A disgraced Ohio lawyer caused panic inside a downtown Toledo restaurant when he tried to shoot his ex-wife as she sat dining with her family and other guests nearby.
Matthew Exton, 43, was convicted Friday of attempted murder and two counts of felonious assault over the April 11, 2025, confrontation.
Exton, an attorney with law offices in Sylvania, Ohio, and Traverse City, Michigan, was seen on surveillance video aiming a handgun at his ex-wife, Kayda Valone, while she was eating with relatives at Sabira, a new restaurant in downtown Toledo.
Before the attack, Exton had been drinking at Souk, the restaurant connected to Sabira, when he noticed Valone seated with her parents, Charles and Jeanne Valone, and ordered a drink sent to their table.
Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates said Exton, who had also worked as a county prosecutor in northern Michigan, abruptly moved toward Kayda and drew the weapon. The gun failed to discharge because its safety was engaged.
“Stop! Gun, gun, gun,” witnesses shouted as Valone dropped to the floor and a waiter rushed in, tackling Exton and bringing him down, according to the video.
The chaotic scene left diners terrified, with several patrons — including Valone and her parents — crowding around Exton as screams filled the restaurant.
Bates said the firearm was loaded with one round in the chamber and seven additional rounds in the magazine at the time of the incident, according to WTOL 11.
Surveillance footage captured the moment Matthew Exton pointed a gun at his ex-wife, Kayda Valone, on April 11, 2025, inside Sabira, a restaurant in downtown Toledo
The gun did not fire because the safety was on. Kayda was seated at the table with her parents
‘Nothing in their training and soft openings at the restaurant could have prepared the staff for what walked through the door,’ Bates told the court.
‘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.’
She went on to praise the employees for their quick thinking and called them heroes.
It is unclear why Exton and Valone split, but according to him, he was a ‘homosexual attorney,’ and Kayda was aware of that, he said on the stand.
Exton told the court that he has worked on cases involving family law, gun law, bankruptcy, and more.
He also stated that he has been married twice and has one child, a teenager, with his first wife.
Exton said that his first marriage ended after just ‘a couple years.’ He went on to marry Kayda in March 2017.
She knew he was gay, but his first wife did not, Exton stated.
A heroic waiter almost immediately jumped in and grabbed Exton before tackling him to the ground
Several patrons, including Kayda and her parents, surrounded Exton as he was slammed to the ground
When asked how he would describe his marriage to Kayda, Exton said: ‘It had its ups and downs. It was tumultuous, but also good.
‘So we had periods of time when we were separated; we had periods of time where we rose to the challenges together, and it was great,’ he said as he donned a blue suit and tie.
He added: ‘There was no judgment on anything until it ended.’
Exton said that they both filed for divorce around the same time in February 2024. They officially got divorced in January 2025, he detailed.
He said the divorce was not amicable, describing it to the jury as ‘terrible’ and ‘painful.’
Exton also admitted to going back into the restaurant that day with his gun.
‘I pulled out my Colt Defender and I pointed it right at [the victim],’ he testified.
‘I wanted her to know that I was serious about her following the court order to give the house proceeds to me as soon as possible, cause I needed it. I needed it. I was hurt.’
Although he confessed to pointing the weapon at Kayda, he maintained that he never aimed it at her parents. He also said he never removed the safety or pulled the trigger.
It is unclear why Exton and Valone split, but according to him, he was a ‘homosexual attorney,’ and Kayda was aware of that, he said on the stand
He then reacted to how the waiter took him down that day.
‘The waiter came over, and he punched me, he tackled me, and then they tried to get the gun from me,’ he recalled. ‘I thought I was toast!’
Tensions grew high when prosecutors cross-examined him on the stand, as Exton claimed that the victim was laughing at him before the attempted shooting.
‘They knew what they were doing to me. I didn’t want them to die, but I was fighting for my life,’ he said.
While prosecutors delivered their closing arguments on Friday, they said that Exton’s emotions on the stand were ‘crocodile tears.’
Exton then interrupted and screamed: ‘Gun!’
He grew increasingly angry as the prosecution presented evidence in the case, and stood up to object to one of her statements and continued to scream ‘Gun!’
The jury was then excused before Exton got up and said: ‘My lawyer, Mr. Wingate, has indicated to me that he would like for me to be quiet, and I will, but how can I do that and exercise all the infractions to all of my constitutional rights that have been violated through these proceedings if I can’t speak?’
Exton said that his first marriage ended after just ‘a couple years’ of marriage. He then married Kayda in March 2017
Exton then asked prosecutors to charge the waiter with attempted murder, and positioned his fingers into the shape of a gun and pointed it at one of them, according to CourtTV.
He continued to interrupt the court and was eventually taken to another room where he could access video and audio feeds of the proceedings.
While the jury found Exton guilty of attempted murder and the two counts of felonious assault, they determined he was not guilty on the remaining count of felonious assault.
He is set to be sentenced on September 21. Exton faced up to 25 years in prison.
Our News Outlet contacted Exton’s attorney and the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office for comment.
