I was home alone on New Years Eve when a man in black broke into my house and strangled me... then I learned the devastating truth
A Georgia woman who was beaten, pistol-whipped, tied up and sexually assaulted early in the morning on New Years Day in 2021 shared the chilling moment she realized her masked attacker was her ex-husband.
A Georgia woman who was beaten, pistol-whipped, tied up and sexually assaulted early in the morning on New Years Day in 2021 shared the chilling moment she realized her masked attacker was her ex-husband.
Morgan Metzer said her suspicions were raised immediately because her assailant appeared to be disguising his voice to sound gravelly, like Batman.
In new show The Batman Intruder on CBS and Paramount +, Morgan revealed she knew the attacker was her ex-husband Rodney Metzer when he climbed on top of her and strangled her to within an inch of her life.
She recalled him telling her: Youre gonna regret this, youve done really wrong now... Youre going to be fine but we cant say that about your ex-husband. Youre really going to miss him.
Hearing the attacker randomly reference her ex-husband led Morgan to believe it was Rodney - who was later convicted of carrying out a warped attempt to win her back by saving her life.
In new details from the chilling episode, it was revealed that Rodney had previously faked having cancer to move back into Morgans home, and only left the day before the New Years attack.
When police obtained search warrants for Rodneys home and phone, they found zip ties that aligned with those used on Morgan and an incriminating search history including how to change the sound of your voice and how to get sympathy from your ex.
In an interview with CBS 48 Hours for the show, Morgan admitted: I thought I was going to die.
Morgan Metzer, who was beaten, pistol whipped, tied up and sexually assaulted on New Years Day in 2021 has shared the chilling moment she realized her masked attacker was her ex-husband Rodney (pictured together)
Morgan 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
Morgan recalled during the attack she was certain she was going to die
Morgan said when the attack began, she was pistol-whipped in the face after she screamed to try and alert her neighbors.
After beating her almost to death, Rodney place a pillowcase over her head and carried he routside to her back porch.
Morgans attacker told her not to move until she heard two car honks or hed kill her, and she said she then lay there for over 45 minutes in terror.
The silence was broken when her ex-husband Rodney showed up, seemingly in an effort to save her as Morgan recalled him saying: Oh honey, what happened?
Rodney called 911, but as soon as cops showed up they were immediately suspicious of how the victims ex-husband happened to know she was attacked.
The couple had recently finalized a bitter divorce, but Morgan said Rodney was insistent on getting back together, despite her repeated rejections.
They had dated since Morgan was 14 and he was 17, and shared twins together, who were staying with Morgans sister in Florida over New Years when the attack took place.
Morgan and Rodney Metzer met when they were teenagers and had twins together before they broke up in 2020
They appeared to friends as a stable and loving couple, but underneath, Rodney was a master manipulator, prosecutors said, who gas-lighted Morgan for years
Rodney seen on surveillance sitting with Morgan at her home after the attack as police arrive
During the investigation, detectives learned that Rodney had wormed his way back into Morgans home by faking a pancreatic cancer diagnosis.
It came just a week after Morgan finalized the divorce, alleging years of emotional and physical abuse, as Rodney called his ex-wife and told her he had the disease.
And so I rushed to go see him, Morgan said, admitting she let him move back in. He showed me doctors notes and whatnot. I needed to be supportive still because its the father of my children.
For a week before New Years, Rodney pestered her about getting back together, but when she tried to get him to tell his parents he had cancer, Rodney refused.
He said, "No, absolutely not. Im not telling anybody." And thats when I was like, "OK, get out," Morgan recalled.
She told Rodney she was going to her parents home for New Years but actually spent it with her friend before she went back home before midnight.
When police questioned Rodney at the scene of his ex-wifes beating about how he arrived so soon after, he offered a bizarre story about a mystery suspect knocking on his apartment window and saying Morgans name.
He said going to her home instead of her parents home was out of habit, but investigators were immediately doubtful of his story.
At first, Rodney tried to convince police of his innocence. Its sickening to me that this happened to her and its sickening to me that yall think I would do this, he told them during interrogation
Rodney was caught leaving Lowes Home Improvement carrying a pack of zip ties
Zip ties were found at Rodneys home during a search warrant, which lined up with those used to tie up Morgan
Damning searches on Rodneys phone were also found, including how to change the sound of your voice and how long does it take to choke someone unconscious?
They obtained search warrants, which uncovered a damning search history on Rodneys phone, including How to get sympathy from your ex? and How long it take to choke someone unconscious.
Another that caught the investigators eyes: Cancer letter from hospital.
It was found that Rodney had gone as far as to create a fake email account from a doctor to send himself the cancer diagnosis letter that he used to convince Morgan of his illness.
Rodneys phone also included copies of Morgans messages and evidence that he had been secretly taking photos of her in the shower.
They arrested him for lying to police, and he spent a 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.
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.
Even after police found overwhelming evidence, Morgan had been so badly gas-lit that she had moments of doubt
Security camera footage also gave him away. He was caught leaving Lowes Home Improvement carrying a pack of zip ties, and coming home to his apartment and leaving a few minutes later wearing different clothing.
Only one thing was stolen - Morgans phone, so he could erase the security cam footage of his arrival, attack and departure.
This man is a master manipulator. In the days leading up to this attack he faked a cancer diagnosis in an attempt to gain sympathy from his ex-wife, Wallace added.
Even after police found overwhelming evidence, Morgan had been so badly gas-lit that she had moments of doubt.
There were quite a few times where I convinced myself even after that that maybe it wasnt him. Maybe it was someone else. I cant believe were doing this to him, she said.
Theres no way he would have done this to me. He wouldnt hurt me.
Rodney was charged with a long list of crimes including sexual battery, kidnapping and aggravated family violence battery.
Rodney pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 70 years, with 25 to be served in prison and the rest on probation, as part of a plea deal
At first, Rodney tried to convince police of his innocence and manipulate them the same way he did to his wife.
Its sickening to me that this happened to her and its sickening to me that yall think I would do this, he told them during interrogation.
Im a very kind, gentle... like I dont have an angry bone in my body.
Rodney pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 70 years, with 25 to be served in prison and the rest on probation, as part of a plea deal.
As well as the new Paramount+ show, the case has now been dramatized into the Lifetime film Gaslit by my Husband, with One Tree Hill stars Jana Kramer and Austin Nichols playing Morgan and Rodney.