Morgan Metzer was bashed with the butt of a pistol, choked to within an inch of her life, raped, and left tied up on her deck with a pillowcase over her head.
The man who broke into her home in Canton, Georgia, just after midnight on New Year’s Day 2021 wore a mask and distorted his voice.
Even looking and sounding like Batman, Morgan had an inkling, somehow, that it could be her ex-husband Rodney Metzer.
Badly injured, she lay face down on the deck and hoped someone would come for help, and someone did about 1.40am – Rodney.
Morgan Metzer after she was bashed with the butt of a pistol, choked to within an inch of her life, raped, and left tied up on her deck with a pillowcase over her head
Even looking and sounding like Batman, Morgan had an inkling, somehow, that her attacker could be her ex-husband Rodney Metzer
He expressed horror and concern, untied her, called 911 and stayed holding her until the police arrived.
Within hours, it all began to unravel. Rodney being there so quickly didn’t make sense, and police didn’t buy his story.
He claimed someone mysteriously knocked on his window and yelled Morgan’s name, prompting to go and check on her.
Rodney lived only 15 minutes away and so got there quickly, but Morgan wondered how he knew to look, as 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 in hell that somebody knocks on your window and said her name and you immediately come over here because you’re going to check on her,’ one told him.
‘And she happens to be bound with a pillowcase over her head by a man who’s disguising his voice.’
Morgan and Rodney Metzer met when they were teenagers and had twins together before they broke up in 2020
The black eye Morgan suffered from being repeatedly bashed with the butt of a pistol
Marks on her neck form being choked by Rodney during the almost hour-long attack
Metzer didn’t say at the time, but there was another big red flag that pointed to her husband being the culprit.
‘On his way out he kept saying ‘you messed up. You’re going to be fine but we can’t say that about your ex-husband. You’re really going to miss him’.’
‘That’s when I went, ‘wow, it’s him.’ Why would somebody randomly say you’re going to miss your husband?’ she told The Sun.
Police, suspicious of Rodney, searched his phone and found he was copying Morgan’s messages and secretly taking photos of her in the shower while he was sleeping on her couch weeks earlier.
They arrested him for lying to police and he spent New Year’s Day in jail while they search his home and found more incriminating evidence.
‘The investigation revealed a different story,’ Cherokee County District Attorney Shannon Wallace said when Rodney pleaded guilty in August 2021.
‘The day before, Metzer attempted one last time to reconcile with his ex-wife, but she refused. Then, around 12.30am on January 1, Metzer broke into her home and entered her bedroom, wearing a mask and carrying a gun.
Rodney sits with Morgan in CCTV from her home as police arrive
Police arrested him for lying to police and he spent New Year’s Day in jail while they search his home and found more incriminating evidence
‘When he spoke to her, he disguised his voice. He hit her with the butt of his gun and tried to strangle her two times.
‘He zip tied her hands, assaulted her, placed a pillowcase over her head, and dragged her to the deck.
‘He left her there, face down, instructing her not to move until she heard a car honk. He told her she would be shot if she moved.
‘After leaving his ex-wife tied up outside on the deck, Metzer went to his apartment, changed his clothes, and came back to her 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, both of which matched those used in the attack.
CCTV also gave him away. He was caught leaving Lowe’s Home Improvement carrying a pack of zip ties, and coming home to his apartment and leaving a few minutes later wearing different clothing.
Detectives also found that he searched on the internet for ‘how long before you starve to death’, ‘how to change the sound of your voice’, and ‘how long it takes to choke someone unconscious’.
Rodney was caught leaving Lowe’s Home Improvement carrying a pack of zip ties
Detectives found a gun in his car and zip-ties in his apartment, both of which matched those used in the attack
Rodney pleaded guilty and was jailed for 70 years, with 25 to be served in prison and the rest on probation, as part of a plea deal
Morgan was too scared to sleep for weeks after the attack and often kept her twin children home from school as she needed them with her.
‘A downstairs lamp was on so there was light coming from behind him. I screamed so loud, it’s a scream that I don’t think I can ever do again. It was so painful. Soon enough, he was on top of me,’ she recalled.
‘He was wearing a mask which made him look like Batman, it even had the ears which angled up a bit.
‘At that point, I knew I was going to die.’
Rodney was charged with a list of crimes including sexual battery, kidnapping, and aggravated family violence battery.
Morgan said as terrible as the attack was, it at least finally revealed his true colors to friends who didn’t see through his manipulation.
‘No one had ever believed he was a bad person, it was a relief. He would always blame stuff on me too, to make me think like I was in the wrong. That was the gaslighting,’ he said.
Rodney pleaded guilty and was jailed for 70 years, with 25 to be served in prison and the rest on probation, as part of a plea deal.