Georgia man sentenced for attacking ex-wife in disguise, then pretending to be 'hero'

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A Georgia man has been sentenced to 70 years after attacking his ex- wife while wearing a disguise, then pretending to be her "hero." 

The Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office charged Rodney Metzer with 14 different counts related to the New Year’s Day attack, including kidnapping, assault, threatening her with a handgun and leaving her bound. 

Metzer pleaded guilty and was sentenced on Aug. 4, with the first 25 years of his sentence to be served in confinement and the remaining 45 on probation, FOX 5 Atlanta reported. 

District Attorney Shannon Wallace announces that Rodney William Metzer, 36, has admitted to 14 charges related to an attack on his ex-wife that included kidnapping, assaulting, threatening her with a handgun, and leaving her bound with homemade zip tie handcuffs.  (Courtesy Cherokee County DA Office)

The bizarre incident started on New Year’s Day when Morgan Metzer, who was divorced from Rodney Metzer only a month earlier, woke up to find a masked man standing in her bedroom doorway. The man’s voice was distorted, and he attacked her, beating her with a gun. He then tied Morgan’s hands behind her back and put a pillowcase over her head before leaving her on the back deck of the home. 

Morgan told FOX 5 that she could feel the man’s finger on the gun’s trigger and that he strangled her twice. 

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"On his way out he kept saying ‘You messed up You’re going to be fine but we can’t say that about your ex-husband. You’re really going to miss him,’" Morgan recalled.

Rodney Metzer claimed to arrive at the home shortly after and found his ex-wife tied up with zip-tie handcuffs. He called the police and attempted to comfort Morgan while they waited. 

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Police did not hesitate to say that something was off about the scene and sequence of events: Rodney Metzer told officers that he had gone to Morgan’s home because someone had tapped on his apartment window and yelled her name; more bizarre was that the intruder took only one thing: Morgan’s phone. 

"There’s no way in hell that somebody knocks on your window and said her name and you immediately come over here because you’re going to check on her," Sgt. Robert Haugh told Rodney at the scene that night. "And she happens to be bound with a pillowcase over her head by a man who’s disguising his voice."

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Police collected evidence from Rodney Metzer's phone and computer, finding images of Morgan's text messages as well as photos of her in the shower. Officers arrested Rodney Metzer for lying to investigators.

Investigators later found a video of Rodney Metzer at a hardware store buying zip ties that matched the ones used to tie up Morgan. Investigators found the zip ties in his apartment, as well as a gun in his car and a suicide note and forged hospital invoice to trick Morgan into thinking he had cancer, The Georgia Sun reported

"In the days leading up to this attack he faked a cancer diagnosis in an attempt to gain sympathy from his ex-wife," Assistant District Attorney Rachel Ashe told WSB TV. "When that didn’t work, he created a convoluted plan that the investigators in this case and our office truly believe involved a plot to kill her and then himself."

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"When he couldn’t go through with that plan, he instead devised a new plan to rescue her," Ashe continued. "Fortunately, sheriff’s office investigators saw through this scheme and quickly arrested the defendant."

Cherokee County DA Shannon Wallace’s office says if you or anyone you know is a victim of domestic abuse to contact Cherokee Family Violence Center at 770-479-1703 or 911 in case of an emergency.