A shame Ohio The lawyer tried to shoot his ex-wife in front of her family and scared guests as they dined at a restaurant.
Matthew Exton, 43, was found guilty Friday of attempted murder and two counts of assault in connection with the April 11, 2025 incident.
Exton, an attorney at the law firms in Sylvania and Traverse City, Michigan, was caught on surveillance footage pointing a gun at his ex-wife, Kayda Valone, while she was with her family at a new restaurant called Sabira in downtown Toledo.
He had a drink at a restaurant called Souk, which is adjacent to Sabira, before Exton saw his ex-wife with her parents, Charles and Jeanne Valone, and ordered a drink to be sent to their table.
Exton, who also served as attorney general in the North Michigansuddenly ran up and pulled a gun on Kayda, Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates said. The gun did not fire because the safety was on.
‘Stop! Gun, gun, gun,” people shouted as his ex-wife threw herself to the ground and a brave waiter knocked Exton to the ground, a video showed.
Several patrons, including his ex-wife and her parents, then surrounded Exton, screaming in fear.
At the time, the gun had one round in the chamber and seven more in the magazine, Bates said WOOL 11.
Surveillance footage captured the moment Matthew Exton pointed a gun at his ex-wife, Kayda Valone, at Sabira, a restaurant in downtown Toledo, on April 11, 2025
The gun did not fire because the safety was on. Kayda was sitting 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 suspect did not come with the intention of eating. He came with anger inside him and with the intention of carrying out a public execution of his ex-wife in the restaurant that day.”
She then praised the employees for their quick thinking and called them heroes.
It’s unclear why Exton and Valone broke up, but he said he was a “gay lawyer,” and Kayda was aware of that, he said on the witness stand.
Exton told the court 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 his first marriage ended after just “a few years.” In March 2017 he married Kayda.
She knew he was gay, but his first wife did not, Exton said.
A heroic waiter almost immediately jumped in and grabbed Exton before slamming him to the ground
Several patrons, including Kayda and her parents, surrounded Exton as he was knocked 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 separation; we had periods where we faced the challenges together, and it was great,” he said, donning a blue suit and tie.
He added: ‘There was no judgment on anything until it ended.’
Exton said they both filed for divorce around the same time in February 2024. They officially divorced in January 2025, he added.
He said the divorce was not amicable and described it to the jury as ‘terrible’ and ‘painful’.
Exton also admitted that he went back into the restaurant that day with his gun.
“I pulled out my Colt Defender and pointed it straight at him [the victim]’ he testified.
‘I wanted her to know that I meant it, after the court order to give the proceeds of the house to me as quickly as possible, because I needed it. I needed it. I was hurt.’
Although he admitted to pointing the gun at Kayda, he claimed he never pointed it at her parents. He also said he never removed the safety or pulled the trigger.
It’s unclear why Exton and Valone broke up, but he said he was a “gay lawyer,” and Kayda was aware of that, he said on the witness stand.
He then responded to how the waiter put him down that day.
“The waiter came up to me, and he hit me, he tackled me, and then they tried to take the gun away from me,” he recalls. “I thought I was toast!”
Tensions were high when prosecutors cross-examined him on the stand as Exton claimed the victim laughed 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.
As prosecutors made their closing arguments Friday, they said Exton’s emotions on the stand were “crocodile tears.”
Exton then interrupted him and shouted, “Gun!”
He grew increasingly angry as the prosecutor presented evidence in the case, stood up to object to one of her statements and continued to shout, “Gun!” shout.
The jury was then excused before Exton stood and said, “My attorney, Mr. Wingate, has informed me that he would like me to be quiet, and I will do that, but how can I do that and exercise all of my constitutional rights that have been violated by this proceeding if I cannot speak?”
Exton said his first marriage ended after just “a few years.” He then married Kayda in March 2017
Exton then asked prosecutors to charge the waiter with attempted murder, placed his fingers in the shape of a gun and pointed it at one of them, according to HofTV.
He continued to interrupt the court and was eventually taken to another room where he had access to video and audio feeds of the proceedings.
While the jury found Exton guilty of attempted murder and the two assault charges, they found him not guilty of the remaining charge of felonious assault.
He will be sentenced on September 21. Exton faces a maximum prison sentence of 25 years.
The Daily Mail has contacted Exton’s attorney and the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office for comment.
