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

Prosecutors said Matthew Exton tried to carry out the “public execution” of his ex-wife.

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 tried to shoot his ex-wife on April 11, 2025, at Sabira restaurant in downtown Toledo.Lucas County Prosecutor's OfficeDuring 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.