Morgan Metzer was beaten with the butt of a gun, strangled to within an inch of her life, raped, and left tied on her deck with a pillowcase over her head.
The man who broke into his home in Canton, Georgia, shortly after midnight on New Year’s Day 2021, was wearing a mask and distorted his voice.
Even looking and sounding like Batman, Morgan had a suspicion, somehow, that he might be her ex-husband Rodney Metzer.
Seriously injured, she lay face down on the deck and waited for someone to come calling for help, and someone did around 1:40 a.m.: Rodney.
Morgan Metzer after she was beaten with the butt of a gun, strangled to within an inch of her life, raped and left tied on her porch with a pillowcase over her head.
Even looking and sounding like Batman, Morgan had a suspicion, somehow, that her attacker might be her ex-husband Rodney Metzer.
He expressed horror and concern, untied her, called 911 and remained holding her until the police arrived.
Within a few hours, everything began to fall apart. Rodney being there so quickly made no sense and the police didn’t believe his story.
She claimed someone mysteriously knocked on her window and shouted Morgan’s name, prompting her to go check on him.
Rodney lived just 15 minutes away and got there quickly, but Morgan wondered how he knew to look when she told him she was going to her parents’ house.
“I know what I know, I told my truth,” he told police who interviewed him at the scene, but they were incredulous.
“There’s no way someone knocks on your window and says his name and you immediately come here because you’re going to check on him,” one told him.
And it turns out that a man who hides his voice ties her with a pillowcase over her head.
Morgan and Rodney Metzer met when they were teenagers and had twins before separating in 2020.
The black eye Morgan suffered from being hit repeatedly with the butt of a gun
Rodney left marks on her neck when he strangled her during the attack that lasted almost an hour.
Metzer didn’t say it at the time, but there was another big red flag that pointed to her husband being the culprit.
‘When he left he kept saying ‘you were wrong’. You’re going to be fine but we can’t say the same about your ex-husband. You’re really going to miss him.”
“That’s when I said, ‘wow, that’s him.'” Why would someone randomly say that you’re going to miss your husband? she said Sun.
The police, suspicious of Rodney, searched his phone and discovered that he was copying Morgan’s messages and secretly taking photos of him in the shower while he slept on his couch weeks before.
He was arrested for lying to police and spent New Year’s Day in jail while his home was searched and more incriminating evidence was found.
“The investigation revealed a different story,” Cherokee County District Attorney Shannon Wallace said when Rodney pleaded guilty in August 2021.
‘The day before, Metzer tried one last time to reconcile with his ex-wife, but she refused. Then, around 12:30 a.m. on January 1, Metzer broke into his home and entered her bedroom, wearing a mask and carrying a gun.
Rodney sits with Morgan on CCTV from his home when the police arrive.
Police arrested him for lying to police and he spent New Year’s Day in jail while they searched his home and found more incriminating evidence.
‘When he spoke to her, he disguised his voice. He hit her with the butt of her gun and tried to strangle her twice.
He tied her hands, assaulted her, put a pillowcase over her head and dragged her to the deck.
He left her there, face down, and told her not to move until she heard a car horn. He told her they would shoot her if she moved.
“After leaving his ex-wife tied up outside on the deck, Metzer went to his apartment, changed his clothes, and returned home, where he found her still lying face down, tied up outside.”
Wallace explained that detectives found a gun in his car and zip ties in his apartment, which matched those used in the attack.
CCTV also exposed him. They caught him leaving Lowe’s Home Improvement with a package of zip ties, returning to his apartment and leaving a few minutes later wearing different clothes.
Detectives also discovered he searched the Internet for “how long before you starve,” “how to change the sound of your voice” and “how long does it take to choke someone unconscious.”
Rodney was caught leaving Lowe’s Home Improvement with a package of zip ties
Detectives found a gun in his car and zip ties in his apartment, which matched those used in the attack.
Rodney pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 70 years in prison, 25 of which will be served in prison and the remainder on probation, as part of a plea deal.
Morgan was too scared to sleep for weeks after the attack and often left her twin children at home from school because she needed them with her.
‘There was a lamp downstairs lit, so there was light behind him. I screamed so loud, it’s a scream I don’t think I can ever do again. It was very painful. Pretty soon, he was on top of me,” she recalled.
“He was wearing a mask that made him look like Batman, he even had his ears arched a little.
“At that moment I knew I was going to die.”
Rodney was charged with a list of crimes including sexual assault, kidnapping and aggravated family violence assault.
Morgan said that as terrible as the attack was, at least he finally revealed his true colors to friends who were unaware of his manipulation.
“No one had ever believed that he was a bad person, it was a relief. He always blamed me too, to make me think he was wrong. That was gaslighting,” he said.
Rodney pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 70 years in prison, 25 of which will be served in prison and the remainder on probation, as part of a plea deal.
