LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — An Indianapolis man has been arrested and charged with murder after a 6-year-old child was stabbed and killed in Kentucky.
Police say 6-year-old Logan Tipton was killed Monday when an Indiana man broke into a home, grabbed a large kitchen knife and stabbed the boy multiple times in his bedroom.
The Woodford County Coroner's Office confirms he died of multiple stab wounds to the head.
Ronald Exantus, 32, of Indianapolis, was charged with murder and first-degree burglary, according to an arrest citation. Police did not immediately provide a possible motive for the break-in and slaying and the boy's family said they hadn't seen Exantus before.
Ronald Exantus (Indy nurse accused of killing KY 6yo) 'released from employment' from Fresenius Medical Care @rtv6 pic.twitter.com/keEKYalToo
— Mike Pelton (@MikePeltonRTV6) December 7, 2015
Woodford County Deputy Coroner T.A. Rankin identified the boy. The kindergartner with his family in the small town of Versailles, near Lexington in Kentucky's thoroughbred and bourbon country.
Two of the boy's sisters suffered non-life-threatening cuts in the attack, and the suspect was held by the boy's father until police arrived, the arrest citation said.
"He was able to get him on the ground and get him subdued until officers could get there," said Versailles police Lt. Michael Fortney said.
Exantus entered the home and walked around the residence before the attack, the police citation said.
Exantus — described as 6-foot-tall, 260 pounds — went to an upstairs bedroom where the boy was asleep in his bed, the citation said. The boy was stabbed several times in the head area, it said.
Police believe Exantus acted alone, Fortney said.
Fortney also touched on the waking nightmare a family is now dealing with.
"Not good, not good," Lt. Fortney said. "The family is obviously at a loss. Its a tragedy, so they're not holding up so well. That's how it should be any time you lose a child. It's really, really bad."
Logan was a kindergartner at Simmons Elementary in Versailles. His classmates were told by their teacher and principal that he had died, but not told about the circumstances of his death, said Woodford County public schools Superintendent Scott Hawkins. The principal met with staff before the start of school to notify them.
Extra counselors were assigned to the school, he said.
Staff members at Simmons Elementary said Logan seemed to always have a smile.
"He was extremely well liked," Hawkins said. "He had a lot of friends at the school. Just a great, great little boy, and one that you certainly loved having in your building."
The young victim had three siblings attending the same school — a second-grader, third-grader and fifth-grader, Hawkins said.
Investigators were trying to determine if the suspect had any connection to the area, said Versailles police Lt. Michael Fortney.
At his arraignment Monday, Exantus was issued a $1 million bond. The prosecution said he appeared to be traveling through the area and stopped.
A public defender appointed to Exantus entered a not guilty plea on his behalf, and told WTVQ in Lexington that while she isn't a mental health expert, she wonders if Exantus might be schizophrenic.
Exantus will appear in court next on Dec. 14th.
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