Ronald Exantus walked out of the Kentucky State Reformatory on Wednesday, July 29, roughly nine years before his 20-year sentence would have expired for the 2015 stabbing death of 6-year-old Logan Tipton.

State Rep. TJ Roberts, R-Burlington, who co-sponsored "Logan's Law" in response to the case, said the day before the release that the Tipton family still had not been told Exantus was getting out.

"Based on my communications with the Tipton family, it was communicated to them by the Department of Corrections that his original sentence does, in fact, require that he receive a mental health evaluation before release," Roberts told Spectrum News 1 on Tuesday, July 28.

Roberts said that evaluation had not been conducted and that the Kentucky Constitution requires timely victim notification. The Justice and Public Safety Cabinet did not directly address whether the evaluation took place, saying only that involuntary hospitalization proceedings are confidential.

What happened in 2015

Exantus, now 42, broke into the Tipton family home on Douglas Avenue in Versailles on Dec. 7, 2015, and stabbed Logan to death in his bedroom. He also stabbed Logan's sisters, who survived, and assaulted their father. Logan's father, Dean Tipton, tackled Exantus and held him until police arrived, according to WDRB.

A Woodford Circuit Court jury returned a split verdict in 2018: not guilty by reason of insanity on the murder and burglary charges, but guilty but mentally ill on two counts of second-degree assault and one count of fourth-degree assault. The jury recommended 20 years.

How he got out early

Under Kentucky law, Exantus received nearly nine years of sentence credit through good-time calculations and time served before trial, according to LEX 18. His original maximum serve-out date was Nov. 24, 2035.

Exantus was first released on mandatory reentry supervision on Oct. 1, 2025, and transferred to Florida. He was arrested in Marion County, Florida, on Oct. 12, 2025, for failing to register as a convicted felon within 48 hours. At the time, he was living adjacent to an elementary school.

The Kentucky Parole Board revoked his supervision in November 2025 and ordered him held until his minimum expiration date of July 29, 2026. The board voted unanimously to keep him incarcerated every time it had the opportunity, but it does not have authority over mandatory reentry supervision releases, which are governed by state law.

The release

Morgan Hall, communications director for the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, confirmed the release Wednesday in a statement to the Courier-Journal, saying Exantus has served the sentence issued by the Woodford Circuit Court and is no longer in Department of Corrections custody. Hall said the Parole Board did not release Exantus and that he was not released early.

Exantus left prison without parole or probation.

He has no supervision requirements.

Commonwealth's Attorney Kelli Kearney of the 14th Judicial Circuit called the outcome deeply disappointing and frustrating, saying her office pursued every lawful avenue to keep Exantus incarcerated.

Logan's Law

Gov. Andy Beshear signed House Bill 422, known as "Logan's Law," on April 2. The law clarifies the insanity defense, prevents split verdicts like the one in Exantus's case, and bars repeat violent offenders from mandatory reentry supervision.

The cabinet said the law does not apply to Exantus because he was convicted before it took effect.

Dean Tipton, Logan's father, said in May while advocating for the bill: "You commit a crime of these violent natures, you need to be put away. You're a danger to society, and that's what Logan's Law is going to do, whether you're mentally ill or not."

Roberts, speaking to Spectrum News on July 9 when the release date was first announced, said he wanted transparency to ensure the public is not living in fear that the state is releasing people convicted of violent crimes.

The cabinet's general counsel contacted Chief Circuit Judge Jeremy Mattox, Commonwealth's Attorney Kearney, and Department of Public Advocacy Directing Attorney Josh Miller on June 5 to give them an opportunity to begin involuntary hospitalization proceedings before the release. No further legal proceedings have been publicly announced.