KY Parole Board threatened after man who killed child released from prison
Kentucky State Police are investigating multiple death threats sent to the Kentucky Parole Board after the release last week of a man who killed a 6-year-old Versailles boy a decade ago.
However, the parole board did not vote to release Ronald Exantus, the Indiana man responsible for the death of Woodford County boy Logan Tipton in 2015.
Instead, a state statute required Exantus’ mandatory supervised release, despite the parole board voting against his release.
Exantus’ release was “governed strictly by state law,” according to a Monday news release from the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet. He had served nearly 10 years of his 20-year sentence.
Mandatory supervised release, which took effect in 2012, is granted to qualified inmates who are within six months of their estimated sentence completion date by authority of state law. Inmates on mandatory supervised release are considered to be on parole and can be sent back to prison for violating the terms of their release.
Exantus had his sentence reviewed by the parole board multiple times during his incarceration and was denied parole on every visit, according to the release from the cabinet.
But the state’s mandatory supervised release superseded the parole board’s recommendation.
A 2018 Fayette County jury found Exantus not guilty by reason of insanity in the death of Logan Tipton. Though the crime was committed in Woodford County, the trial was moved to Fayette County because of pretrial publicity. Exantus was found guilty on charges that he assaulted Logan’s father and siblings.
Exantus, a nurse who did not know the Tipton family, drove from Indiana to Versailles and early Dec. 7, 2015, came into the family’s unlocked Douglas Avenue home and assaulted them.
Logan died after being stabbed in the head with a butcher knife as he lay in bed.
The cabinet’s statement noted that board members have faced “repeated” death threats over Exantus’ release.
“Despite repeatedly voting for Ronald Exantus to remain in prison, Parole Board members have faced significant threats over the last several days, even having their personal addresses released publicly,” Ladeidra N. Jones, chair of the Kentucky Parole Board, wrote. “We are encouraging individuals to take these threats seriously and to prioritize factual information, which is that the board did not release Exantus — instead, a law passed by the General Assembly did.”
A Department of Corrections spokesperson told the Herald-Leader Exantus had his sentence reviewed by the parole board multiple times during his incarceration and was denied parole on every visit.
Nine members make up the Kentucky Parole Board. Eight of the nine were appointed by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who is midway through his second term. Jones was appointed by former GOP governor Matt Bevin.
A Monday news release from state police said investigations into threats made aginst parole board members are underway.
Some members have had their personal information released online, and threats of violence and death have been made against them and their families, according to the release.
“Threatening to cause harm to others is a crime, punishable by a jail sentence, in accordance with KRS 508.080. KSP is urging individuals to stop the threats against Board members. For those who continue to participate in this criminal activity, an investigation will be opened and charges may be issued,” a KSP spokesperson wrote.
Exantus’s release has drawn the ire of many popular social media voices as well as the White House.
Matt Walsh, a right-wing blogger and podcaster, has strongly criticized Exantus’ release.
“If you think our criminal justice system is completely and totally broken, you don’t even know the half of it. It is so much worse than you think,” Walsh wrote in a lengthy post to social media platform X.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also said over the weekend that the White House was “looking into this.”
“It’s wholly unacceptable for a child killer to walk free after just several years in prison,” Leavitt wrote on social media.
This story was originally published October 7, 2025 at 1:48 PM.
