Ronald Exantus was released from prison under supervision on Oct. 1. A jury found him not guilty of murder by reason of insanity after he stabbed a 6-year-old child to death. (Kentucky Department of Corrections)
The child killer whose Oct. 1 release from a Kentucky prison sparked outrage on social media and criticism by the Trump White House is back in custody.
Ronald Exantus, 42, was arrested in Florida on Thursday and charged with failing to register as a felon. Florida law requires convicted felons to register with the sheriff’s office within 48 hours of release or entering a county.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office in Ocala announced it arrested Exantus at a home in Marion Oaks on Thursday and that he is being held without bond in the Marion County Jail.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said Florida officials are working to send Exantus back to Kentucky.
Exantus admitted fatally stabbing 6-year-old Logan Tipton in 2015 after driving from Indianapolis where he lived to Central Kentucky and entering an unlocked home in Versailles where the Tipon family was sleeping. Exantus killed Logan with a butcher knife he found in the house.
After his arrest, Exantus entered the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center at the state prison in La Grange. At trial a psychologist testified that Exantus, a dialysis nurse, was in a psychotic state at the time of the killing. A jury in Lexington acquitted him of capital murder and burglary but found him guilty but insane on charges of assaulting other family members.
He was sentenced to 20 years on the assault charges and became eligible for release in 2026 based on credits he earned in prison for good behavior and other activities. He was released early under a 2012 Kentucky law aimed at reducing recidivism by providing mandatory re-entry supervision as inmates make the transition to life outside prison.
He was to remain under supervision in Florida until June under an interstate compact. As a condition of his supervision he was required to report to a parole officer immediately upon his arrival. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office did not say whether Exantus had reported to a parole officer as required.
Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said, “I am proud of the quick response by my deputies and the inter-agency teamwork that helped locate and arrest this disgusting individual. The fact that he was living right next to an elementary school is even more repulsive. I have no tolerance for this type of dangerous person flaunting our laws and thinking he would hide out in our county.”
Threats against Parole Board still under investigation
Earlier Thursday, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said the FBI has joined the Kentucky State Police in investigating violent threats made against members of the Kentucky Parole Board in response to Exantus’ release.
The Parole Board had unanimously recommended on Sept. 30 and previously that Exantus remain in prison but lacked the authority to keep him there, according to the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet.
Kentucky State Police Sgt. Matt Sudduth, speaking during the governor’s Thursday media briefing, said threats of violence are not protected under the First Amendment and can be criminal. “We’re going to continue this investigation, and if we can, when we get to a point where we’re ready to hold those accountable, that’ll be the next steps in the investigation,” Sudduth said.
Beshear said his office has not been contacted by the White House about Exantus’ release. Last week White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reposted criticism by a right-wing podcaster, saying, “I can confirm the White House is looking into this. It’s wholly unacceptable for a child killer to walk free after just several years in prison.”
Beshear chastised Leavitt for pushing out what he called “wrong information” and putting the “lives of our Parole Board members in danger.”
Beshear also said, “If you are calling and leaving one of these racist violent messages for our Parole Board members, they were trying to do what you wanted them to do. They made the decision the way that you claim that they should have. And there’s just no acceptable reason to ever threaten another human being with violence.”
