December 6 marks a special moment for the Tipton family as they embrace the festive spirit in their new home for the very first time. Dean and Heather Tipton have already decked the halls, with a beautifully adorned Christmas tree taking center stage in their living room. Meanwhile, their enthusiastic children have ingeniously transformed the girls’ bedroom into a makeshift ‘movie theater,’ eagerly preparing for a Christmas movie marathon.

As Heather Tipton prepares for her overnight work shift, she checks on the children. She finds that Koral, Lily, and Dakota have cleverly pushed their beds together, creating a cozy space. Logan and Aiden have nestled on the bottom tier of a trundle bed, ready for a night of festive films. Satisfied, Heather heads out, leaving behind a warm and joyful household.

Dean, having settled in for the night, drifts off to sleep with the expectation that his brother will arrive home from work around 4 a.m. However, the peaceful night takes an unexpected turn when Dakota, their 7-year-old daughter, makes her way downstairs for a glass of water. Hearing what she believes to be her uncle returning from a late shift, Dakota is startled to find an unfamiliar man in their home. Instinctively, she drops to the floor, seeking refuge behind the kitchen counter.

Dean also turns in, expecting his brother to return from work around 4 a.m.

Dakota, 7, heads downstairs in the middle of the night for a glass of water. Dakota thinks she hears her uncle coming home after a late shift, but seeing a man she doesn’t recognize, Dakota drops to the floor behind a kitchen counter.

The stranger hears a stool shift where Dakota is hiding and immediately lunges for the little girl. Dakota barely escapes his grasp, booking it back to the bedroom she shares with her sibling.

Pulling the covers over her head doesn’t make this monster go away.

After stabbing Dakota through her bedsheets, throwing her to the floor, and stomping on her head, Ronald Exantus turns the Tipton’s kitchen knife on 6-year-old Logan, sleeping on the floor. Dakota comes to, and see Exantus stabbing Logan in the head, and her brother’s blood-curdling screams wake up her older sisters.

Lily manages to slip past Exantus downstairs to her parents’ room, while Koral tries to turn Exantus’ attention away from Logan.

Once Dean Tipton understands Lily truly has seen a stranger, he dashes upstairs, coming face-to-face with blood-covered, knife-wielding Exantus on the top landing. Dean tells Koral to get her siblings to safety and call 911.

Koral grabs Dakota and Aiden, telling Logan she’ll come back for him. With Lily, Dakota, and Aiden locked safely in their parents’ room, Koral calls 911, telling the operator her dad is wrestling with a burglar.

Dean Tipton holds Ronald Exantus until police arrive, but first responders can do nothing to help Logan.

Ronald Exantus, the man who attacked the Tipton family in their sleep, killing 6-year-old Logan, is released from prison more than 10 years early. The surviving Tiptons and the nation are outraged, calling Exantus’ release a gross miscarriage of justice.

Members of the Parole Board have been receiving death threats but claim the decision did not lie with them, blaming the state’s ‘Mandatory Supervised Release’ law.

State representatives are now pushing to enact ‘Logan’s Law,’ which would require hospitalization for the criminally insane.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

Additional Guests

• Dean Tipton –  Father
• Koral Tipton – Sister
• Greg Morse – Criminal Defense Attorney of Morse Legal, Author of “The Untested,” Found on Amazon
• Sydney Sumner –  Investigative Reporter, ‘Crime Stories’

“Crime Stories with Nancy Grace” on Fox Nation is also a national radio show on SiriusXM channel 111, airing for two hours daily starting at 12 p.m. EST. You can also subscribe and download the daily podcasts at iHeart Podcasts.

[Feature Photo: Logan Tipton/ School photo via Heather Tipton]