Man Convicted of Attempted Murder of Ex-Wife After He Pulled a Gun That Failed to Fire in Restaurant
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Former attorney Matthew Exton was found guilty of attempted murder after trying to shoot his ex-wife in a restaurant
A waiter tackled Exton before he could fire, after his gun initially failed to fire because the safety was still on
Exton faces up to 25 years in prison and had his law license suspended shortly after the 2025 incident
A former Ohio attorney was found guilty of attempted murder after he tried to shoot and kill his ex-wife in a restaurant.
Matthew Exton, 43, attempted to shoot his ex-wife inside the Souk restaurant in Toledo, Ohio, on April 11, 2025, the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office said in a Sept. 4 press release.
Exton was found guilty of attempted murder and two counts of felonious assault, with two firearm specifications attached to each of the three counts. He was acquitted on the remaining count of felonious assault.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 21, and could face up to 25 years in prison. His law license was suspended by the Ohio Supreme Court shortly after the assault in May 2025, according to The Independent.
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Prosecutors alleged that Exton walked into the restaurant with a loaded firearm, pointed it at the victim, and attempted to fire the weapon, according to an arrest warrant obtained by PEOPLE. However, Exton’s “weapon failed to discharge as the weapon appeared to still have a safety on,” the warrant alleged.
Exton “brought the weapon closer to manipulate the safety in what appeared to be an attempt to fire the weapon,” but a waiter tackled him before he could make a second attempt. “The gun had one round in the chamber and seven others in the magazine,” according to the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office.
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His ex-wife told authorities in an April 13, 2025, statement that Exton pointed the gun at her chest and pulled the trigger multiple times, according to NBC News, citing a petition for a protection order. “The gun made rapid ‘click’ noises as he pulled the trigger,” she wrote in the statement included with the order, NBC News reported.
During the trial, Essex denied trying to shoot at his ex. “I did not fire...I did not hurt her. I did not try to hurt her,” he testified, according to NBC News.
In his testimony, Essex said he was frustrated by how she’d handled their divorce, which occurred in 2024. He said he became homeless after their split, despite working as a prosecutor in Michigan and practicing law in Ohio.
Lucas County Prosecuting Attorney Julia R. Bates reacted to the verdict in the news release.
“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 R. Bates said in a statement after the verdict. “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.”
“We appreciate the jury’s service this week, and we hope its decision provides some sense of closure for those seated at the table as well as the Sabira employees who were also victimized that day,” Bates continued. “The employees and patrons who stepped in to stop the defendant that day are heroes.”
PEOPLE reached out to the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office for comment.
Read the original article on People