Former lawyer who pulled gun on ex-wife in Ohio restaurant is convicted of attempted murder

A former attorney was convicted of attempted murder after officials in Ohio said he tried to carry out the “public execution” of his ex-wife in a Toledo restaurant last year.

Matthew Exton, 43, tried to shoot her, but the gun’s safety was on, and a waiter tackled him before he could try again, the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office said in a news release Friday.

Exton was also convicted of two counts of felonious assault, with sentencing enhancements linked to all three charges, the prosecutor’s office said.

Exton was acquitted of one count of assault. He is scheduled to be sentenced later this month.

Prosecutors say Matthew Exton attempted to shoot his ex-wife on April 11, 2025, at Sabira restaurant in downtown Toledo. — Prosecutors say Matthew Exton tried to shoot his ex-wife on April 11, 2025, at Sabira restaurant in downtown Toledo.Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office

During a trial that ended last week, Exton testified that he’d worked as a prosecutor in Michigan and was licensed to practice law in Ohio. He’d handled divorce, family and bankruptcy cases, he said, but he became homeless after he split up with his wife.

The couple divorced in 2024, according to court records.

He testified that he was frustrated by how she’d handled certain aspects of their divorce when he pulled a Colt Defender on her in the downtown Toledo restaurant on April 11, 2025.

Exton saw his ex-wife and her family at the restaurant, which was having its opening night, as he left a different restaurant next door, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Exton testified that he pointed the gun to show he was serious about her following a court order. He denied trying to shoot her.

“I did not fire,” he said. “I did not hurt her. I did not try to hurt her.”

Before he pointed the gun, prosecutors said, Exton ordered a drink and had it taken to the table where his ex was sitting with her family. He spat toward them and left, the prosecutor’s office said.

He returned with a gun and headed straight for his ex, according to the release.

Video released by the prosecutor’s office showed Exton approaching the table and removing a handgun from his pocket.

His ex told authorities that he pointed the gun at her chest and pulled the trigger multiple times, according to a petition for a protection order.

“The gun made rapid ‘click’ noises as he pulled the trigger,” she wrote in a statement included in the protection order, which she filed two days after the event.

The video showed Exton pointing the Colt as his ex yelled “gun.” The waiter could be seen tackling Exton moments later.

Exton tried to fire the weapon, but the safety was still engaged. One round was in the chamber, and seven were in the magazine, the prosecutor’s office said.

“Nothing in their training and soft openings at the restaurant could have prepared the staff for what walked through that door,” Lucas County Prosecuting Attorney Julia Bates said in a statement. “The defendant did not come with the intention of having a meal. He came with anger in him and with the intention to commit a public execution of his ex-wife at the restaurant that day.”

NBC News Top Stories wp:paragraph