Georgia man fakes cancer diagnosis in attempt to win back ex-wife
In the early hours of New Year's Day 2021 in Canton, Georgia, Morgan Metzer was awakened to a terrifying sight. A man wearing a mask and all black clothing was standing at her bedroom doorway. The man ran and jumped on top of her. "That's when he started pistol-whipping me," Morgan said. The assailant used zip ties to constrain her wrists before strangling her nearly unconscious twice.
"'You're gonna regret this, you've done really wrong now,'" Morgan recalled the man told her in a deep and gravelly voice that he seemed to be trying to disguise. She said it sounded like Batman. Morgan Metzer's harrowing attack is the focus of this week's all-new "48 Hours" reported by contributor Nikki Battiste. "The 'Batman' Intruder" airs Saturday, Dec. 14 at 10/9c on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
Afterward, the attacker placed a pillowcase over her head and picked 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 car honks or he'd kill her. Then all went quiet except the sound of the stream near her secluded home.
Forty minutes passed, but then terror struck again. Morgan heard someone walking towards her and up the porch steps. Initially terrified her attacker had returned, she was surprised to hear a familiar voice.
"'Oh honey, what happened?'" Morgan remembered her ex-husband, Rod Metzer, said when he found her.
Rod called 911 and law enforcement showed up to the scene. Rod's rescue of his ex-wife appeared to be an act of heroism.
Rod said he had been looking out for Morgan despite their divorce, which came after a nearly 20-year history together. They started dating when Morgan was 14 and Rod was 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 from Rod. Rod moved out of Morgan's home into 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 in the week, Morgan said Rod called her with shocking news that he had pancreatic cancer.
"And so I rushed to go see him," Morgan told Battiste. "He showed me doctors' notes and whatnot." She allowed Rod to stay at her home to help him cope with his diagnosis. "I needed to be supportive still because it's the father of my children."
During this time, Morgan said Rod was constantly trying to get back together with her. But she had no interest and on the morning of New Year's Eve, she told Rod he needed to 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 recalled. Morgan said Rod left, but still spent the day texting her about reconciling. Fed up, Morgan lied and told Rod she was going to sleep at her parents' home that New Year's Eve night.
How Rod knew Morgan was at her home, along with the coincidental timing of his arrival after her attack, raised questions with investigators who spoke to Rod at the scene. Rod said he was planning on spending the night at his apartment. However, he told them he heard someone knock on his ground floor apartment window and say Morgan's name. After Rod tried calling Morgan with no answer, he decided to drive to her house to check on her. He told investigators that going to her house instead of her parents' was just out of habit.
After interviewing both Morgan and Rod at the scene, investigators became suspicious of Rod's story. They ordered search warrants on Rod's apartment, car and electronic devices, uncovering his internet search history. The searches included, "How to get sympathy from your ex" and "How to change the sound of your voice." One search also stood out to investigators: "cancer letter from hospital."
Investigators also discovered a fake email account created by Rod, posing as a doctor, to send the cancer diagnosis letter that he showed Morgan. But there was even more.
"He had created a bill for a doctor's office to show that he was being treated for pancreatic cancer," said Rachel Ashe, the deputy chief assistant district attorney for Cherokee County. She said Rod "did all of this in order to convince Morgan that he had pancreatic cancer." He never did.
Rod Metzer eventually pleaded guilty to 14 counts relating to the attack on Morgan Metzer. He was sentenced to 70 years — 25 in prison followed by an additional 45 years of probation.