In the early hours of New Year’s Day 2021, Morgan Metzer in Canton, Georgia woke up to a terrifying sight. A man wearing a mask and all black clothing stood in the doorway of her bedroom. The man ran and jumped on top of her. “Then he started hitting me with a gun,” Morgan said. The attacker used zip ties to hold her wrists before choking her twice to near unconsciousness.
Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office
“You’re going to regret it, you’ve really done something wrong now,” Morgan recalled the man telling her in a deep and gravelly voice that he seemed to be trying to hide. She said it sounded like Batman. Morgan Metzer’s harrowing attack is the focus of this week’s all-new “48 Hours,” reported by Nikki Battiste. “The ‘Batman’ Intruder” airs Saturday, December 14 at 10/9c on CBS and Paramount+.
The attacker then placed a pillowcase over her head, lifted Morgan up and left her on the back porch, which was connected to the bedroom. He told her not to move until she heard two cars honking or he would kill her. Then everything became quiet except for the sound of the stream near her remote home.
Forty minutes passed, but then terror struck again. Morgan heard someone walking towards her and up the porch steps. Initially terrified that her attacker had returned, she was surprised when she heard a familiar voice.
“Oh honey, what happened?” Morgan remembered what her ex-husband, Rod Metzer, said when he found her.
Rod called 911 and the police arrived on the scene. Rod’s rescue of his ex-wife seemed like an act of heroism.
Morgan Metzer
Rod said he looked out for Morgan despite their divorce, which came after nearly two decades together. They started dating when Morgan was 14 and Rod 17, before marrying in their early 20s. The couple had twins, who were spending a few days with Morgan’s sister in Florida when the attack occurred.
Morgan said her decision to file for divorce came after years of what she described as mental and physical abuse by Rod. Rod moved from Morgan’s house to his own apartment and Morgan was ready to move on. Their divorce was finalized just weeks before the attack.
However, this new start for Morgan was cut short. Earlier this week, Morgan said Rod called her with the shocking news that he had pancreatic cancer.
“And so I rushed to visit him,” Morgan told Battiste. “He showed me doctor’s notes and stuff.” She let Rod stay at her house to help him with his diagnosis. “I still had to be supportive because he is the father of my children.”
During this time, Morgan said Rod continually tried to get back together with her. But she wasn’t interested, and on the morning of New Year’s Eve, she told Rod to share his health news with his parents.
“He said, ‘No, absolutely not. I won’t tell anyone.’ And then I was like, ‘Okay, get out,'” Morgan recalls. Morgan said Rod had left, but still spent the day texting her about reconciliation. Fed up, Morgan lied to Rod that she was going to sleep at her parents’ house that New Year’s Eve.
How Rod knew Morgan was at her home, along with the coincidental timing of his arrival after her attack, raised questions among investigators who spoke with Rod at the scene. Rod said he planned to spend the night at his apartment. However, he told them he heard someone knocking on the window of his ground floor apartment and saying Morgan’s name. After trying to call Morgan with no answer, he decided to drive to her house to check on her. He told investigators it was just out of habit to go to her house instead of her parents’.
After interviewing both Morgan and Rod at the scene, investigators became suspicious of Rod’s story. They ordered search warrants for Rod’s apartment, car and electronic devices, revealing his internet search history. The searches included “How to get sympathy from your ex” and “How to change the sound of your voice.” The researchers also noticed one search query: ‘cancer letter from hospital’.
Investigators also discovered a fake email account created by Rod, posing as a doctor, to send the cancer diagnosis letter he showed to Morgan. But there was more.
“He had prepared a bill for a doctor’s office to show that he was being treated for pancreatic cancer,” said Rachel Ashe, chief deputy district attorney for Cherokee County. She said Rod “did all this to convince Morgan he had pancreatic cancer.” He never did that.
Rod Metzer ultimately pleaded guilty to 14 charges related to the attack on Morgan Metzer. He was sentenced to 70 years – 25 years in prison, followed by another 45 years of probation.
