48 Hours - The "Batman" Intruder

Episode Date: December 16, 2024

Morgan Metzer is attacked in her home by a masked intruder disguising his voice to sound like Batman. Her ex-husband comes to her aid, but is he a hero? Nikki Battiste reports.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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to ensure Canada is open for business. We can't afford more barriers to job creating natural resource investment. To learn more, visit don'tcapcanada.ca. Music Something like this to happen in our town was crazy. I mean, really kind of unheard of. Canton is just beautiful. We've got a lot of trees, tons of places to go hiking. So it's really cute. This was one of those cases that when it happened, everybody knew that this was bad.

Citizens don't want to think that monsters live amongst them. On New Year's Eve of 2020, I went to Nicole's house. I'm Morgan Metzer's best friend. We were gonna have a glass of wine, stay inside, and just chill. We're gonna stay there and watch the ball drop together. But I left early. I was like, we never get to, you know, hang out.

And she's like, no, I'm just really tired. I got home. I just didn't have any interest waiting up for the fireworks. Closed the house down, and I went to bed. She was alone. She recalled waking up about 11.59. I woke up because of fireworks, because I can hear them in the distance.

And I got down and kissed my dog. And I was like, happy New Year's. And I go lay back in bed. She went back to sleep. And then the next thing that she knew, she woke up. And there was this figure standing in her door. I opened my eyes. They flung open.

And that's when I saw the shadow of a man's body standing there, you know, all in black, and just lit up by the light in the background. He had a mask on. I screamed so loud. He pounced on me. He then hit me with a gun. Then he punched me.

He turned her over and he put these handcuffs on her that were fashioned with zip ties. What was your attacker saying? Was he saying anything? Yes, he said, you're going to regret this. You've done really wrong now. It was the sound of Batman. His voice.

She described it like Batman. Kind of like Batman trying to disguise his voice. He would keep continuing to hit me, pistol whip me. He'd strangle me a few times to the point of where I knew I was about to pass out. Did you think you were going to die? Yes, I did. Who would want to do this to Morgan Metzer? Nobody should want to do this to Morgan Metzer.

Eventually I would learn the intruder was somebody that I knew. He was not the kind of person that most people suspect of something like this. the Batman intruder. He's standing there like a soldier, like with his fists clenched, like he was ready to go. When Morgan Metzer glimpsed a masked figure standing in her bedroom doorway shortly after midnight on New Year's Day 2021. She thought she might just be seeing things.

But then… He ran at me and jumped on top of me. And that's when he started pistol whipping me. Just hours earlier, she'd been ready to ring in the new year in Canton, Georgia, with her best friend Nicole Stabasevsky. That's what we were looking forward to. And I knew she was exhausted.

It had been a long year for Morgan. Recently divorced, her eight-year-old twin son and daughter were spending a few days with her sister in Florida. I mean, we're moms. Maybe we just wanted to hang out for a second. We had planned for it. But after arriving at Nicole's, Morgan, feeling tired, decided to make it an early evening. When she left, I did it again.

I gave her some crap. I was like, what are you doing? I was like, we never get to, you know, hang out. And then I was like, you loser. Fine, whatever. Text me when you get home. Blah, blah, blah. See you tomorrow. Little could either friend have guessed that a short time later, Morgan would be in fear for her life. Her attacker had brought zip ties with him, already pre-looped and intertwined.

He put Morgan's hands behind her back, slipped them on, and tightened them. It's an outer body experience. You can't imagine what you're thinking, what you're feeling. Vulnerable, exposed. What is going to happen to my kids? I haven't done a will.

I haven't done, I haven't talked to my family about who gets them. I was like, they're not going to have a mom. Her assailant strangled her, nearly unconscious, twice. It's the worst feeling in the world to think you're dying. And you feel like you're going to be tortured beforehand. Morgan's attacker sexually assaulted her. Who did you think was attacking you?

I don't know. I just felt like it was some random person. In addition to the mask, the intruder had taken great pains to disguise himself. Black hoodie jacket, black pants, black gloves. He said very little, but when he did, Morgan says her assailants seemed to be disguising his voice, making it sound low and gravely, like the Batman movies. He also seemed to know about Morgan's personal life,

specifically her recent divorce. He said something about your husband. Yes, you're going to miss your husband. And I said, no, don't hurt my husband. Morgan says her mind raced, trying to piece together why this was happening to her. I swear I like went through my whole life in my head. That's how my brain was just everywhere.

I mean 50,000 tabs opened up at one time in my brain. Her attacker demanded to know where Morgan kept her valuables. Where's your jewelry? Where's you know all of your other nice stuff? And he's ripping out stuff out of my you know my drawers. And then the attacker asked for my phone and the passcode to my phone. Morgan's house had an alarm system, which she'd set before going to bed. An app on her phone controlled it, along with several security cameras around her home. And a lock on the door of her second-floor bedroom,

which led out to a back porch. I wasn't too sure what he was doing on my phone at the time until I heard a door lock open, which was for the back porch. The attacker had unlocked the door remotely through that app on Morgan's phone. Morgan says he put a pillowcase over her head. He got me out of the bed, walked me out to the back porch.

I was naked, still with my zip tie handcuffs behind my back. Did he just leave you there? Yes. What did he say as he left? He said, do not get up until you hear two car honks or I'll kill you. Morgan's property was secluded with little chance of a neighbor seeing or hearing her on the back porch. And with that pillowcase over her head and the attackers' final words of warning ringing in her ears, Morgan had no way of knowing if he or someone else was watching her. I just listened to the stream and tried to be as peaceful and calm as I could.

40 minutes passed. Then a sound in the distance struck terror in Morgan all over again. I hear somebody walking up. Unable to see, she feared her attacker had returned to finish the job. I hear them shuffling and walking, and they hit the stairs. And I knew they were at the top when he hit the first board,

and it creaked really loud. That's when Morgan heard a very familiar voice. Oh honey, what happened? Morgan's grueling ordeal was finally over and who would turn out to be her rescuer? Her ex-husband, Rod Metzer. Behind the closed doors of government offices and military compounds, there are hidden stories and buried secrets from the darkest corners of history. From covert experiments pushing the boundaries of science to operations so secretive they

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listen to the rise and fall of getting exclusively with wondering plus. Listen to the rise and fall of Diddy exclusively with Wondery Plus. When Morgan's ex-husband Rod Metzer turned up at her house, he immediately called 911. And the back door is wide open. She was tied up with a boot over her head. As they waited for help to arrive, Rod tried to console Morgan. Please help me! I'm gonna be right here.

Please! I'm gonna leave the door open, okay? He came up and rescued her on the back porch. Saved her. Saved her. Her hero. Absolutely. Sergeant Dakota Livers was a detective with the Cherokee County Sheriff's Department in

2021. He had a lot of questions. Exactly why had Rod gone to Morgan's home in the middle of the night? This was Rod's apartment right here? That's correct. He moved here shortly after the divorce. Rod said he'd received an eerie message about Morgan that night. He was getting ready for bed. He was brushing his teeth when he heard knocking on his window.

That knocking was accompanied by a voice in which he could only decipher the word Morgan was being said. Concerned, Rod said he tried calling Morgan, but she didn't answer. What did he say he was thinking? Someone knocks on his window in the early morning hours of New Year's Day? He obviously went to the worst. He thought that something was going to happen to Morgan or something might be happening to Morgan. Rod told investigators he'd gotten in his car and made the 12-minute drive over to his ex-wife's house.

Despite being divorced, Rod said he was still looking out for Morgan. Their relationship stretched back nearly 20 years. How old were you when you met Rod? 14 years old. Was it love at first sight? Yes, it was. It was scary how fast it was. He was 17 at the time.

Kathy Metzer is Rod's mother. We were on the way to a baseball game and he said, Mom, you're going to meet Morgan tonight. And I said, who's Morgan? That's my girlfriend. And I said, what? He said, be nice. Did Rod change at all when he was dating Morgan?

Oh, yeah. There was nothing that she could mention that she didn't get. How did he treat you? Amazing. He called me Princess, and so he literally treated me like that. No one was surprised when the couple married in 2009. We are gathered here today in the presence of God. Morgan was 21 years old. Morgan was one of the most gorgeous brides

I've ever seen in my life. Love is patient. Love is kind. Weather was perfect. It was outside, so thank goodness for the weather. It was everything I dreamed of. My dad gave me everything I could want, you know. It was just precious.

You may kiss to your heart's content. What was marriage like in the very beginning? It was just awesome. It's just you two. You're mourning the loss of your wedding being over and your honeymoon. And it's like, I want to go again. Unfortunately, their newly-wedded bliss

would be short-lived eight months after the wedding. I wish you both endless years of love, health, and happiness. Rod's younger brother Kevin lost his battle with leukemia at the age of 19. It really hit Rod hard. I mean, it... I don't think he was ever the same after that. He depended on Morgan at that point more than he did anybody.

I don't think he left her side for more than an hour or two. But the next year would bring some good news to celebrate. We got pregnant with our son. Morgan says picking his name was easy. Kevin always wanted to be an uncle. He always talked about it, how much fun he would have. They named him Kevin after my Kevin, Rod's brother. But the family would suffer a second and devastating loss. Baby Kevin was born early with a congenital heart defect.

He lived just 18 days. He actually died on his due date. The loss of a child is unthinkable, and I would imagine tough for you and Rod. Very tough. Don't really remember a lot of it. It's a big blur of all the emotions. So it seemed like a miracle when, just three months later, Morgan discovered she was pregnant again.

Kathy remembers the moment Rod showed her the ultrasound picture. He says, what do you see? I said, a baby. He said, no, look, what do you see? And I just screamed at the top of my lungs, two babies, you know? Twins.

Twins, they were gonna have twins. Morgan gave birth to a healthy boy and girl in 2012. It should have been a happy time, but not long after, the marriage began to change. Probably about a year after they were born, which is right around the time that Rod lost his job, is when it started going down south from there. What did Rod do for work? It started going down south from there. What did Rod do for work? He had so many jobs.

His main one when he lost all of his money was he was being a day trader for himself. Rod's job loss happened to come at the same time Morgan's career was starting to flourish. I started my own interior design business, and it took off, but I just didn't expect it to boom and blow up. Morgan's company, Ship Lap and Sugar, became so successful she asked Nicole to join her. And she was saying, you know, like, I need help, I'm overwhelmed.

And you became business smart. Yeah. Making money, working our tails off, doing what we love. Morgan says her professional success and Rod's lack of it made for a dangerous combination. She says he began to abuse her both physically and mentally. She recalls one Labor Day weekend. She and Rod were celebrating on a boat with friends and had just returned to their cabin. I guess we had gotten to an argument about something.

That's the first night he beat me. Did you think he hit me? I've got to get out of here? Yes, I had my dad come and get me. Shockingly, Morgan says Rod tried to convince her and the people closest to her that she was to blame for her injuries. He convinced my parents that I was the one that did it. What did he say? He was just out of control. You couldn't keep your temper. You were just wailing all over the place. Morgan says Rod claimed she got hurt because he was forced to physically restrain her.

Well, I'm like, okay, well, maybe it's my fault. And my friend stopped talking to me then because he had no marks on him. It was all me. Morgan says that's when a new phase in the marriage began, one in which she started to doubt her own reality because she says Rod was gaslighting her, making her think every conflict Rod instigated actually began with her.

I think she thought she was crazy. You know, you get programmed to think that you're crazy. Like it's all in your head. Morgan says Rod even involved their children in his deception. He pretended I pushed him down the stairs. He literally rolled down the stairs. You know, he actually got hurt and said to the kids, look, mommy pushed me downstairs. Can you believe that? Morgan says Rod sexually abused her as well, although she says it took a while for her

to recognize what it was. A lot of times he was very aggressive and wouldn't take the word no. And so now looking back on it, I guess he did sexually abuse me. Morgan filed for divorce in 2020. When Morgan decided to go through with the divorce, how was she handling it?

You know, it was the first time I think I saw her have peace. The divorce was final in December, and Morgan was ready to move on. But now, in the early morning hours of New Year's Day, it appeared Rod had come back into her life as her hero. Sergeant Livers and Sergeant Robert Hawk recall that when they first arrived at Morgan's house at 3 a.m., Rod's behavior had struck them as unusual. Yeah, so as we were walking up, Rodney was seated in his car right here with another deputy. Did he say anything?

Yeah, he did. He asked, hey man, are you the guy that we've been waiting on? And I said, yes, sir, I am. And then he replied, do your fucking job. What did you think? I was taken aback. I really was. This guy just had found his wife bound and beaten on the back porch.

And you would think that my arrival to help find a resolution to this would be welcoming. Immediately, Morgan's appearance startled the investigators. Her eye was swollen shut in black and blue. She still had the zip tie around her one wrist. And I was shocked and I'd seen a lot in my career. And I was surprised that somebody would be so harsh. What did it make you think? Somebody was mad.

Absolutely, it was emotional attack. Morgan was not only physically injured, investigators could tell she had suffered psychologically after the attacker left her. She was feared that someone was still back here watching her and that they were going to kill her if she moved. And so she laid here and waited. Morgan was outside for 40 minutes before Rod arrived, but initially she thought it was just half that. Morgan believed it to be somewhere around 15 to 20 minutes max.

That was her perception of time. Interesting. I would have thought the opposite. That would have felt longer for her. I agree. Were there adrenaline's going? You know, people perceive things differently. The first thing Livers and Hawk did was separate everyone seen here through this zoomed in front porch security video. Morgan, Rod, and Morgan's father and brother who came over after she called them.

Then-livers recorded his conversation with Morgan inside the house. Spill your last name for me. M-E-T-Z-E-R. Safely out of earshot of her ex-husband, who was standing just outside, Morgan told investigators that she suspected her attacker was the man pretending to be her hero. I just thought it was him.

When you say him, you're talking about your ex-husband. Morgan said she had no idea who her assailant was when the attack began. But then came one critical moment. When he said, you're gonna miss your husband, I said, no, don't hurt my husband. I love him very much. And I don't know what made me do that. But at that exact moment is when the mood of the room changed. I knew I was gonna live. And then there was another, even bigger clue when her attacker lifted Morgan off the bed to place her outside. And that's when I really knew it was him.

Morgan remembered something from years earlier. I was pregnant with my kids, my twins, and sometimes you have to get help out of the bed. The way he gently held me and got me out of the bed, it was so familiar that I was like, this is him. I know it's 100% him. Wasn't gonna let him know that I knew it was him. So if he did, I didn't know what he was gonna do. She told them the attack had followed a chaotic week, which began with very troubling news. He thinks he's got pancreatic cancer.

He just called me and said, I've got pancreatic cancer. And so I rushed to go see him. I said, you're the father of my children. I'm here for you. He showed me doctor's notes and whatnot. Rod had told no one else, and Morgan explained that she'd been letting him stay at her house. They've been sleeping on my step up because they've been really freaked out and upset, obviously. Morgan told the investigators that Rod had spent the week trying to reconcile with her.

He kept begging me to get back together with me. He was constantly haggling me. But Morgan says she had no interest. By the morning of December 31st, she'd had enough. Feeling the pressure of being his sole emotional support, Morgan insisted Rod share his health news with his parents. He said, no, absolutely not. I'm not telling anybody.

And that's when I was like, OK, get out. Morgan says Rod spent the day texting her. You need to get back with me. I'll make enough money. You can quit your job right now. Fed up with it all, Morgan lied and told Rod she'd be sleeping elsewhere that New Year's Eve night. Stay at my parents' house tonight. I'm turning my phone off. Like, give me some space. As Morgan shared her suspicions with investigators, she didn't know if they would accept what she was telling them.

I've been mentally, emotionally, physically abused. Because Rod made her feel like she was to blame for years. That's what he's built in my brain. But that all changed when Sergeant Livers told her he believed her. And I just melted. He heard me. I have not been heard in years.

Nobody listened. Nobody heard me. And he heard me. That started the investigation into Rodney Metzer. Rachel Ashe is the deputy chief assistant district attorney for Cherokee County. She works exclusively on domestic violence cases. Parker, an emotional support dog, is often with her to comfort victims. Ashe says investigators were perplexed that Rod had come to Morgan's house that night after she told him she'd be at her parents.

Why'd you even come here? Why didn't you go to her parents' house? Why didn't you check with her parents? He claimed it was just a habit. What I would do. Were you scratching your heads? Yeah, we questioned him on it. Rod said that after hearing that knocking on his window

and someone saying Morgan's name, he tried phoning Morgan to warn her. Sergeant Hawk wanted to check. I think that's what prompted us, hey, where's your phone? Rod handed his cell phone to the investigators. Gave them permission to look through his phone. And what they found came as a surprise. It was an Apple iPhone and it had a hidden folder.

And in the hidden folder were images of Morgan partially dressed. A lot of photos of Morgan nude. And those photos of Morgan nude, it was pretty apparent that she didn't know he was taking those photos of her. She was quite alarmed. Investigators also discovered Rod had snapped pictures of Morgan's cell phone showing text messages between her and another man. They considered these and the photos of Morgan to be an invasion of privacy.

You didn't have that permission. Yes. Y'all don't have that relationship. She's f***ing baffled that you have that. That's stalkerish. We knew we had to get him in custody while we started doing search warrants and started investigating to prevent him from destroying evidence. People make mistakes, all right?

I think you made a lot of mistakes. People make big mistakes. So you arrested him for having taken those photos secretly? That's correct. That's correct. You're not kidding me? Nope, we're not kidding you. This is not a joke.

Come on. That's correct. That's correct. You're kidding me? No, I'm not kidding. I'm joking. Come on. But could investigators prove that Rod Metzer had attacked Morgan that night? You don't believe in ghosts? I get it. Lots of people don't. I didn't either, Until I came face to face with them.

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Join Wondry Plus in the Wondry app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Watch them get arrested, walk to the car and be put in. It was kind of like, is this really happening? Was any part of you sad? No, not at the time. I was angry and just sore. Even as they booked Rod for taking those pictures of Morgan and her texts, Hawken Livers had already developed a theory about why Rod might have attacked her. I believe he thought he was going to come in and rescue her and be the savior and win her back.

Investigators hoped home security cameras would support their theory, but they quickly learned that all the video from the time of the attack had been erased through the app on Morgan's phone that the assailant had used to unlock her back porch door when he left. Morgan's attacker took her phone with him. It was never recovered. Were you ever able to retrieve those missing videos from the security company? No, once videos are deleted, they're deleted from their cloud. But since Morgan had a home security system, how did the attacker get in without setting off the alarm? It did not take long to figure out. This is the window the attacker entered?

That's correct. Right here is the window the attacker entered? That's correct. Right here is the window that we found the screen was actually removed. That basement window had an alarm sensor that was removed from the window and put together on the windowsill. So if the window was to open, it would appear to the alarm system

that the sensor is still making contact. Investigators believed Rod had disabled the sensor while he was staying at Morgan's house that week. I was sleeping. It was in the middle of the night. Although the home security videos had been erased, there was other video from prior to the attack. The camera on Morgan's front porch caught Rod earlier that evening. He had sent me a picture of a check, and he's like, it's underneath your front porch. It was for $56,000 and change. Morgan says the message Rod sent with the picture of the check

made it seem like he was trying to make a grand gesture. You should have all the money. You deserve everything. Pretty much in a nutshell. I think it was to get her to come back to the house that evening because she told Rodney she was going to be at her parents' house for New Year's. Morgan returned to the house, retrieved it, and kind of made some sort of a gesture, and she walked back into the house and put it on the kitchen countertop. Morgan's attacker took that check with him. It was never found. What did you find out about Rod's finances? That check would have bounced.

Yeah, he was broke. The day after his arrest, investigators executed search warrants on Rod's car and his apartment. As soon as they walked through the door, they found a key piece of evidence. They located this bag of zip ties in his apartment and a portion of a zip tie. Before arriving at her house, Morgan's attacker had pre-looped the zip ties he'd put on her wrists. He was working in the dark. He was handcuffing somebody.

You never know how much fight that person's going to put up. One of the zip ties actually was pretty unique because it had two other zip ties that had been ratcheted onto it and then cut. And so basically what we were looking at was a zip tie that had two extra heads. Hawken-Livers needed to find out if that portion of a zip tie, essentially a tail found in Rod's apartment, lined up with one of the extra heads on Morgan's restraints. They headed to their crime lab. So these are the zip ties that were actually found on Morgan?

Yes, they are. This is crime scene technician Melanie Thrasher. She was able to match this tail to one of the heads on the zip tie from Morgan's wrist. The striations on the tail found in Rod's apartment lined up exactly with those on Morgan's zip tie. That's incredible. Perfect match.

Perfect match. What did you think when you saw this? That we were going to be adding charges to his existing booking, and we had our guy. I would have never imagined having a piece of evidence like this. But the search warrant of Rod's apartment yielded even more.

There was a book. Seven ways to Be her hero. Be her hero. To win somebody back. That gave us the motive, I think. It added to that motive. Investigators examined Rod's browser history.

The searches were very disturbing. He was researching how to change your voice. How long to choke somebody unconscious. The searches also included how to crack an iPhone password, how to get sympathy from your ex, and one that was especially appalling. He Google searched cancer diagnosis letters. Yes. Investigators searched Rod's outgoing emails.

There they found Rod had set up a fake email account to create the pancreatic cancer diagnosis letter he'd shown Morgan. And there was more. He had created a bill for a doctor's office to show that he was being treated for pancreatic cancer. All of this in order to convince Morgan that he had pancreatic cancer. He wasn't sick at all? No, he did not have cancer.

Do you think that he faked the cancer diagnosis as a way to try to get you back or as a way to get access to your house because he had this plan? I think it was to get me back. Am I them both? Rodney, you know me? I think it was to get me back. And I had been both. Rodney, you know me? I'm at the Skater Livers. Yes, sir. On January 3rd, two days after the attack,

Sergeant Livers and Sergeant Tom Harris interviewed Rod. They talked to him about his health. You said you're diabetic. Yes. What other kind of health issues do you have? Nothing as far as I know of yet. I thought you had cancer. Detective Livers confronted Rod about the cancer diagnosis

he'd faked to Morgan. How did you tell her that this cancer thing? I don't know if I should talk to you guys anymore. I'm starting to get a really bad feeling. What angle are you guys going? Then, Rod tried to turn the tables by attempting to take the upper hand in the interview. I've already learned something about you that your facial expressions and you keep scratching

yourself when you get agitated by what I say. I'm 100% not agitated. The investigators also questioned Rod about his internet searches. Has there been a time recently where you were interested in how you can change the sound of your voice? Maybe. Tell me about that. I feel like I wasn't, voice wasn't mainly enough.

Then Harris lowered the boom. The most significant thing that we found in your apartment was a collection of zip ties. Zip ties? of zip ties. Zip ties? Black zip ties. I don't have zip ties. I know you don't. We have them now. These are identical to the ones that were binding Morgan's wrists.

This is starting to get squirrely. Harris told Rod about that zip tie tail they'd recovered. And we compared that microscopically to the zip ties that were on Morgan's wrist when the deputies found her. And wouldn't you know it, it is a perfect cut. There's something funny going on here. Did somebody break in and put him there?

There's something funny going on here. Like what? I don't know. I didn't have some big ass s**t up tied to my apartment. But new evidence was about to say otherwise. What do you make of Rod Metzer's interview with police? For an in-depth look at the evidence go to 48hours.com. Harvard is the oldest and richest university in America.

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One of the incredible things about Dracula is that not only is it this wonderful snapshot of the 19th century, but it also has so much resonance today. The vampire doesn't cast a reflection in a mirror. So when we look in the mirror, the only thing we see is our own monstrous abilities. From the host and producer of American History Tellers and History Daily comes the new podcast The Real History of Dracula. We'll reveal how author Bram Stoker rated ancient folklore, exploited Victorian fears around sex, science and religion, and how even today we remain enthralled to his strange creatures of the night. You can binge all episodes of the real history of Dracula

exclusively with Wondery+. Join Wondery+, and the Wondria, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. ["The Last Supper"] You're gonna make me feel like I did, that you think I did this. Hours after the interview with Rod Metzer concluded he was charged with 10 counts related to the attack on Morgan, including home invasion, kidnapping, aggravated assault, and sexual battery. The next day Morgan, with her friend all right, Jesus, I'm coming.

The next day, Morgan, with her friend Nicole by her side, talked to investigators again. You thought you were going to die? Yep, I thought I was dead. But then also part of me was like, no, I'm not going to let myself die. I've got to fight for my kids. Sergeant Harris told Morgan they'd watch the home security video of Rod arriving at her house

after her attack. He rang the front doorbell, but when there was no response, headed around to the back. I thought it was kind of interesting that he called out your name as he's walking around the side of your house. Yes. It's like, why would you think I was outside? What was your reaction when you learned Rod had been arrested for violently attacking Morgan? Oh, that absolutely threw me under the ground. There had to be a mistake. Rod wasn't capable of that. Two days after Rod was charged, he talked to his mom, Kathy, on the phone.

Why is she doing this to me? She knows it wasn't me. But the evidence kept mounting. When investigators recovered those zip ties from Rod's apartment, the bag they came in was found as well. I brought up my Lowe's app on my phone and scanned the UPC code, and the UPC code came back that they were in fact sold at Lowe's. The sheriff's office then went to the two Lowe's that we have here in Cherokee County, and they started searching for transactions.

It didn't take long. Rod Metzer had purchased those zip ties on December 30th, about 36 hours before the attack. Easy to find because he paid with his debit card. Investigators obtained the security video from Lowe's, zoomed in here for clarity. This was during COVID, and this was during a period where everybody was wearing a mask, except for Rodney Metzer. So the surveillance images and the videos that were recovered from Lowe's of him purchasing those zip ties, his face is right there in the camera. I see a security camera here. Next came the security video from Rod's apartment building.

There's actually one inside the the breezeway there which leads to Rodney's apartment specifically. There's actually one inside the breezeway there, which leads to Rodney's apartment specifically. Sergeant Liver says there was no video of Rod leaving after he said someone knocked on his window. What we do see is after the time of the incident that Morgan was attacked, Rodney come in disheveled in a hurry. Just four minutes later Rod is caught on camera again, leaving the building, wearing completely different clothes and sneakers and carrying a plastic bag highlighted here. The timestamp was 1.24 a.m. We never found that bag in his car when we did the search warrant. We just don't know where that went.

Investigators can't know for sure what was in that bag, but believe it had evidence Rod discarded on his drive back to Morgan's house. The attacker's mask was never found. But Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Rachel Ash says they had more than enough to prove Rod was guilty. This is a prosecutor's dream to put up because the evidence in this case was overwhelming. Overwhelming. But Ash says she wanted to offer Morgan

an opportunity for quicker closure than a trial would bring, in the form of a plea deal for Rod. We went through the pros and cons of letting him plea guilty, letting him accept responsibility. We agreed we should try. He took it quickly.

On August 4th, 2021, Rod pleaded guilty to a total of 14 counts related to Morgan's attack and the photos found on his phone. He agreed to serve 25 years on a 70-year sentence. So when he gets out in 25 years, he'll serve another 45 years of probation. I think you even described it as like a death. It is a death. I've lost my husband. He's dead to me. At Rods Sentencing, Morgan delivered a victim impact statement several pages long.

Once I got started, it just started pouring out of me. There were no cameras in the courtroom. We asked Morgan to read her statement. Here's a portion of it. Rod, not only will this statement be to my attacker, but it'll also be my last words to whom I thought was the love of my life. The last four years being married to you was like living with a monster that constantly tried to break me down and fence me in. It was a blessing in

disguise. I can now walk with the confidence knowing the pain you have given me is turned into power. I walked off that stand with a thousand pounds off of my shoulders. I felt so good. It felt empowering. And I got the last word. How was it to listen to your best friend read this incredibly powerful statement? It was awesome because she did not cry. Her voice did not shake. And she said everything she needed to say. And when she was done, she was done.

She was laying to rest this relationship. She was telling him, I'm never going to be yours. Right? I'm never going to be yours. Rod's actions that New Year's Day continue to affect everyone. Have you been able to visit Rod in person at all? He hasn't wanted me to. Why? He's't wanted me to. Why? He's afraid of my reaction.

Rod suffers from type 1 diabetes, and Kathy says his health is rapidly declining in prison. You're worried he could die? Oh, I'm absolutely worried he's going to die. Morgan says once the ordeal was behind her, she had to take steps so she could recover, seeking therapy to help her cope. Everything happens for a reason.

God has everything happen for a reason. And I'm starting to see that right now. There's just a lot of great things that are happening with us. She says she is focused on raising her children and helping others who find themselves in similar circumstances. I'm trying to raise awareness for narcissism and gaslighting.

I want to help women realize they're in a situation before it gets too bad. I'm just excited to see who she continues to grow to become. She's strong and resilient, so this is just a stepping stone in her journey. Rod Metzer's sentence prevents him from contacting Morgan and their children in any way. It's a true crime double feature. First, revisit the case against Scott Peterson. This case remains an enduring mystery. Then, new updates on the John Benet Ramsey murder. Do you believe this case could be solved? Yes I do. 48 hours true crime double feature. CBS next Saturday 9 8 Central and streaming on Paramount Plus.

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They say Hollywood is where dreams are made. A seductive city where many flock to get rich, be adored and capture America's heart. But when the spotlight turns off, fame, fortune and lives can disappear in an instant. When TV producer Roy Raden was found dead in a canyon near LA in 1983, there were many questions surrounding his death.

The last person seen with him was Laney Jacobs, a seductive cocaine dealer who desperately wanted to be part of the Hollywood elite. Together they were trying to break into the movie industry. But things took a dark turn when a million dollars worth of cocaine and cash went missing. From Wondery comes a new season of the hit show Hollywood and Crime, The Cotton Club Murder. Follow Hollywood and Crime, The Cotton Club Murder on the Wondery app or wherever

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