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I asked Morgan and Rod what does
marriage mean to each of them. Morgan
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with this. We will be together forever.
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For God has sent Rod to me and he is my
guardian angel.
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And Rod concluded with this.
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My only hope for my life is that I can
be the man and husband and father that
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Morgan and my future children deserve.
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She really thought he was the love of
her life. The prince charming.
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It's going to be a fun honeymoon.
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We were just really excited to start our
life.
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But unfortunately, at the start of our
fairy tales, when our nightmare began.
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Morgan looked at him to be her
protector. But what you don't know, you
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know.
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A shocking event happens that changes
everything.
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He was no longer my husband. He was
somebody completely different, somebody
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ugly, somebody that I didn't know who it
was, a stranger to me.
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I'm Andrea Gunning, and this is
Betrayal, a show about the people we
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most and the deceptions that change
everything.
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Today we meet Morgan, who thought she
had it all, a loving relationship with
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high school sweetheart and the promise
of a bright future.
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But after a series of tragic events,
that promise turned into peril.
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Morgan, what are you hoping people learn
from your story?
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My hope is that women learn to speak up.
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to see if the things that are going on
in your relationship is healthy or not.
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Yeah. Like, I generally started to
believe it was me, that I was the
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So I didn't say anything. I stopped
trying to be heard.
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My name is Morgan Metzer.
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I grew up in Canton, Georgia.
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We have an older brother. I'm the
middle. And then Morgan's the baby
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We have so many wonderful memories
together.
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All girls pretty much dream of finding
their prince charming.
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So we always, like, thought about, you
know, who our boyfriend would be someday
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or our husband.
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And then when, of course, we met Rod,
she felt like she found her prince.
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Rod and I met when I was 14, he was 17,
and we were high school sweethearts.
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My first impression of Rod that he gave
off is definitely the big man on campus.
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Everywhere he went, everyone knew who he
was.
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He was extremely patient, funny, kind
-hearted.
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He had ambition.
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He was pretty much the whole package, I
guess you could say.
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He made me feel like a princess.
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Morgan wanted to be protected, and she
looked at him to be her protector.
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And so he kind of just took on that
role.
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Rodney's family came from a lot of
money. They were very well to do.
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Rod's parents would take a lot of their
kids' friends on trips.
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And on these trips, we were spoiled,
given a very lavish lifestyle.
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I felt like the luckiest girl in the
world.
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After high school, the couple, they're
stronger than ever.
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Morgan follows Rodney to Wyoming, where
he's... training to be a mechanic, and
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she goes to cosmetology school. And then
they decide to move back to Georgia and
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start their careers.
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We grew together naturally as a couple.
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Everything was still innocent and pure.
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I don't ever recall them ever arguing.
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They always got along.
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From the very beginning, they've always
been very happy.
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Rod proposed to me after about six or
seven years being together.
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He asked me in front of my family with
my grandmother's wedding ring.
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I was 100 % sure I wanted to marry Rod.
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Rod and Morgan, the importance of
marriage supersedes our daily
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We got married April 18, 2009.
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I asked Morgan and Rod individually what
does marriage mean to each of them, and
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Rod had this to say. Marriage good.
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Rod liked marriage.
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The wedding was my dream. Everything I
could have ever imagined.
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It was a true fairy tale.
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It was one of the most beautiful
weddings I've ever seen.
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You may kiss to your heart's content.
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The family was so excited.
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His brother Kevin's speech was
wonderful.
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One day I hope I can share the same love
they have with a woman as great as
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Morgan.
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And for the first official time, Morgan,
welcome to the family.
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I cried.
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It felt like royalty becoming
Mithmatzer.
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Before we got married, we did own a
house together.
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We resided there after the wedding.
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It was so much fun getting to call him
my husband.
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They were happy. They were always doing
things, and I felt like I had a brother
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there, so it was nice.
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Rod had no expectations from me.
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He really didn't.
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He just wanted me to do what I wanted to
do, and I wanted to go hang out with
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friends that night. He said, go out, go
have fun. I'll see you later.
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We were just overall really excited to
start our life.
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But unfortunately, at the start of our
fairy tales, when our nightmare began.
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Morgan and Rodney's marriage is almost
picture perfect. And then a tragic event
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changes everything.
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Rod's brother passed away of leukemia.
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Kevin's passing was very difficult for
all of us. I can only imagine how it
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Rod feel.
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It was just him and his brother, you
know, and to see the pain of losing a
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sibling, it was difficult.
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It affected both of them, but Rod was
just very quiet. He was not sociable. He
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was not fun.
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This death was a test of how the couple
would weather dark times together.
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I was supportive. I tried to help guide
him in different ways, therapy, just
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talking, listening, asking what it is
that he needs.
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But Rodney started changing into
somebody completely different.
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It was like watching a slow, painful
death.
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After we lost Kevin, a really good
bounce back, something exciting that
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in the family was we got pregnant.
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I feel like I got a glimpse of that old
Rod.
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He was the latest.
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More excited that we were going to name
him Kevin after his brother.
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It was just exciting after so much of
the heartache of losing Kevin that
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something so wonderful was about to
happen.
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At 22 weeks, the couple received
devastating news.
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The baby has a congenital heart defect.
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They did say he would need multiple
heart surgeries, eventually possibly a
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transplant. There was a lot of unknowns.
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Nobody wants to hear that their baby is
going to be sick or potentially need all
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these treatments and surgeries and be in
pain after they're born.
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Right after I'd had Kevin, they let me
hold him for a second. They took him
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me pretty much immediately.
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He was a week old when he had his first
heart surgery.
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I remember dropping to my knees and I
said, God, either take him home
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with you or let me bring him home.
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And the next day,
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is when God decided to answer my prayer,
but decided to take him home with him.
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It wrecked her. It wrecked her soul.
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Any mother to lose a child is just
unimaginable.
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From what Morgan had shared with me and
how Rod brought the loss of baby Kevin,
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it was more of he just stayed busy.
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He kept himself away, and she grieved by
herself.
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I feel like my sister handled it well,
but she was devastated, and she wasn't
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herself, nor was Rod.
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So, yeah, it was awful.
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As Morgan
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continues to grieve the loss of her
child, She gets some amazing news.
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I got pregnant after the loss of Kevin
about three months later.
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It was just a gift that was sent from
baby Kevin to them to be like, don't be
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sad, you know, it's going to be okay.
We've got a baby on the way, you know.
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The first ultrasound, Kevin's doctor was
in there and she looked at me and she
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goes, of course, you would give me a
high -risk pregnancy after Kevin.
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You're having twins.
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I handed Rod the ultrasound thing, and
he's like, two? I said, yeah, and he's
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just so excited.
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Almost a year to the day of losing baby
Kevin, Morgan gives birth to twins,
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Mason and Amelia.
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So after the twins were born, Morgan was
a stay -at -home mom.
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And that's when I could just tell
that... Rod wasn't happy or he was going
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through something, but it was something
that she kind of kept private.
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He struggled with sharing my time.
Anything that took me away from taking
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of him, he would get irritated. But it
wasn't where people would notice it.
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He was just like, honestly, just
miserable and hating life.
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He was a mechanic.
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Rod was making countless mistakes.
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Certain things went wrong.
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Soon, Rodney was unemployed, but Morgan
thought that they would be okay
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financially.
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We had an amazing home that was paid for
outright.
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He did have inheritance from a great
aunt, but he eventually told me the
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was gone.
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I realized that Rod was waiting for his
grandmother to die.
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But when his grandmother passed away, he
did not receive anything.
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Then they get the notice that they're
going to potentially be losing the
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It put a strain on our relationship
because that's, when he ran out of any
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options to be able to provide for the
house at all.
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She was going to have to be the one to
step up because he obviously couldn't.
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So I started my own inferior design
business, Chip Lap and Sugar.
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It took off.
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After the first year, I was voted the
number one interior designer in Canton,
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and I was still able to rock at being a
mom.
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We got to work together and run this
business. It was so much fun.
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They didn't lose their house.
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We had more business than we knew what
to do with.
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Eventually, Rodney, he started working
for my company as a handyman. He would
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built -in bunk beds.
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He'd make me floating shelves. He'd hang
everything.
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He didn't like being the worker.
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In my opinion, I felt like, to me,
Rodney would find ways to sabotage the
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project. I would see something like the
stupid curtain rods not having the right
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measurements, even though that was your
one job.
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I would tell him to do something, and he
would do it incorrectly.
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He would convince me that I told him to
do it that way, and it would be my
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fault.
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He had a hard time deciphering if what
he was saying was true or not.
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Looking back on it now, he definitely
was gaslighting me.
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Once Rod saw that I was able to become
successful for our family and I had the
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drive, he still wanted the control.
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The way he spoke to me did change.
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He wanted to degrade me. He wanted to
make sure I knew who was in charge.
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He would antagonize me.
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And as soon as I would lose my cool is
when he would go quiet.
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And he'd start recording me and say,
look at how crazy you're being.
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Gaslighting was Rodney's M .O.
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They can beat you down. I felt like a
horrible mom. I felt like a horrible
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provider. Overall, I didn't look forward
to getting up every morning.
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A lot was on her plate, but she wanted
to protect her kid, make sure that they
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didn't know that something was going on
with mom.
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One day, Rod and I were having a
disagreement.
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We were going up the stairs.
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The kids were listening.
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and all of a sudden, he's falling down
the stairs.
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And as soon as when he hit the bottom
stairs, the kids were down there, and
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like, Mom, push me down the stairs.
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I felt as though Rod faked falling down
the stairs to show the kids, Mommy did
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hurt Daddy, to paint me ugly in their
eyes.
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Morgan could endure anything that Rodney
was throwing at her, but then he
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started manipulating the kids against
her, and she realized she had to face
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reality of her relationship.
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I just, like, all right, that's it, I'm
done.
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Eleven years into their marriage, Morgan
files for divorce.
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When he found out I filed for divorce,
Rod wasn't accepting of it. He would sit
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outside my parents' house, calling me
like crazy.
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I mean, he really thought he was going
to get me back.
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But I wasn't going, I wasn't budging.
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This is the only man that she's been
with, and no matter how the relationship
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was going, it was still hard.
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But I think she knew that she deserved
to be treated better, you know what I
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mean? So I was proud of her for sticking
up for her and her kid.
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In December of 2020, the divorce was
finalized.
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He moved out, got an apartment, and they
shared custody of the two kids.
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I knew in my heart I had done the right
thing, but I loved
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my husband.
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He was my best friend.
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That year, the day after Christmas, I
took the kids to see my sister in
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for them to stay for a few weeks.
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The kids wanted to come see me and stay
at my home outside of Disney World.
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When I got back, I was over at Nicole's
house, and Rod had sent me an email,
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something along the lines of, I think
you should know this, and he attached
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document from the doctor's diagnosis.
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I think I dropped my phone and I was
like, oh, my God.
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The father of my children has pancreatic
cancer.
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I mean, he was telling me it was stage
four and he was going to die.
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She was distraught.
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It was, oh, my God, my children's
father.
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00:18:29,220 --> 00:18:31,320
My emotions were all over the place.
229
00:18:31,820 --> 00:18:36,460
I remember just dropping everything and
left Nicole's house and went to his
230
00:18:36,460 --> 00:18:37,460
apartment.
231
00:18:37,660 --> 00:18:39,320
He said he was extremely scared.
232
00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:42,280
He didn't want to tell his parents. He
wasn't comfortable being alone.
233
00:18:42,660 --> 00:18:45,200
And I said, okay, you can come and stay
at the house.
234
00:18:48,360 --> 00:18:52,520
Even though they were divorced, Morgan
still loved Rodney, and she wanted to be
235
00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:55,340
supportive. So she let him stay with her
for a few days.
236
00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:04,020
On the day of New Year's Eve, my parents
came over and approached Rod and said
237
00:19:04,020 --> 00:19:05,520
that we do need to call your parents.
238
00:19:06,240 --> 00:19:08,540
and tell them about your diagnosis.
239
00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:11,560
He left very angry.
240
00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:16,660
New Year's Eve, I mean, we talked for a
little bit. I was telling her about what
241
00:19:16,660 --> 00:19:20,320
the kids and I were going to be doing. I
just knew that she was going to
242
00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:21,820
Nicole's house, so it was nothing
unusual.
243
00:19:25,980 --> 00:19:28,960
I did get text messages from Rod.
244
00:19:30,180 --> 00:19:34,240
He wanted to hang out, but I told him.
245
00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:36,520
I'm going to be staying at my parents'
house tonight.
246
00:19:37,340 --> 00:19:38,860
So that was never my intention.
247
00:19:39,300 --> 00:19:40,880
I didn't want to see him.
248
00:19:41,120 --> 00:19:45,620
It was my hope that he would leave me
alone knowing that I was with my
249
00:19:47,300 --> 00:19:51,260
When Morgan came over to my house, she
was a lot more quiet than usual.
250
00:19:52,340 --> 00:19:56,080
But then I realized that at the time it
was my husband and I and then it was our
251
00:19:56,080 --> 00:19:56,819
other friends.
252
00:19:56,820 --> 00:19:58,040
So I understood it.
253
00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:00,840
And then she went home.
254
00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:14,680
That night, all I wanted to do was just
curl up next to my dog and go to sleep
255
00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:19,520
and wake up the next morning ready to
start my fresh new year as a newly
256
00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:20,520
divorcee.
257
00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:29,340
The next time Morgan opens her eyes, she
sees an image no one wants to see.
258
00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:37,120
I saw a male figure standing in a lit
-up doorway, dressed in black,
259
00:20:37,380 --> 00:20:44,160
but I went to go, like, really, like,
adjust my eyes is when he attacks.
260
00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:49,400
I screamed the loudest I have ever
screamed.
261
00:20:54,140 --> 00:20:56,140
I thought it was over for me.
262
00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:13,500
When the attacker attacked me, I was hit
in the face countless times
263
00:21:13,500 --> 00:21:15,520
with the butt of a gun.
264
00:21:16,980 --> 00:21:19,440
I was strangled. I was sexually
assaulted.
265
00:21:20,300 --> 00:21:23,280
I had the gun pointed at my forehead.
266
00:21:23,500 --> 00:21:24,820
I was fighting for my life.
267
00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:29,280
He had a voice disguiser. It sounded
like Batman.
268
00:21:30,340 --> 00:21:32,220
I still hear his voice in my head.
269
00:21:32,660 --> 00:21:35,260
He said, you've messed with the wrong
people.
270
00:21:36,970 --> 00:21:39,710
I couldn't help but think, okay, this is
it. I'm done.
271
00:21:41,470 --> 00:21:47,490
Still to this day, I get disappointed in
myself when I say that I finally just
272
00:21:47,490 --> 00:21:48,490
let go.
273
00:21:50,490 --> 00:21:51,490
And I stopped.
274
00:21:51,970 --> 00:21:58,790
All of a sudden, I had a sense of peace
that just went all
275
00:21:58,790 --> 00:22:04,670
over. And at that moment, he stopped
strangling me.
276
00:22:07,350 --> 00:22:10,330
That's when he proceeded to zip tie my
hands behind my back.
277
00:22:11,150 --> 00:22:13,710
He put a pillowcase over my head.
278
00:22:14,790 --> 00:22:18,490
I was bleeding. I could feel the blood
just going down my face.
279
00:22:20,070 --> 00:22:21,990
He started asking where's my phone.
280
00:22:22,270 --> 00:22:24,650
And I said, I don't know, it's somewhere
in the bed.
281
00:22:24,970 --> 00:22:28,130
And he found it, and he's like, what's
the passcode? And I told him the
282
00:22:28,130 --> 00:22:29,130
passcode.
283
00:22:30,630 --> 00:22:34,650
And then all of a sudden, Morgan's
attacker takes her to the back porch.
284
00:22:35,210 --> 00:22:39,650
And says, don't move until you hear a
car honk its horn two or three times.
285
00:22:40,030 --> 00:22:41,030
That never happened.
286
00:22:42,810 --> 00:22:44,450
Morgan is struggling to stay awake.
287
00:22:44,650 --> 00:22:48,710
And finally, she hears footsteps. She
doesn't know who it is.
288
00:22:52,230 --> 00:22:55,090
And then, she hears Rodney's voice.
289
00:22:56,390 --> 00:23:02,590
That was like, hello?
290
00:23:03,390 --> 00:23:05,710
And he goes, what happened, what
happened, what happened?
291
00:23:05,990 --> 00:23:07,450
And I told him what happened.
292
00:23:07,930 --> 00:23:11,010
He took me inside. He called the cops.
293
00:23:11,630 --> 00:23:13,190
I'm right here, okay?
294
00:23:14,350 --> 00:23:15,350
Right here.
295
00:23:19,630 --> 00:23:20,630
Cherokee County 911.
296
00:23:20,890 --> 00:23:22,490
Somebody broke in over here.
297
00:23:25,370 --> 00:23:27,590
Okay, the person that broke in, are they
still there?
298
00:23:27,790 --> 00:23:29,750
Did you come home to them? We don't
know.
299
00:23:30,190 --> 00:23:32,330
I showed up, and I don't know.
300
00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:34,800
She said, did someone broke into your
house?
301
00:23:35,100 --> 00:23:36,780
Yeah, it's not my house. It's my ex
-wife's house.
302
00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:41,620
She was on the back porch, and the back
door was wide open. She was tied up with
303
00:23:41,620 --> 00:23:42,620
a hood over her head.
304
00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:45,060
You're saying she was tied up with a
hood over her head?
305
00:23:45,520 --> 00:23:46,520
Yes.
306
00:23:47,180 --> 00:23:51,960
When he got off the phone with them,
he's like, you know, it's fine.
307
00:23:53,060 --> 00:23:54,780
I, you know, walked the house.
308
00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:56,700
Nobody's here or anything like that.
309
00:23:57,100 --> 00:23:59,160
But I was still scared.
310
00:24:01,179 --> 00:24:02,200
I'm Dakota Livers.
311
00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:05,600
At the time of this case, I was a
detective in the Criminal Investigations
312
00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:08,040
Division, specifically assigned in the
Special Victims Unit.
313
00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:15,820
When I initially arrived, Rodney Metzer
was sitting in the driveway. As I walked
314
00:24:15,820 --> 00:24:19,460
past him, he said, are you the guy that
we've been waiting on? I said, yes, sir,
315
00:24:19,460 --> 00:24:23,480
I am. And he looked me dead in the eyes
and he said, do your job.
316
00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:26,240
I was like, okay.
317
00:24:34,360 --> 00:24:39,020
First investigative step that I wanted
to do was get a scene size up. We were
318
00:24:39,020 --> 00:24:42,300
able to find out that their children
were actually in Florida, which was a
319
00:24:42,300 --> 00:24:43,300
relief.
320
00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:50,840
Morgan was in a shocked state. She was
obviously beaten. She had bruising
321
00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:55,780
her eye. She looked disheveled, as would
somebody that had just went through an
322
00:24:55,780 --> 00:24:56,780
incident like this.
323
00:24:57,540 --> 00:25:00,280
There were no signs of forced entry into
the house.
324
00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:08,020
When Morgan detailed how the attacker
had used her phone, we began looking at
325
00:25:08,020 --> 00:25:13,000
the alarm system. We were able to look
through the records. It showed Rodney
326
00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:17,600
arriving, which is about the time the
911 call was made when Morgan was found.
327
00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:22,240
But videos prior to that had been
deleted or weren't there.
328
00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:26,480
The last video was Morgan going inside.
329
00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:34,340
Morgan detailed how the attacker made
claims of your ex -husband is going to
330
00:25:34,340 --> 00:25:37,360
miss you or, you know, he's next.
331
00:25:37,820 --> 00:25:41,360
The attacker had to know Morgan had an
ex -husband.
332
00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:47,700
It's leading us to believe this is
somebody close to Morgan that did this.
333
00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:53,320
I set up two chairs on the front porch
for Rodney and I to have a discussion.
334
00:25:54,440 --> 00:25:59,420
They asked him how he came to be it.
335
00:25:59,660 --> 00:26:00,660
Morgan's house.
336
00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:02,620
And his explanation was incredible.
337
00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:10,880
While brushing his teeth,
338
00:26:11,100 --> 00:26:15,660
some mysterious person tapped on his
window three times, and all that he
339
00:26:15,660 --> 00:26:17,280
make out that they said was Morgan.
340
00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:28,840
He believed that Morgan was in danger.
341
00:26:29,450 --> 00:26:34,170
He took it upon himself to drive from
his apartment to her house. His story
342
00:26:34,170 --> 00:26:40,010
began to unfold as he was telling it
because it did not line up with things
343
00:26:40,010 --> 00:26:44,470
Morgan had already told him, such as
there was no reason for him to come to
344
00:26:44,470 --> 00:26:49,650
house looking for Morgan because Morgan
told him she was going to stay the night
345
00:26:49,650 --> 00:26:52,150
at her parents' house, which is not that
house.
346
00:26:53,910 --> 00:26:56,870
You knew she was here, which is why you
came straight here and not there at her
347
00:26:56,870 --> 00:26:57,870
parents' house.
348
00:26:59,210 --> 00:27:03,690
The entire time, we were all open
-minded that there might be another
349
00:27:03,690 --> 00:27:04,690
suspect.
350
00:27:08,030 --> 00:27:13,570
He said
351
00:27:13,570 --> 00:27:20,130
maybe a new love interest
352
00:27:20,130 --> 00:27:24,090
had done this to Morgan. However, all
the evidence at this point was pointing
353
00:27:24,090 --> 00:27:25,670
towards Rodney Metzer.
354
00:27:27,730 --> 00:27:32,050
Rodney actually ended up giving us
consent to look through his phone.
355
00:27:32,050 --> 00:27:37,490
that time, we found pictures of text
messages on another phone, and the other
356
00:27:37,490 --> 00:27:38,970
phone happened to be Morgan's phone.
357
00:27:40,150 --> 00:27:42,470
He also had pictures of her sleeping.
358
00:27:43,370 --> 00:27:48,050
Detective Livers pulled me aside, and he
asked me if I had given Rodney
359
00:27:48,050 --> 00:27:51,670
permission to take a picture of my
phone, and I told him no.
360
00:28:00,070 --> 00:28:06,250
He had unlawfully gotten into Morgan's
phone. That's a crime here in Georgia,
361
00:28:06,370 --> 00:28:10,130
and they were able to arrest him that
night for that crime.
362
00:28:13,850 --> 00:28:20,710
But we still had our work ahead of
363
00:28:20,710 --> 00:28:24,910
us to confirm or dispel if Rodney was
our lead suspect.
364
00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:28,120
or if there was some rando that did
this.
365
00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:44,780
Arresting Rodney gave us time to do
further investigating into him, into his
366
00:28:44,780 --> 00:28:45,780
story.
367
00:28:46,860 --> 00:28:52,000
Starting the next day, I was tasked with
obtaining search warrants for Rodney's
368
00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:54,740
vehicle. He had a Volkswagen for his
cell phone.
369
00:28:55,200 --> 00:28:57,180
and for Rodney's apartment.
370
00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:03,420
In the Volkswagen was a handwritten
letter without that signature, but it
371
00:29:03,420 --> 00:29:10,120
outlining the person having cancer and
begging the recipient of that letter to
372
00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:11,120
come back to him.
373
00:29:11,720 --> 00:29:17,800
After we finished our search of Rodney's
vehicle, myself and a number of other
374
00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:21,560
detectives went to that apartment, did a
very thorough search, and recovered
375
00:29:21,560 --> 00:29:23,340
quite a few things of interest.
376
00:29:25,390 --> 00:29:27,630
We seized his laptop computer.
377
00:29:27,850 --> 00:29:29,790
We seized his wireless router.
378
00:29:30,210 --> 00:29:35,850
And probably the strongest piece of
evidence that we seized was a collection
379
00:29:35,850 --> 00:29:41,490
new and one -cut, large industrial -size
zip tie.
380
00:29:45,170 --> 00:29:51,350
There was a stem from a zip tie that was
missing the head.
381
00:29:52,010 --> 00:29:58,610
So we examined the zip ties that were
used to bind Morgan's hands together,
382
00:29:58,610 --> 00:30:01,830
there happened to be an extra head on
one of the stems.
383
00:30:04,530 --> 00:30:06,450
One of our evidence technicians.
384
00:30:07,070 --> 00:30:10,090
did what's called a fracture match
examination.
385
00:30:10,670 --> 00:30:16,210
You look under magnification and you're
able to see all the jagged cuts and you
386
00:30:16,210 --> 00:30:21,310
can actually move those together and you
can confirm or conclude whether they
387
00:30:21,310 --> 00:30:23,790
were once one piece or they're not even
related.
388
00:30:25,950 --> 00:30:27,550
It was a perfect match.
389
00:30:31,650 --> 00:30:34,810
We scanned the barcode of those zip ties
and...
390
00:30:35,150 --> 00:30:39,410
We were able to see that this was a
brand sold exclusively by Lowe's Home
391
00:30:39,410 --> 00:30:40,410
Improvement.
392
00:30:43,330 --> 00:30:48,790
Sergeant Harris found surveillance
footage of Rodney buying
393
00:30:48,790 --> 00:30:54,130
just those zip ties and
394
00:30:54,130 --> 00:30:56,810
walking out of Lowe's.
395
00:30:57,390 --> 00:31:02,470
And this was in the height of COVID. He
was the only one in there not wearing a
396
00:31:02,470 --> 00:31:05,530
mask. So you could clearly identify that
it was Rodney.
397
00:31:09,310 --> 00:31:13,950
As the evidence against Rodney is piling
up, detectives uncover something
398
00:31:13,950 --> 00:31:16,110
chilling inside Rodney's search history.
399
00:31:19,630 --> 00:31:26,150
In the search of his laptop, I found
numerous search phrases and
400
00:31:26,150 --> 00:31:31,650
topics that he had been looking up in
the days and weeks before this home
401
00:31:31,650 --> 00:31:32,650
invasion.
402
00:31:34,760 --> 00:31:40,720
Among those search phrases were things
like how to disguise your voice, various
403
00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:45,600
entries on cancer, pancreatic cancer,
treatment for cancer.
404
00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:54,480
But also he was researching letters that
would be mailed out that have
405
00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:56,040
to do with cancer care.
406
00:31:59,880 --> 00:32:02,420
He had made searches for...
407
00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:05,180
how long to strangle someone before they
go unconscious.
408
00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:14,660
There was a book of seven ways to be her
hero found at his apartment that gave
409
00:32:14,660 --> 00:32:20,460
us the motive of why this attack was
done and why Rodney did this. It was all
410
00:32:20,460 --> 00:32:21,460
win her back.
411
00:32:22,180 --> 00:32:28,460
To show her, you need me at that house,
we without a doubt believed
412
00:32:28,460 --> 00:32:31,340
Rodney was the one that conducted this
attack.
413
00:32:39,850 --> 00:32:43,470
After we gathered all this evidence, we
brought Rodney back to the Criminal
414
00:32:43,470 --> 00:32:46,610
Investigations Division headquarters to
conduct a follow -up interview.
415
00:32:50,110 --> 00:32:56,810
Sergeant Harris actually second -chaired
with me in that interview. I
416
00:32:56,810 --> 00:33:00,090
let Rodney know, hey, listen, we're
still investigating this incident
417
00:33:00,090 --> 00:33:04,330
Morgan. We had yet to tell him anything
about what we have done, what we have
418
00:33:04,330 --> 00:33:08,110
found. We asked Rodney about any
particular diagnoses.
419
00:33:08,560 --> 00:33:10,320
he might have, specifically cancer.
420
00:33:56,940 --> 00:34:01,760
His pancreatic cancer diagnosis, he
ultimately told us, was fake.
421
00:34:03,840 --> 00:34:08,139
That helped him achieve some sympathy
from Morgan.
422
00:34:08,620 --> 00:34:14,420
And in the days following, he was able
to manipulate his way into her house,
423
00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:17,620
where he eventually would spend the
night and sleep on the sofa.
424
00:34:19,239 --> 00:34:24,020
I asked Rodney about some of his
Internet search history, specifically
425
00:34:24,020 --> 00:34:28,460
disguising his voice, because Morgan
described the attacker as how Christian
426
00:34:28,460 --> 00:34:30,739
Bale sounded in the movie The Dark
Knight.
427
00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:36,560
Has there been a time recently where you
were interested in how you can change
428
00:34:36,560 --> 00:34:37,560
the sound of your voice?
429
00:34:41,020 --> 00:34:47,920
It was funny to hear him say that he
feels like he
430
00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:50,540
doesn't have a masculine enough voice. I
thought that was amazing.
431
00:35:25,840 --> 00:35:31,540
By the time we revealed that we had his
zip ties, his whole demeanor changed,
432
00:35:31,720 --> 00:35:35,660
partially because he was surprised that
he had forgotten to get rid of the zip
433
00:35:35,660 --> 00:35:39,960
ties, but also because the zip ties were
such a...
434
00:35:40,230 --> 00:35:42,930
critical piece of evidence and he knew
that he was in trouble.
435
00:35:48,550 --> 00:35:54,950
By January the 3rd, we had conducted
enough investigation that I was able to
436
00:35:54,950 --> 00:35:58,790
take additional charges on Rodney for
what happened to Morgan.
437
00:35:59,390 --> 00:36:03,190
And among those charges were home
invasion in the first degree, aggravated
438
00:36:03,190 --> 00:36:08,190
assault by strangulation, kidnapping,
armed robbery, and burglary.
439
00:36:14,730 --> 00:36:18,750
My name is Rachel Ash. I'm the Deputy
Chief Assistant District Attorney for
440
00:36:18,750 --> 00:36:19,870
Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit.
441
00:36:20,450 --> 00:36:25,150
During our initial interactions with
Morgan, she was struggling with the idea
442
00:36:25,150 --> 00:36:29,770
that this could be this person who she
had loved since they were teenagers.
443
00:36:30,730 --> 00:36:34,870
He was no longer my husband. He was
somebody completely different, somebody
444
00:36:34,870 --> 00:36:40,350
ugly, somebody that I didn't know who it
was, a stranger to me.
445
00:36:42,140 --> 00:36:44,300
What she had gone through was so
violent.
446
00:36:44,540 --> 00:36:46,840
She was afraid he was going to come back
and he was going to kill her.
447
00:36:53,100 --> 00:36:57,260
When I found out that Rod was the one
that did this, I was in a state of
448
00:36:57,500 --> 00:37:02,160
All I know is I'm looking at her kids
and I'm like, oh my gosh, like, thank
449
00:37:02,160 --> 00:37:03,160
they were with me.
450
00:37:05,620 --> 00:37:10,360
Once I got the kids home, I sat them
down and I said, guys, daddy did
451
00:37:10,360 --> 00:37:11,360
very bad.
452
00:37:11,980 --> 00:37:17,040
And he's going to be in trouble for a
large portion of your life.
453
00:37:21,240 --> 00:37:24,500
Rodney Metzer was indicted on 14
separate charges.
454
00:37:26,240 --> 00:37:31,200
The sheriff's office investigation was
so strong that this was a case that was
455
00:37:31,200 --> 00:37:35,560
leading to a plea. He would not have had
any chance at trial.
456
00:37:39,610 --> 00:37:42,970
Ultimately, Rodney Metzer pled guilty to
all of the counts in the indictment.
457
00:37:43,170 --> 00:37:47,430
He was sentenced for a total period of
70 years with the first 25 years of
458
00:37:47,430 --> 00:37:48,430
being in custody.
459
00:37:49,550 --> 00:37:53,570
As part of his sentence, he's ordered to
have no contact of any kind with Morgan
460
00:37:53,570 --> 00:37:54,570
or his children.
461
00:37:56,690 --> 00:37:59,710
I don't know if what he got was fair or
not.
462
00:38:00,650 --> 00:38:06,350
Sometimes I think 25 years, okay, that's
more than enough time. But the day is
463
00:38:06,350 --> 00:38:07,590
going to come where he's going to get
out.
464
00:38:08,160 --> 00:38:11,280
I feel like that's why I sometimes wish
the sentencing was longer, because I
465
00:38:11,280 --> 00:38:12,460
don't want to come to that day.
466
00:38:13,740 --> 00:38:15,120
But I know it's going to happen.
467
00:38:16,260 --> 00:38:20,560
At the sentencing hearing, you were able
to give a victim impact statement. Can
468
00:38:20,560 --> 00:38:23,980
you tell me a little bit about that
experience and why you decided to do
469
00:38:24,340 --> 00:38:25,940
I wanted to have the last word.
470
00:38:26,540 --> 00:38:30,660
I didn't want him to think he broke me
because I hadn't been heard for so many
471
00:38:30,660 --> 00:38:34,380
years, and finally he had to sit there
and listen to me. So I felt like I
472
00:38:34,380 --> 00:38:37,500
finally found my voice again by walking
up there and speaking.
473
00:38:41,920 --> 00:38:46,620
Rod, I hope you make your mental life a
priority during this time of isolation.
474
00:38:47,560 --> 00:38:52,000
Thank you for the gift of my children,
and my heart aches for the fact you'll
475
00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:54,580
missing out on first dates.
476
00:38:55,100 --> 00:39:00,580
Homecomings, proms, the hormonal changes
into adults, graduations, Christmas
477
00:39:00,580 --> 00:39:06,560
morning, driver's licenses, college
acceptance letters, first apartments,
478
00:39:06,560 --> 00:39:11,420
jobs, proposals, weddings, and the
potential birth of our grandkids and so
479
00:39:11,420 --> 00:39:12,420
others.
480
00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:18,160
But what disheartens me more is not only
are we missing these milestones, but
481
00:39:18,160 --> 00:39:21,620
I'll have to look into Amelia and
Mason's eyes as each of these milestones
482
00:39:21,620 --> 00:39:22,620
place.
483
00:39:22,800 --> 00:39:25,900
and see the want and the desire for
their father to have been there.
484
00:39:28,160 --> 00:39:31,180
Our kids know what happened that night
you attacked me.
485
00:39:31,440 --> 00:39:32,980
We didn't ask for this, Rod.
486
00:39:33,920 --> 00:39:37,640
Why didn't you let me help you when I
begged and pleaded to be better for our
487
00:39:37,640 --> 00:39:40,580
family? It's time to let you go and lay
you down to rest.
488
00:39:41,440 --> 00:39:42,440
Goodbye, Rod.
489
00:39:44,780 --> 00:39:50,200
Once I stepped off the podium, I felt
empowered that some weight was lifted
490
00:39:50,200 --> 00:39:51,200
my shoulders.
491
00:39:51,240 --> 00:39:52,240
I get it.
492
00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:53,680
I really do.
493
00:39:56,780 --> 00:40:00,400
All the way up until a few years after
the incident, I still believed some of
494
00:40:00,400 --> 00:40:02,820
the things that Rod had told me, the
kind of person I was.
495
00:40:03,640 --> 00:40:06,600
I had to, like, reprogram my brain.
496
00:40:07,420 --> 00:40:12,620
She grew up with him, and I think it's
hard because what she had known of was
497
00:40:12,620 --> 00:40:18,320
normal for 20 years of her life was
really manipulation and gaslighting at
498
00:40:18,320 --> 00:40:19,900
finest. It's a lot of trauma.
499
00:40:21,520 --> 00:40:22,800
I feel the trauma.
500
00:40:23,520 --> 00:40:29,120
There's stages you have to go through.
It took me a few years to get to the
501
00:40:29,120 --> 00:40:34,420
point that I realized I needed a little
bit extra help to cope with the
502
00:40:34,420 --> 00:40:35,420
situation.
503
00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:43,040
Morgan went to counseling. She went to
therapy.
504
00:40:43,320 --> 00:40:47,740
She went to a PDSV rehab facility for
six weeks or so.
505
00:40:48,460 --> 00:40:54,200
She did everything and continues to do
everything she can to be the most
506
00:40:54,200 --> 00:40:55,320
healthiest version of herself.
507
00:40:57,580 --> 00:41:04,300
Morgan has grown and evolved by being
more self -aware and not having to find
508
00:41:04,300 --> 00:41:08,560
protector and realizing that she can be
her own protector and that she doesn't
509
00:41:08,560 --> 00:41:09,780
need anybody.
510
00:41:13,960 --> 00:41:15,560
There's so many different aspects.
511
00:41:16,430 --> 00:41:18,670
I hope people can learn from my story.
512
00:41:20,250 --> 00:41:24,530
Mental health awareness, narcissistic
abuse and signs.
513
00:41:25,830 --> 00:41:30,770
And my biggest one is, as women, we need
to learn to speak to each other and not
514
00:41:30,770 --> 00:41:31,770
sugarcoat everything.
515
00:41:31,930 --> 00:41:36,450
Because had maybe I spoke up a little
bit more, I may have gotten the help
516
00:41:36,450 --> 00:41:37,450
earlier.
45188
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