TOLEDO, Ohio (Court TV) — An attorney on trial for attempted murder was forcibly removed from the courtroom after repeatedly interrupting proceedings and making gun-like motions with his hands directed at prosecutors.
Matthew Exton, 43, pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and felonious assault after an incident at a restaurant opening involving his ex-wife and her parents.
Exton testified in his own defense on Thursday, telling jurors that he was suffering and homeless after his divorce from his wife. “It was terrible, it was painful,” he said. “I had no safe space.”
Exton said that on April 11, 2025, he had been early to meet a friend downtown when he saw his former in-laws’ truck parked outside a restaurant. Seeing them seated at a table, he said he walked in and sat at the bar to have a drink. He said he sent a drink to their table before leaving the restaurant and smoking a cigarette…