Mother-of-two who thought she ‘was going to die’ when ‘Batman’ intruder bound, beat, strangled and dragged her half-naked out of her home reveals the throwaway comment that gave away his identity

Morgan Metzer was beaten with the butt of a gun, strangled to within an inch of her life, raped and left tied up on her patio with a pillowcase over her head.

The man who broke into her home in Canton, Georgia, just after midnight on New Year’s Day 2021, wore a mask and distorted his voice.

Even though he looked and sounded like Batman, Morgan somehow suspected it might be her ex-husband Rodney Metzer.

Badly injured, she lay face down on the deck hoping someone would come for help, and someone did at around 1:40 am – Rodney.

Morgan Metzer after being beaten with the butt of a gun, choked to within an inch of her life, raped and left tied up on her deck with a pillowcase over her head

Morgan even looked and sounded like Batman, but somehow had suspicions that her attacker might be her ex-husband Rodney Metzer.

He expressed disgust and concern, untied her, called 911 and continued to hold her until police arrived.

Within hours it all started to unravel. It made no sense for Rodney to get there so quickly, and the police didn’t believe his story.

He claimed that someone mysteriously knocked on his window and called Morgan’s name, asking him to check on her.

Rodney lived just 15 minutes away so he got there quickly, but Morgan wondered what he must look like when she told him she was going to her parents’ house.

“I know what I know, I told my truth,” he told police who interrogated him at the scene, but they were in disbelief.

“There’s no way someone is going to knock on your window and say her name and you come right over here because you’re going to check on her,” someone told him.

“And she happens to be tied up with a pillowcase over her head by a man who hides his voice.”

Morgan and Rodney Metzer met when they were teenagers and had twins together before splitting in 2020

The Black Eye Morgan suffered from repeated beatings with the butt of a gun

Marks can be seen on her neck as she was strangled by Rodney during the nearly hour-long attack

Metzer didn’t say it at the time, but there was still a big red flag that her husband was the perpetrator.

“On the way out he kept saying, ‘You messed up.’ You’re doing well, but we can’t say the same about your ex-husband. You’re really going to miss him.’

‘Then I thought, ‘wow, it’s him.’ Why would someone randomly say you’re going to miss your husband?’ she said The sun.

The police, suspicious of Rodney, searched his phone and discovered that he was copying Morgan’s messages and secretly taking pictures of her in the shower while sleeping on her couch weeks earlier.

They arrested him for lying to the police and he spent New Year’s Day in jail while they searched his house 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.

‘The day before, Metzer tried one last time to reconcile with his ex-wife, but she refused. Then, around 12:30 a.m. on January 1, Metzer broke into her home and entered her bedroom, wearing a mask and holding a gun.

Rodney is sitting with Morgan on CCTV from her home when the police arrive

Police arrested him for lying to police and he spent New Year’s Day in jail while they searched his house and found more incriminating evidence

“When he spoke to her, he disguised his voice. He hit her with the butt of his gun and tried to strangle her twice.

“He tied her hands, assaulted her, placed a pillowcase over her head and dragged her to the deck.

“He left her there, face down, and instructed her not to move until she heard a car honking. He told her she would be shot if she moved.

“After leaving his ex-wife tied up on the deck outside, Metzer went to his apartment, changed clothes and came back to her house, where he found her still face down, tied up outside.”

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.

CCTV also gave it away. He was caught leaving Lowe’s Home Improvement with a pack of zip ties, arriving home to his apartment and leaving a few minutes later in a change of clothes.

Detectives also discovered he searched the Internet for “how long it takes to starve to death,” “how to change the sound of your voice,” and “how long it takes to choke someone unconscious.”

Rodney was caught leaving Lowe’s Home Improvement with a pack of zip ties

Detectives found a gun in his car and zip ties in his apartment, both of which matched those used in the attack

Rodney pleaded guilty and received a 70-year sentence, with 25 years in prison and the rest on probation, as part of a plea deal.

Morgan was too scared to sleep for weeks after the attack and often kept her twin children home from school because she needed them with her.

‘There was a lamp on downstairs, so there was light coming from behind him. I screamed so loud, it’s a scream I don’t think I can ever do again. It was so painful. Soon he was on top of me,” she recalled.

‘He wore a mask that made him look like Batman, the ears even stood up a bit.

“At that moment I knew I was going to die.”

Rodney was charged with a list of crimes including sex crimes, kidnapping and aggravated domestic violence.

Morgan said that as horrific as the attack was, it finally revealed his true character to friends who didn’t see through his manipulation.

‘No one had ever believed he was a bad person, it was a relief. He always blamed me too, to make me think I was wrong. That was the gaslighting,” he said.

Rodney pleaded guilty and received a 70-year sentence, with 25 years in prison and the remainder on probation, as part of a plea deal.