A disgraced Ohio attorney has been found guilty of attempted murder after trying to shoot his ex-wife in front of terrified diners at a restaurant in Toledo, only to be tackled to the ground by a waiter. Matthew Exton, 43, pulled a gun on Kayda Valone as she dined with her parents, but the weapon failed to fire because the safety catch was on, sparing her life. The case has drawn attention both for the dramatic footage of the attack and for exposing how a bitter divorce escalated into a public attempt at violence.

Exton, who worked as an attorney in Traverse and Sylvania and previously as a county prosecutor in Michigan, was convicted on Friday of attempted murder and two counts of felonious assault over the incident on 11 April 2025. Prosecutors said he had been drinking at an adjoining restaurant before spotting his ex-wife's table, then rushed over with a loaded Colt Defender pistol containing eight rounds. Diners screamed "gun, gun, gun" as Valone dropped to the floor and a waiter intervened; Exton later testified he pointed the weapon at her to pressure her over divorce-related house proceeds, though he denied releasing the safety or aiming at her parents. The pair, married in 2017, had divorced in January 2025 after what Exton described as a "terrible" and "painful" split.