Trial begins for alleged murderer of Woodford Co. child

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) — Logan Tipton’s family members took the witness stand Monday afternoon.

His sister, Koral Lipton, says she woke up to Logan crying and a man stabbing him. She says Exantus kept saying it was his house and they needed to clean it up as he was attacking the children.

Logan’s father, Dean Tipton, says Exantus came at him with the knife but he was able to tackle Exantus to the ground.

“I prayed that he was going to be okay but I knew he was gone,” Dean Tipton says of his thoughts once Logan was taken to the hospital.

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – A murder trial for the accused killer of a 6-year-old Woodford County boy began Monday morning.

Ronald Exantus is a divorced father of three from Indianapolis who police say drove from Indiana to Kentucky, broke into a Versailles home and stabbed 6-year old Logan Tipton to death while he slept in December 2015.

After the final jury selection, prosecutors for the Commonwealth gave opening statements to the jurors, and the trial got underway.

Jurors listened to the 911 call made by Logan Tipton’s 11-year-old sister on the night of the attack, before prosecutors showed police body cam video from that same night, showing gut wrenching video of family and police fighting Exantus off, and arresting him.

The defense says Exantus is mentally ill, but is not denying he killed Tipton. They claim Exantus started acting strange a week before the murder. They say he started sleeping less and lost his appetite.

Investigators say there is no evidence that Exantus had any ties to the Tipton family. The defense said during Monday’s court hearing Exantus chose the Tipton house because the Christmas lights reminded him of his church, and Grey Street of Grey’s Anatomy.

The defense told the judge Exantus remained psychotic for two months after Tipton’s death, and then was medicated.

The trial is ongoing. We will keep you updated as more information becomes available. For the latest, follow ABC 36’s Kelsi Thorud on Twitter @KelsiThorud.