Thursday in Florida.
Ronald Exantus, 42, was released from a Kentucky prison Oct. 1 after serving nine years, nine months and 25 days of his 20-year prison sentence for assaulting the sisters and father of 6-year-old Logan Tipton. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity in Logan’s stabbing death.
Exantus moved to Florida after his release, but he failed to register as a felon, which is against the law, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. Convicted felons living in Florida have 48 hours to register with the state, or they face a potential misdemeanor.
The sheriff’s office and the 5th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office obtained a warrant for Exantus’ arrest Thursday afternoon, according to Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier.
The sheriff’s office said they found Exantus at a home on Southwest 43rd Terrace Road in Marion Oaks, near an elementary and a middle school. Marion Oaks is in central Florida, about 50 miles south of Gainesville.
When authorities went to arrest Exantus, they placed detectives between the school and his house, according to Lt. Paul Bloom with the sheriff’s office.
“When I say immediately next to it, there is a fence between his house and the elementary school, that was it,” Bloom said.
Exantus was booked into the Marion County Jail at 4:39 p.m. Thursday, according to jail records. Uthmeier said state officials are working to send him back to Kentucky.
“I am proud of the quick response by my deputies and the interagency teamwork,” Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said in a news release. “I have no tolerance for this type of dangerous person flaunting our laws and thinking he would hide out in our county.”
When Exantus arrived in Marion County, the Department of Corrections told him he had to register as a convicted felon at the sheriff’s office, according to Bloom. Exantus acted confused when detectives arrived at his home and said he didn’t know why he was being arrested.
“It’s hard for me to believe,” Bloom said. “I don’t know how all the other 100 felons before him understood that and came here and registered, and he’s the 101st one, did not understand this. That argument is invalid for us, and for him, there’s no leniency for that.”
Exantus was staying with family members at the home for a few days before the sheriff’s office learned of his presence. Bloom said Exantus’ release conditions did not prevent him from living near a school.
“In our opinion, that’s unfortunate as well,” Bloom said. “If you had murdered a child, why would you be allowed to be around children again the rest of your life? But not our decision.”
Exantus was in the custody of the Kentucky Department of Corrections but on mandatory supervised release at the time of his arrest. Mandatory supervised release is granted by state law to qualified inmates in Kentucky who are within six months of their estimated sentence completion date.
Inmates who violate conditions of their supervision may be returned to prison and shall not be eligible for mandatory reentry supervision during the same period of incarceration, according to state law. It was not immediately clear what would happen to Exantus when he returns to Kentucky.
Bloom said several people have contacted the sheriff’s office thanking them for their work.
“Even folks from Kentucky have been reaching out to us overnight,” Bloom said. “The family of the victim, Logan Tipton, that was killed by this man, they reached out to us in appreciation.”
On Dec. 7, 2015, Exantus drove from Indiana to the Tiptons’ unlocked home in Versailles and attacked the family with a butcher knife, according to court documents. Logan was killed in the attack, while his sisters and father were injured.
At his trial, a jury found Exantus not guilty by reason of insanity on a murder charge for Logan’s stabbing death, absolving him of criminal responsibility for the offense. He was found guilty but mentally ill on assault charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison, with an expected release date of 2035.
While incarcerated, Exantus earned good-behavior time credits and participated in multiple educational and work programs, which cut time off the back end of his sentence. His time served credits reduced his expected release date to June 2026.
Exantus’ release drew national attention. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said his release was “wholly unacceptable,” and the White House was “looking into it.” Kentucky state Rep. TJ Roberts, R-Burlington, said he hopes to abolish mandatory supervised release and tighten insanity plea laws in the 2026 General Assembly.
“I do believe that people can commit a crime and change their life, turn their life around. I wouldn’t remove that capability from anybody, lives have been changed,” Bloom said. “But there are always existing consequences, and in this case, these consequences should be upheld, and unfortunately they were not.”
This story was originally published October 9, 2025 at 8:53 PM.
