Man Who Killed Sleeping 6-Year-Old Arrested Again After Early Prison Release

A Kentucky man who fatally stabbed a sleeping 6-year-old boy in 2015 has been arrested again in Florida just days after his early release from prison.

Ronald Exantus, 42, was taken into custody Thursday in Marion County, Florida, for allegedly violating parole by failing to register as a convicted felon within 48 hours of arriving in the state. Police said he had already been in Florida for several days. Exantus will be extradited back to Kentucky.

Exantus was released from a Kentucky prison last week after serving eight years of a 20-year sentence. His early release came under a 2012 state law that requires “mandatory reentry supervision” to help felons transition back into society.

Authorities said Exantus entered an unlocked home in Versailles, Kentucky, in December 2015 and stabbed 6-year-old Logan Tipton to death with a butcher knife he took from the kitchen. He also attacked two of Logan’s sisters and their father.

In 2018, a Kentucky jury acquitted Exantus of capital murder and first-degree burglary by reason of insanity, but convicted him of two counts of second-degree assault and one count of fourth-degree assault.

At a press conference Friday, Lt. Paul Bloom of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office condemned Exantus’ release.

“I get that he was released for good behavior,” Bloom said. “But the overwhelming evil of killing a child and trying to kill others far outweighs any good behavior he could show in 400 years.”

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier confirmed the extradition effort on X, while Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized Kentucky’s justice system for releasing Exantus so soon.

“It’s shocking he was let out after serving just a fraction of his sentence for murdering a six-year-old,” DeSantis wrote.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said federal officials are reviewing the case, calling Exantus’ early release “wholly unacceptable.”

Exantus’ former attorney Bridget Hofler, who no longer represents him, told WKYT that he had schizophrenia but worked to rehabilitate himself in prison.

“If anybody deserved to get out early, it was Ron,” she said. “He had accomplished so much while incarcerated. But Logan is still dead, and those children will be traumatized for life.”

Another of Exantus’ former lawyers told ABC News his early release was based on good time, work credits, and participation in education and rehabilitation programs. She warned the backlash could threaten similar reentry initiatives statewide.

The Kentucky Parole Board unanimously voted to keep Exantus in prison, but was overruled by state statute KRS 439.3406, which mandates release once inmates earn enough time and education credits.

Following public outrage, Parole Board members reported receiving death threats and having their home addresses leaked online. Kentucky State Police and the FBI are investigating, Gov. Andy Beshear confirmed.