Former lawyer sentenced to 24½ years in prison for attempted murder of ex-wife
Former Ohio lawyer Matthew Exton was sentenced to up to 24½ years in prison after being convicted of the attempted murder of his ex-wife at a restaurant in Toledo, Ohio. (Surveillance image from the Lucas County, Ohio, prosecutor’s office/YouTube)
A former Ohio attorney convicted of trying to kill his ex-wife in a Toledo, Ohio, restaurant last year was sentenced to up to 24½ years in prison.
Matthew Exton, 43, was convicted of two counts of attempted murder and two counts of felonious assault earlier this month. Prosecutors said he stepped up to his ex-wife while she was dining with friends in the restaurant, aimed the gun and squeezed the trigger, but the safety was on. A waiter tackled him before he could try again.
During his sentencing hearing Monday in the Lucas County Common Pleas Court, prosecutor Mike Loisel argued that a mass casualty event was avoided that day, NBC News reports.
“He had no regard for anyone or anything other than himself,” Loisel said.
Exton, who divorced his wife in 2024, argued on his own behalf Monday after telling Lucas County Common Pleas Court Judge Gary Cook that he wanted to fire his lawyer. He insisted that he did not intend to kill or harm his former spouse or her mother, even though surveillance video shows him charging at the pair with his gun drawn.
“You are flummoxed by the fact that it did not go off, and you’re trying to fix the safety,” Cook said. “That is the moment cementing your intent.”
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