EVIL LIVES HERE Rodney Metzer strangled his ex-wife then pretended to save her

In the early morning hours of January 1, 2021, Rodney Metzer wore a mask and used a voice-changing device to disguise himself from his ex-wife Morgan when he broke into her house. He later showed up as himself pretending to rescue her.

Rodney beat Morgan with a gun and then strangled her twice before binding her wrists with zip ties, putting a pillowcase over her head, and sexually assaulting her. As he left, the strange man with the weird voice threatened to kill Moran’s ex-husband Rodney, who she had just divorced the month prior and had nine-year-old twins. He stole her cell phone.

Only minutes later Rodney showed up at Morgan’s house and expressed shock about how she looked. Oddly, he didn’t ask how this happened or who did it.

Investigators were suspicious of Rodney, even though he was making a big show of protecting his ex-wife. They found photos on his phone that he had secretly taken of Morgan when she was in the shower, and evidence that he was copying her text messages.

It was suspected that he had taken Morgan’s phone to delete security footage of him showing up at the house from the security app on her phone, but the footage was also stored elsewhere.

Rodney told investigators that he had come over to Morgan’s house to check on her because someone had knocked on his window and said Morgan’s name, which made him worried.

Police also found security footage of Rodney buying zip ties at a store, and there was an open bag of zip ties in his apartment that matched the zip ties used to bind Morgan’s hands. He’d also been making Internet searches “like how long to choke someone unconscious” and “how to change the sound of your voice.”

Eventually, Rodney crumpled under the mounting evidence against him and pleaded guilty to kidnapping and aggravated assault. He’s currently serving a 25-year sentence in prison.

When did Rodney and Morgan get together

Morgan and Rodney dated since she was 15, and he was her first love. They moved in with each other after they graduated high school, and were married when Morgan was 21. Although Morgan’s father never had a good feeling about Rodney, Morgan felt like she was extremely lucky to have him. “I was in love,” she says on Evil Lives Here.

First signs of trouble

At first Morgan didn’t know that Rodney came from money, but soon he inherited his aunt and uncle’s stock market account. Instead of working, he would spend time at home day trading.

The first sign of his capacity for anger came when things went poorly that day on the stock market. He would yell, scream, slam doors, punch through walls, and break things. Morgan remembers seeing his eyes blank and glazed over. When Morgan asked if she could help, he would lash out at her over the pressure to provide a “big lifestyle.” After that outburst, Morgan stayed away from Rodney’s office.

Once they had their twins, Rodney was often frustrated about the kids’ messes. To cope, Morgan would lock herself and her kids in a closet and use headphones to drown out his screaming.

She says at the time she didn’t have any other relationship experience and thought that this type of behavior was normal. Even now Morgan goes into a closet when she doesn’t feel safe.

A scary incident

During one of Rod’s scary outbursts, Morgan decided to take her kids to her parents’ house for a while. While she was loading the kids in the car, Rod came out to the garage and put a gun to his head. He didn’t pull the trigger, but he made her feel like she was making him feel suicidal.

Evil Lives Here is streaming on Discovery+ and airs on Sunday nights at 9/8 c.