Kentucky's broken justice system let a child killer walk after serving less than half his sentence.
The horrific case sparked outrage nationwide and exposed a glaring loophole.
And Florida's top prosecutor proposed one major change that would protect families from violent criminals.
Child murderer walks free after insanity verdict
Ronald Exantus, 42, broke into a Versailles, Kentucky home in December 2015 and stabbed six-year-old Logan Tipton to death while the boy slept.
Logan's sisters watched Exantus kill their brother and were themselves stabbed trying to intervene.
Their father Dean Tipton fought the intruder and was also stabbed before finally subduing Exantus and holding him until police arrived.
A Kentucky jury convicted Exantus of assaulting the father and sisters but found him not guilty of Logan's murder by reason of insanity.¹
Exantus received a 20-year sentence for the assault convictions.
But Kentucky law allowed him to accumulate jail credits, good behavior credits, and education credits that slashed his time.²
The Kentucky Parole Board unanimously voted three times to keep Exantus locked up.³
State law overruled the board and forced his release in October after serving just seven years.⁴
"He stabbed Logan over 20 times in the head while he was sleeping," Dean Tipton told reporters.⁵
"One of the hardest things I ever had to do in my life was come home and tell my kids that he was innocent from the murder," Tipton continued. "They're saying, 'Well, how is he innocent from the murder? We watched him do it.'"⁶
https://twitter.com/realTJRoberts/status/1983625623965978658
Convicted felon immediately violates parole conditions
Exantus moved to Marion County, Florida upon release but didn't register as a convicted felon within the required 48 hours.
Marion County Sheriff's Intelligence Unit received a tip about his failure to register.
Deputies found him living at a home immediately adjacent to Sunrise Elementary School.⁷
Sheriff Billy Woods called the arrest "a perfect example of how the collaborative efforts of our judicial system should work."⁸
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier personally oversaw Exantus's extradition back to Kentucky.
"Today, this child murderer is on his way back to Kentucky—where he belongs," Uthmeier stated. "I encourage all violent criminals to stay far away from Florida."⁹
Uthmeier proposes sweeping reform to insanity defense
The shocking case prompted Uthmeier to announce a major overhaul to Florida's insanity defense statute.
"Alleging that you can't tell right from wrong should not exonerate you from a violent crime," Uthmeier explained.¹⁰
https://twitter.com/AGJamesUthmeier/status/1983232406648668533
Florida currently uses the M'Naghten Rule, the same standard Kentucky employed that allowed Exantus to escape a murder conviction.
Under this rule, defendants can be found not guilty if a mental disease prevented them from understanding their actions or knowing they were wrong.¹¹
The insanity defense succeeds in less than 1% of cases nationwide and even fewer in Florida.¹²
But when it works, killers like Exantus get assault convictions instead of murder charges.
Uthmeier's proposal would shift insanity from a complete defense into a sentencing consideration.
"Moral incapacity should only be used during sentencing to determine if someone should spend the rest of their life in prison or in a high security hospital," Uthmeier said. "We cannot allow what happened in Kentucky to ever occur in Florida."¹³
The reform would ensure violent criminals face conviction regardless of mental state, with insanity determining placement in prison versus a secure psychiatric facility.
The Tipton family has lived in fear since learning of Exantus's release.
"He told me he was going to kill every one of us," Dean Tipton recalled. "So now, I've got to be on extra guard to protect my kids because I will not lose another one, not like this."¹⁴
Kentucky lawmakers introduced "Logan's Law" requiring anyone found not guilty by reason of insanity for violent crimes to be committed to mental health facilities rather than serving reduced prison time.¹⁵
But the damage to the Tipton family is permanent.
https://twitter.com/RedWave_Press/status/1976392311648161804
Logan's sister Dakota, who was also stabbed that night, remembers waking up to find Exantus killing her brother.
"I looked and he was killing Logan and Logan was screaming," Dakota said.¹⁶
The White House confirmed it's examining the case after Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the early release "wholly unacceptable."¹⁷
Uthmeier's proposed reform would prevent similar tragedies in Florida by ensuring no violent criminal escapes accountability through mental health claims at trial.
¹ "Expert weighs in as man convicted in 2015 stabbing death is released from prison," WKYT, October 2, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ "Kentucky family devastated after man accused of killing young boy released from prison," LEX18, October 2025.
⁴ "Man convicted in 2015 stabbing death of Ky. boy released from prison," WKYT, October 1, 2025.
⁵ "AG Uthmeier proposes overhaul to Florida's insanity defense statute following parolee's arrest," Florida Voice News, October 31, 2025.
⁶ "Expert weighs in as man convicted in 2015 stabbing death is released from prison," WKYT, October 2, 2025.
⁷ "AG Uthmeier proposes overhaul to Florida's insanity defense statute following parolee's arrest," Florida Voice News, October 31, 2025.
⁸ Ibid.
⁹ Ibid.
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ "The Insanity Defense in Florida: Legal Standards and Challenges," Fort Lauderdale Criminal Defense Attorney, August 16, 2024.
¹² "A Systematic Review: The Insanity Defense in Florida," Florida Political Review, March 13, 2025.
¹³ "AG Uthmeier proposes overhaul to Florida's insanity defense statute following parolee's arrest," Florida Voice News, October 31, 2025.
¹⁴ "KY family speaks out after Ronald Exantus, accused of killing 6-year-old boy in 2015, released early from prison," FOX56, October 2025.
¹⁵ "Logan Tipton's killer released early amid mental health debates," WHAS11, October 2025.
¹⁶ "Kentucky family devastated after man accused of killing young boy released from prison," LEX18, October 2025.
¹⁷ "Man accused of killing sleeping 6-year-old, arrested again after early release: Police," ABC News, October 2025.
