Speaker 1: Hi, everyone, we have some exciting news to share. ABC
Speaker 1: News Studios has turned Caroline Brega's story from Betrayal season
Speaker 1: four into a docu series. You'll get to meet the
Speaker 1: people involved, You'll hear from people who have never spoken before,
Speaker 1: and you get to see where this story took place.
Speaker 1: We are so proud and excited to share it with
Speaker 1: you all. Stream Betrayal, Dirty Secrets now on Hulu or
Speaker 1: Hulu for Disney Plus. Hi everyone, It's Andrea Gunning. Before
Speaker 1: we start this episode, I want to let you know
Speaker 1: that we will be talking explicitly about the realities of
Speaker 1: domestic violence, so please be mindful with this episode.
Speaker 2: I saw this figure standing in the doorway and he
Speaker 2: was an all black and had a batman mask and
Speaker 2: just covered head to toe in black clothing. I kept
Speaker 2: closing opening my eyes, like am I really seeing this
Speaker 2: or not.
Speaker 1: I'm Andrea Gunning and this is Betrayal, a show about
Speaker 1: the people we trust the most and the deceptions that
Speaker 1: change everything. This week's episode has also been adapted into
Speaker 1: an episode of our TV show Betrayal, Secrets and Lies.
Speaker 1: You can stream it on Disney Plus or Hulu. Morgan
Speaker 1: Metzer grew up in Canton, Georgia, where big stretches of
Speaker 1: forest hug quaint neighborhoods and the Chattahoochee River carves its
Speaker 1: way through the town.
Speaker 2: Growing up, I was the youngest. I have an older
Speaker 2: brother and an older sister. My brother was in baseball
Speaker 2: and my sister was in fast pitch, so I felt
Speaker 2: like a lot of my weekends were following him around.
Speaker 1: Morgan kept up with the older kids.
Speaker 2: I was very outspoken in strong world.
Speaker 1: School was challenging for Morgan.
Speaker 2: I struggled a little bit with test taking and I
Speaker 2: didn't have best grades.
Speaker 1: But her parents taught her there are a lot of
Speaker 1: things in life that are more important than grades.
Speaker 2: My dad explained, in the real world, it's not the
Speaker 2: grades in the end. They are more focused on who
Speaker 2: you are as a person, your values, being truthful, being honest.
Speaker 1: Morgan's school had a back patio where everyone hung out
Speaker 1: after class. One day, when Morgan was in eighth grade,
Speaker 1: she and her friends were out on the patio when
Speaker 1: she saw a guy she hadn't noticed before.
Speaker 2: I just random I saw him one day and we
Speaker 2: just started talking a little bit. He was in high
Speaker 2: school and I was in middle school.
Speaker 1: His name was Rodney, and soon she found out everyone
Speaker 1: on campus knew him. He was sixteen, two years older
Speaker 1: than her, and Morgan thought that was exciting.
Speaker 2: I thought he was really cute and I liked him.
Speaker 1: The next time she saw him at school, they talked again.
Speaker 1: The more time Morgan spent with Rodney, the more she
Speaker 1: liked him.
Speaker 2: We are very close, instantly, very connected. He was very
Speaker 2: easy going, a study as a stream. Not much could
Speaker 2: really rock his pote.
Speaker 1: He made friends easily and was kind to everyone he met.
Speaker 2: He was funny. He's what you would call the guy
Speaker 2: next door that everyone just likes.
Speaker 1: They started hanging out after school. They never got tired
Speaker 1: of talking to each other and realized that their connection
Speaker 1: was more than just friendship. Rodney asked Morgan to be
Speaker 1: his girlfriend.
Speaker 2: She said yes, that was just a typical teenager in love.
Speaker 1: When she told her parents about her new.
Speaker 2: Boyfriend, as you can imagine, my dad and my mom
Speaker 2: weren't very happy about an eighth grader dating a junior.
Speaker 2: So my dad made it perfetly clear that we would
Speaker 2: not be going on date until I was sixteen, and
Speaker 2: that if you wanted to see me, he would have
Speaker 2: to come to the house and hang out.
Speaker 1: So that's what they did. After school, Rodney would go
Speaker 1: over to Morgan's house. They respected her parents' dating rules,
Speaker 1: and Rodney quickly gained her parents trust.
Speaker 2: Everyone loved him in my family. He grew up with them.
Speaker 1: She grew up with his family too. His parents could
Speaker 1: afford to go on extravagant vacations. They started inviting Morgan
Speaker 1: to come with them on their trips.
Speaker 2: His parents left to go to the Bahamas. They loved
Speaker 2: to go on cruises, so we did all different kinds
Speaker 2: of trips.
Speaker 1: Once Morgan was in high school, she and Rodney gained
Speaker 1: a little independence.
Speaker 2: He would pick me up. We would meet up with
Speaker 2: all of our friends and we'd all go to this
Speaker 2: one waffle house and just hang out after school.
Speaker 1: Morgan and Rodney always sat next to each other at
Speaker 1: the waffle house. In fact, they almost never left each
Speaker 1: other's side.
Speaker 2: Everyone just knew it was always us. We came together
Speaker 2: as one. If you had vied one, then they knew
Speaker 2: I was coming, or vice versa.
Speaker 1: They were inseparable and their friends understood why.
Speaker 2: They all thought we were the power couple. Everyone just
Speaker 2: loved us together.
Speaker 1: Morgan and Rodney started planning for their future after high school.
Speaker 2: All I wanted to do was become a mom and
Speaker 2: support my house and create a home, and he said
Speaker 2: that he wanted to be the main proviter. So we
Speaker 2: kind of had our.
Speaker 1: Plan, but she knew that plan would have to wait
Speaker 1: until Rodney made enough money to support them both. After
Speaker 1: graduating high school, she started pursuing her interest in hair
Speaker 1: and makeup. Morgan decided to go to cosmetology school and
Speaker 1: become a hairdresser. Rodney wanted to become a car mechanic
Speaker 1: and began looking at trade schools.
Speaker 2: Rod decided he wanted to go to the school called Wyotech.
Speaker 1: Wyotech is a trade school in Laramie, Wyoming, a small
Speaker 1: town that sits high in the plains, nestled between two
Speaker 1: stretches of the Rocky Mountains.
Speaker 2: He didn't want to go by himself, and they had
Speaker 2: a cosmetology school there, so we backed up and moved
Speaker 2: to Wyoming.
Speaker 1: Morgan and Rodney had to get used to a new
Speaker 1: pace of life.
Speaker 2: It was a big jump. I mean, Georgia's not cold
Speaker 2: like that, and you go to Laramie, Wyoming and not
Speaker 2: for be mean about the city, but Applebee's was the
Speaker 2: place to be. It was definitely a change in culture Forsure.
Speaker 1: Still, they were eager to start this new chapter.
Speaker 2: It was very exciting moving in together for the first time,
Speaker 2: developing our routine, our habits.
Speaker 1: Rodney started trade school to become a car mechanic, and
Speaker 1: Morgan started a cosmetology school.
Speaker 2: I would ride my bike every day.
Speaker 1: As she peddled through town. She could look out and
Speaker 1: see the stretches of mountains just beyond Laramie. She was
Speaker 1: excited about the life she and Rodney were building. Home
Speaker 1: was wherever Rodney was.
Speaker 2: We would get up through our morning routine together. We
Speaker 2: would be in school all day and then we'd meet up.
Speaker 2: We'd have dinner, and then in the evenings was likely
Speaker 2: watching a movie.
Speaker 1: Rodney told her about everything he was learning at school.
Speaker 2: He loved it. He loves cars. We loved building cars.
Speaker 2: He loved everything about it.
Speaker 1: At night, they would talk about their future.
Speaker 2: We just created a dream scenario in our head that
Speaker 2: you know, we would get married and eventually we would
Speaker 2: have children.
Speaker 1: And when they each graduated, they moved back to Georgia
Speaker 1: and got to work making their dream life a reality.
Speaker 2: We bought our first house. I was working at a
Speaker 2: hair Salon in Roswell, and we developed some really good
Speaker 2: friend friends that we knew since we were younger. Our
Speaker 2: friends knew each other, and our friends knew our family.
Speaker 1: They had a tight knit community with deep roots before
Speaker 1: Morgan knew it. Six years flew by with Rodney and
Speaker 1: they went from being high school sweethearts to mature adult partners.
Speaker 1: They knew each other's favorite jokes, deepest fears, and biggest dreams.
Speaker 1: And then on Christmas Day, Rodney proposed to Morgan with
Speaker 1: her grandmother's wedding ring.
Speaker 2: I was so excited. I couldn't stop crying.
Speaker 1: She was so happy. A little over a year later,
Speaker 1: they got married.
Speaker 2: They got married niga zebo at dusk, and the gazebo
Speaker 2: was covered in high ranges of pionies and lily's and roses,
Speaker 2: spinkle lights all over the place, and pretty much like
Speaker 2: a magical Cinderella type of feel.
Speaker 1: That magical feeling continued well after their wedding.
Speaker 2: We were very much a team. His mom, though, was
Speaker 2: happy wife, happy life. So he just wanted to provide
Speaker 2: anything he possibly could. He was the main provider financially.
Speaker 2: He always took care of things around the house to
Speaker 2: make sure you're a roof over our head, food on
Speaker 2: our plate, bury in our train, very emotionally there for me.
Speaker 1: But not too long after their wedding, Rodney's family suffered
Speaker 1: a horrible loss. His brother, Kevin had battled leukemia for years.
Speaker 1: One night, he passed away in his sleep.
Speaker 2: He was an amazing person. I loved him a lot.
Speaker 2: It really changed the dynamic and his family so much pain.
Speaker 1: It was hard for Rodney's parents to make time for
Speaker 1: him as they struggled with Kevin's death. It felt like
Speaker 1: when Kevin died, so did their happy, tight knit family.
Speaker 2: Rod started feeling abandoned. And that's when I started being
Speaker 2: rod changed just a tidy bit because he just felt
Speaker 2: not as important as he used too.
Speaker 1: Rodney's brother, Kevin had always wanted to be an uncle.
Speaker 2: We got pregnant shortly after his brother passed away.
Speaker 1: They had a son and named him Kevin to honor
Speaker 1: Rodney's brother. But shortly after he was born, Morgan and
Speaker 1: Rodney were given devastating news their son had a congenital
Speaker 1: heart defect. At this point in her life, Morgan can
Speaker 1: tell the story without much emotion, but it's still incredibly painful.
Speaker 2: When he was born. He was immediately shipped to Egilson
Speaker 2: Atlanta Cardiac Unit for eighteen days he was there, he
Speaker 2: had his first heart surgery, but he couldn't recover from it.
Speaker 2: He couldn't get off the vener later and he didn't
Speaker 2: make it.
Speaker 1: Their firstborn son died before he was a month old.
Speaker 1: Morgan and Rodney were facing a grief no parent should
Speaker 1: have to endure. Rodney tried to find the words to
Speaker 1: comfort Morgan.
Speaker 2: He was like, even if you don't want to go
Speaker 2: back to work after this, she don't have to. You
Speaker 2: thought you were a mom and you were going to
Speaker 2: get to stay home, and I don't want to make
Speaker 2: you go back to work. So he was very supportive,
Speaker 2: but there were.
Speaker 1: Times when Rodney couldn't handle the grief. To him, seeing
Speaker 1: Morgan sad was a reminder of how much they had lost.
Speaker 2: He would help me not to cry because they didn't
Speaker 2: like steamy cry, and so I didn't. So I didn't
Speaker 2: feel like I could really grieve all that much.
Speaker 1: They decided to try for kids again.
Speaker 2: We got pregnant twins. My mom says I was the
Speaker 2: happiest pregnant person she's ever seen. I enjoyed every second
Speaker 2: of it, the good, the bad, ugly. I loved it.
Speaker 1: When the twins were born, Morgan and Rodney were overjoyed.
Speaker 2: I was just elated to have help with babies. We
Speaker 2: were in heaven. We were just so happy. It brought
Speaker 2: some light into our world. After a really hard few years.
Speaker 1: Rodney and Morgan made a good team.
Speaker 2: We were in a dynamic duo. We would tackle every
Speaker 2: day's task. We delegated, we would support each other emotionally.
Speaker 2: We would just conquer it together.
Speaker 1: Rodney was working as a car mechanic and Morgan stayed
Speaker 1: home with the twins. Juggling parenting and work meant the
Speaker 1: two of them had less quality time together and Rodney
Speaker 1: had a hard time adjusting.
Speaker 2: I think he struggled a little bit with sharing my
Speaker 2: time with the twins.
Speaker 1: Rodney started acting spacey at home and at the mechanics
Speaker 1: where he worked, and one day rad.
Speaker 2: Got fired because he let a car fall off the lift.
Speaker 1: It was a dangerous mistake. Someone could have died. Rodney
Speaker 1: insisted that it wasn't his fault.
Speaker 2: And it's like, okay, well it was your fault. You
Speaker 2: put the car on the left, you know. So that
Speaker 2: kind of brought a strain.
Speaker 1: Rodney needed to find a new way to support their family.
Speaker 2: So he started doing day trading the stock market.
Speaker 1: At first he was successful.
Speaker 2: He neede great money. We owned our house pretty much
Speaker 2: at right, I could stay home. The twins were sorry
Speaker 2: in preschool at the time.
Speaker 1: They had dealt with a lot of grief, but they
Speaker 1: were still able to grow together, and finally they had
Speaker 1: what they always wanted. Rodney worked full time to support
Speaker 1: their family, freeing up Morgan to raise their twins. One day,
Speaker 1: Rodney came to Morgan in a panic and told her
Speaker 1: someone had stolen money from their shared savings account. Morgan
Speaker 1: didn't really understand what he meant. The details of their
Speaker 1: finances had always been Rodney's domain, but when she logged
Speaker 1: into their shared bank account, you saw that he was right.
Speaker 1: The account was drained.
Speaker 2: I just knew that the money was gone, and I
Speaker 2: was like, what is going on? This can't possibly be true.
Speaker 2: I was just blindsided.
Speaker 1: Morgan in her high school sweetheart, Rodney, got married and
Speaker 1: settled down near their hometown in Georgia. They were living
Speaker 1: the life they dreamed of since they were teenagers. Rodney
Speaker 1: worked full time and Morgan stayed home with their twins.
Speaker 1: But one day Rodney came home in a panic. He
Speaker 1: told Morgan someone had stolen from their savings account. It
Speaker 1: was a life changing amount of money. They wouldn't be
Speaker 1: able to afford to stay in their house, and so
Speaker 1: they moved into a rental.
Speaker 2: So we no longer had any acts of some money.
Speaker 2: And so at that time he pretty much told me,
Speaker 2: He's like, now it's your turn provided for the house.
Speaker 1: Not only was the money gone, but Rodney expected her
Speaker 1: to fix it. Morgan was shocked. This was never their plan.
Speaker 1: Rodney had always prided himself on being a provider, and
Speaker 1: now he was panicking and asking her to fill that role.
Speaker 1: She had to figure something out to take care of
Speaker 1: their kids.
Speaker 2: And I couldn't go become a hairdresser and support this
Speaker 2: lavish lifestyle that we had.
Speaker 1: Then she had an idea.
Speaker 2: All my friends had really said that I was really
Speaker 2: good into he design, and so I decided to start
Speaker 2: manunte your design business.
Speaker 1: Morgan named her business Ship Lap and Sugar. It was
Speaker 1: an immediate success in town on working with local clients,
Speaker 1: and before long she was working full time and was
Speaker 1: the primary provider for their family. Within a year, Ship
Speaker 1: Lap In Sugar was voted Canton's number one interior design business.
Speaker 1: Rodney was in a new role too. He was staying
Speaker 1: home with the twins and working for Morgan's Interior Design
Speaker 1: company part time as a handyman. He helped with the
Speaker 1: construction side of things, building bunk beds and mounting decor,
Speaker 1: but soon he started to overstep.
Speaker 2: Sometimes he would try to overtalk me with customers and
Speaker 2: chime in about how he thought something should be done,
Speaker 2: and it just didn't make us look like we're on
Speaker 2: the same page. I didn't really like that, and I
Speaker 2: was like, this is not your position. I am in
Speaker 2: charge of running the consultations and speaking to my customers.
Speaker 1: It was frustrating to see Rodney trying to take control
Speaker 1: and ownership of the business she had built.
Speaker 2: I'm sorry, like you put me in charge or running
Speaker 2: a hout household and providing for the household. I did
Speaker 2: this myself. I built this from the bottom up.
Speaker 1: She told Rodney to stay in is lane at work
Speaker 1: and let her manage the business.
Speaker 2: That's when I think you prod really took a hit
Speaker 2: because I was providing for the household, and you know,
Speaker 2: he had to stay home with the kids.
Speaker 1: She and Rodney had always been a team. They met
Speaker 1: when they were kids and they'd been together for more
Speaker 1: than fifteen years. For that entire time, Rodney had been
Speaker 1: the calm, grounded one, but that began to change.
Speaker 2: He was very impatience. He got very angry, very fast.
Speaker 2: It just turned ugly and nasty, and that's when it
Speaker 2: all just started spiraling.
Speaker 1: Rodney became argumentative and combative with her.
Speaker 2: Some nights, we'd be up fighting all night long and
Speaker 2: I wouldn't get a minute of sleep, and then I
Speaker 2: have to go work twelve hours and there was no
Speaker 2: break from him because I worked with him too.
Speaker 1: Morgan suggested they go to couple's therapy, but it didn't
Speaker 1: go well, like he got.
Speaker 2: Kick out one session because he was so aggressive, and
Speaker 2: she diagnosed him with PTSD and he didn't believe it
Speaker 2: and he just didn't want help.
Speaker 1: Rodney started lashing out at Morgan.
Speaker 2: He'd start a fight and he would scream and yell
Speaker 2: at me and follow me around and drive me insane
Speaker 2: until I finally broke and I would scream, and then
Speaker 2: he'd turn it around on me and make me look
Speaker 2: like the crazy person, like I would be the insane one.
Speaker 1: He became verbally abusive.
Speaker 2: I would end up hiding in the closet because I
Speaker 2: was like, please just shut up. I'm exhausted in hearing
Speaker 2: you constantly at my throat. It was horrible.
Speaker 1: Even little things would set him off. The environment in
Speaker 1: their home shifted. She felt like she was walking on
Speaker 1: egg sheells.
Speaker 2: I didn't want to irritate him. I didn't want to
Speaker 2: set them off. We were on tippy toes. It was
Speaker 2: like skinning out the knife. Guys just didn't want to
Speaker 2: cause conflict.
Speaker 1: The Rodney she had fallen in love with was steady, loving, kind.
Speaker 1: This new version of him was angry, impulsive, and cruel.
Speaker 2: His soul just turned black. It was very scary, but
Speaker 2: it was done little by little, and when things are
Speaker 2: done little by little, you don't really notice change it.
Speaker 1: Morgan was working hard at building her business, and after
Speaker 1: a year they moved out of their rental and bought
Speaker 1: a new home. But the home she had worked so
Speaker 1: hard to afford was unsafe for her and their twins.
Speaker 2: The kids were just getting older. Rod was more aggressive
Speaker 2: and just It became unhealthy and very toxic.
Speaker 1: That summer, a friend of Morgan and Rodney's rented a
Speaker 1: houseboat for their group of friends for the night. It
Speaker 1: was a big party.
Speaker 2: Everyone was having a great time drinking out in the sun.
Speaker 1: At the end of the evening, Morgan and Rodney went
Speaker 1: to their.
Speaker 2: Room and we were going to go to sleep, but
Speaker 2: then he attacked me. It was dark, it was pitch
Speaker 2: black because there was no windows in there. All I
Speaker 2: remember it is just getting humbled by him.
Speaker 1: Morgan managed to get away from him and came out
Speaker 1: of their bedroom into the main area of the boat.
Speaker 1: A few of their friends were still awake and startled
Speaker 1: at the sight of her. She was bleeding. Rodney was
Speaker 1: close on her heels, but when he saw their friends,
Speaker 1: he quickly came up with the story.
Speaker 2: He was like, I cannot believe you have hacked me.
Speaker 2: My gosh, you are so drunk.
Speaker 1: Morgan and her friends stared at him, dumbfounded.
Speaker 2: My friends were like, no, that if she attacked you,
Speaker 2: you'd be able to hold her down. She doesn't need
Speaker 2: to have marks on her like this and bleeding for
Speaker 2: you to stop her.
Speaker 1: She called her parents to come pick her up.
Speaker 2: I went to their house and I slept for the
Speaker 2: entire day, and then rod showed up. He convinced my
Speaker 2: parents it was me, and then I was the crazy
Speaker 2: one and that I attacked him and that it was
Speaker 2: all my fault.
Speaker 1: The more Rodney told the story of Morgan attacking him,
Speaker 1: the more Morgan began to question her own experience.
Speaker 2: I was embarrassed. I was like, well, maybe it was me, because,
Speaker 2: like I said, we had all been drinking and hanging out,
Speaker 2: so it's not like I was completely sober. You question yourself,
Speaker 2: you know, like, was I wrong? Am I crazy? Did
Speaker 2: I lose it? Like what happened?
Speaker 1: Morgan's memory felt fuzzy, but Rodney seemed to remember everything
Speaker 1: in perfect detail. He sat on her parents couch and
Speaker 1: calmly explained how she attacked him.
Speaker 2: He would just sit there and lay it all out, so,
Speaker 2: of course, naturally then I was like, oh my gosh,
Speaker 2: well maybe it was me.
Speaker 1: I'm so Rodney was physically and emotionally abusing Morgan. He
Speaker 1: always found a way to make her take the blame
Speaker 1: for his actions.
Speaker 2: He was like, Okay, well I'm going to give you
Speaker 2: a chance, and you're going to get better. You're not
Speaker 2: going to do this again. So then I feel like
Speaker 2: I was being given a chance, like I need to
Speaker 2: become a better person, so I feel like I was
Speaker 2: the one on trial.
Speaker 1: They went back to their routines, but now whenever they
Speaker 1: had an argument, Rodney made Morgan believe she started it.
Speaker 2: He'd like, well, it was your fault. You said this,
Speaker 2: you did this, And I was like, I don't remember that,
Speaker 2: but okay, I'm sorry. My mind would play games in me.
Speaker 2: It's like, no, you're at fault. No, no, he's at fault.
Speaker 2: It was just a cluster of just so many things
Speaker 2: running through my head.
Speaker 1: Morgan was losing trust in herself. Rodney was gaslighting her
Speaker 1: and his plan was working. She was starting to doubt
Speaker 1: her own way reality.
Speaker 2: There was a time that we were arguing and we
Speaker 2: were walking up the stairs and he pretended I pushed
Speaker 2: them down the stairs, and he did it in front
Speaker 2: of the children and was like, look, mom pushed me
Speaker 2: down the stairs.
Speaker 1: This time, Morgan did not doubt herself.
Speaker 2: I know I did not do this, Like that was
Speaker 2: a situation in a scenario where he can never convince
Speaker 2: me that I did that.
Speaker 1: He was trying to get their kids to stop trusting her.
Speaker 2: I just decided to grab the kids and go to
Speaker 2: my mom's house.
Speaker 1: She knew something had to change. She tried to encourage
Speaker 1: Rodney to seek professional help for his behavior.
Speaker 2: I didn't want to give up on them. I was
Speaker 2: trying to get them help, like I wanted to get help.
Speaker 2: He wouldn't go see a therapist. He wouldn't do anything.
Speaker 1: His abuse only escalated. As a note to listeners, the
Speaker 1: next scene involves a threat of suicide.
Speaker 2: One time we were fighting and I grabbed the kids
Speaker 2: and I went to my parents' house. But as I
Speaker 2: would leave in the driveway, came out stood in the driveway.
Speaker 2: He had a gun and he pointed it to his head.
Speaker 2: I just dropped everything and put my hands in my
Speaker 2: face because I didn't want to see it happen. I
Speaker 2: drove away.
Speaker 1: Morgan was focused on surviving his abuse and keeping her
Speaker 1: kids safe.
Speaker 2: I was just trying to get by minute per minute.
Speaker 1: It was devastating. She still had so much love for
Speaker 1: this person, but he was not the man she married. Eventually,
Speaker 1: Morgan told her parents that she needed to leave her marriage.
Speaker 2: I went to them and was like, I can't do
Speaker 2: this anymore. They were on my side. My dad was like, Okay,
Speaker 2: call the attorney. We're going to get the divorce. We're done.
Speaker 2: I get it. I understand.
Speaker 1: Hearing her parents affirm her decision to leave shifted something
Speaker 1: within Morgan.
Speaker 2: I don't know what it was, but a light just
Speaker 2: came on and I was like, I'm ton I don't
Speaker 2: have to do this. I could get out.
Speaker 1: After eleven years of marriage and nearly twenty years together,
Speaker 1: Morgan filed for divorce.
Speaker 2: My divorce was like a month long.
Speaker 1: The proceedings were extremely fast.
Speaker 2: He gave me the house, he gave me everything. He
Speaker 2: didn't fight it, and I think it's because he thought
Speaker 2: he could win me back. Behind the scenes, he was like,
Speaker 2: give me another chance. I was just constantly begging me
Speaker 2: and begging me.
Speaker 1: But Morgan was done giving Rodney chances to change. Their
Speaker 1: divorce was finalized in December of twenty twenty, and she
Speaker 1: knew she had made the right decision.
Speaker 2: I was feeling free. I just felt great. I didn't
Speaker 2: have the urge to want to go back. I just
Speaker 2: felt like the weight of the world was off my shoulders.
Speaker 1: It was a positive change for her kids too.
Speaker 2: And my kids were like, Mom, it's so much happier
Speaker 2: around here. I was like, yes, I know, I did
Speaker 2: the right thing. I was just so elated that the
Speaker 2: house was calm and quiet.
Speaker 1: It Rodney was the only one not adjusting well.
Speaker 2: Rob is still asking me to get back together with them.
Speaker 2: Let me give another chance.
Speaker 1: Morgan tried her best to ignore him, but he was
Speaker 1: trying everything to make her feel bad.
Speaker 2: It was a few days before his birthday. He's like, well,
Speaker 2: no one's going to take me out for my birthday.
Speaker 2: Can you please go out and make my birthday? So
Speaker 2: that I said, okay, I'll go to dinner for your birthday.
Speaker 1: The dinner was uncomfortable. The entire time, Rodney was begging
Speaker 1: her to take him back. She tried to set boundaries
Speaker 1: between them again. Then a few days before Christmas, Morgan
Speaker 1: was at her friend's house when she got an email
Speaker 1: from Rodney. He was writing to let her know that
Speaker 1: he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He attached a
Speaker 1: doctor's note to his email. The cancer had already progressed
Speaker 1: to stage four by the time they found it. It
Speaker 1: was a terminal diagnosis. Morgan was stunned. She rushed over
Speaker 1: to Rodney's house right away, and I was.
Speaker 2: Like, I am so sorry. I'm here for you, your father,
Speaker 2: my children. I'm always gonna love you.
Speaker 1: She spent the day at his apartment, trying to support
Speaker 1: him as he wrapped his mind around the diagnosis. When
Speaker 1: the day he came to an end, Rodney told her
Speaker 1: he was scared to be alone. That night, she told
Speaker 1: him he could come to her house and sleep on
Speaker 1: the sofa if he needed.
Speaker 2: To, and the following morning, I said, Okay, you know,
Speaker 2: I think it's time we call your parents. He's like,
Speaker 2: I don't want my parents to know. And I was like,
Speaker 2: rod you got in credit cancer.
Speaker 1: Morgan wanted to support him, but she was frustrated that
Speaker 1: Rodney only wanted support from her and nobody else. Even
Speaker 1: though she still cared for Rodney, they were divorced.
Speaker 2: Now. I was feeling like, you know, this isn't really
Speaker 2: on me, Like this isn't my responsibility anymore.
Speaker 1: It was a tough decision, but she knew she couldn't
Speaker 1: be Rodney's only support system for her sake and for his,
Speaker 1: so she called his parents, told them about his diagnosis,
Speaker 1: and then told him it was time for him to
Speaker 1: go back home.
Speaker 2: I was like, that's it. You're not putting all of
Speaker 2: this on me. I didn't feel responsible for him anymore.
Speaker 1: Morgan tried to take a step back.
Speaker 2: And he was still messaging me. He's like, let me
Speaker 2: take you out for New Year's Eve. Let me let's
Speaker 2: do the New Year's Eve together. And I was like, no,
Speaker 2: I'm not doing it. I don't want to do it.
Speaker 1: So she made up an excuse. She told him she
Speaker 1: was spending the night at her parents' house so he
Speaker 1: wouldn't try to come over. Her kids were out of town,
Speaker 1: so Morgan decided to go to a friend's New Year's
Speaker 1: Eve party.
Speaker 2: I was there for a little bit and I was like,
Speaker 2: you know what, I don't really want to be here.
Speaker 2: I'm tired. This is my first New Year by myself.
Speaker 2: I don't like drinking. I just wanted it to be relaxing,
Speaker 2: and I didn't have my kids. I was like, I
Speaker 2: just want to go home.
Speaker 1: Her kids were at her sister's house in Florida for
Speaker 1: the week, and Morgan had the house to herself. She
Speaker 1: went home, changed into her pajamas, and put on a movie.
Speaker 2: I fell asleep on the sofa that night. I woke up.
Speaker 2: I think it was just about a minute before midnight,
Speaker 2: and it was a firework I heard in the neighborhood
Speaker 2: and it woke me up. And so I was like,
Speaker 2: oh gosh, okay, it was just for a second. And
Speaker 2: then I'd been down and I kissed my dog and
Speaker 2: I was like having a year.
Speaker 1: She pulled herself off the couch, went to her room,
Speaker 1: and went back to bed. As a note for listeners,
Speaker 1: Morgan is about to describe an instance of graphic violence.
Speaker 2: It was like thirty minutes later or something like that,
Speaker 2: I woke up again. There's always been a creek by
Speaker 2: my door when you walk by it.
Speaker 1: She heard the floorboard creak and her eyes snapped open.
Speaker 2: It was just loud, and I saw this figure standing
Speaker 2: in the doorway. He was an all black and had
Speaker 2: a batman mask and just covered head to toe and clothing.
Speaker 1: The light in the living room was on behind the intruder.
Speaker 1: He was silhouetted in the doorway. She didn't have a
Speaker 1: clear view of him.
Speaker 2: I kept closing and opening my eyes, like am I
Speaker 2: really seeing this or not. The moment that I think
Speaker 2: he realized my eyes were opened is when he pounced
Speaker 2: at me. I remember letting out this blood curling scream,
Speaker 2: a scream that you never thought would possibly be able
Speaker 2: to come out of your body.
Speaker 1: The intruder used zip ties to restrain her. The whole time.
Speaker 1: He had a gun in her face and he used
Speaker 1: it to hit her. The attack felt like it lasted forever.
Speaker 2: When you're strangled, it is the worst feeling in the
Speaker 2: entire world. I mean, it's so personal. You're looking up
Speaker 2: at this person and you can't breathe. I got to
Speaker 2: the point where I literally felt like my body was
Speaker 2: shutting down. When I was done, I was thinking in
Speaker 2: my head he was going to take my kids.
Speaker 1: He put it pillowcase over her head and he sexually
Speaker 1: assaulted her. Then the intruder began to speak. It sounded
Speaker 1: like he was using a voice changer. The altered voice
Speaker 1: was deep and gravelly. It sounded just like Batman.
Speaker 2: That was definitely the scariest thing, the Batman voice sound.
Speaker 2: That is what still haunts my dreams. Hey would just
Speaker 2: make all these comments of like you've messed with the
Speaker 2: wrong person. You're gonna pay for this.
Speaker 1: The intruder demanded that she share her phone password. Scared
Speaker 1: for her life, she told him. Morgan's mind was racing
Speaker 1: trying to figure out who was behind the mask.
Speaker 2: I'm thinking in my head, like I do not have
Speaker 2: enemies like this. What is going on. Then he makes
Speaker 2: a comment, if you're really going to miss your husband.
Speaker 1: She had to make a split second decision of how
Speaker 1: to respond. Something in her knew what the intruder wanted
Speaker 1: to hear, and I was.
Speaker 2: Like, oh no, please, don't hurt my husband. I love
Speaker 2: him very much. And I think that's what saved me,
Speaker 2: because the mood in the entire room changed. It wasn't
Speaker 2: as heavy, it wasn't as dark, it wasn't as deep.
Speaker 2: His whole persona changed.
Speaker 1: Just seconds ago, the intruder's violence had been life threatening,
Speaker 1: but now his focus shifted from Morgan to her valuables
Speaker 1: and what he could steal.
Speaker 2: Like he was a burglar more so than they're the
Speaker 2: murder me. He's like, where's your jewelry? And he started
Speaker 2: ripping out stuff from my drawers and things like that.
Speaker 1: Then the intruder lifted Morgan off of the bed.
Speaker 2: He kept that pillow case over my head and then
Speaker 2: took me outside in the back patio, laid me on
Speaker 2: my outside sofa, and he was like, don't move until
Speaker 2: you hear three car hons.
Speaker 1: She complied and listened as the intruder's foots faded away.
Speaker 2: I heard the car leave, but I didn't hear any
Speaker 2: three car hogs.
Speaker 1: There was still a pillowcase over her head. She didn't
Speaker 1: know for sure if the intruder had left or if
Speaker 1: anyone else was watching her.
Speaker 2: I don't know if there's more than one person. I
Speaker 2: couldn't see anything, and I was trying to keep myself
Speaker 2: awake because I can feel the blood running down my faith.
Speaker 1: Morgan was severely injured. She focused all of her energy
Speaker 1: on coaching herself through the pain. She needed to survive this,
Speaker 1: not only for herself, before her children.
Speaker 2: And I was like, you can have a concussion. Try
Speaker 2: to stay awake. Try to stay awake. At the same time,
Speaker 2: I'm thinking in my head, okay, where are your keith at.
Speaker 2: You're going to run to the car, like I was
Speaker 2: planning things out in my head.
Speaker 1: She laid on the back patio for forty minutes waiting,
Speaker 1: but then she heard something.
Speaker 2: We had river rocks in our backyard, and I heard
Speaker 2: someone stepping on them. And then I heard footsteps going
Speaker 2: up the back deck stairs, and I was like, somebody
Speaker 2: else is here.
Speaker 1: Morgan was asleep at her house on New Year's Eve
Speaker 1: when an intruder broke into her home. He was wearing
Speaker 1: a batman mask, black clothing, and disguising his voice with
Speaker 1: a voice changer. He violently attacked her before leaving her
Speaker 1: on the back porch, her head covered with a pillowcase.
Speaker 1: He told her not to move until she heard three
Speaker 1: hanks of a car's horn, but the sounds never came,
Speaker 1: so she stayed there for forty minutes until she heard
Speaker 1: footsteps approaching.
Speaker 2: And I was like, somebody else is here.
Speaker 1: She wasn't sure if this was help or the start
Speaker 1: of a second attack.
Speaker 2: And then I heard footsteps going up the back deckstairs.
Speaker 1: The pillowcase was slifted off her head, and Morgan looked
Speaker 1: up to see who had arrived. It was Rodney.
Speaker 2: He looked very surprised.
Speaker 1: Morgan was also surprised. How did Rodney know she needed help?
Speaker 2: He said, well, why right? Someone can tapping out my
Speaker 2: window and saying you better go check on your wife
Speaker 2: or something like that.
Speaker 1: Then Rodney began to tend to Morgan.
Speaker 2: I'm still naked and my hands are tied and I
Speaker 2: was crying, and he took me inside, took me by
Speaker 2: the fireplace. He was consulting, but also like trying to
Speaker 2: act like he was staying in the day. He's like,
Speaker 2: I'm going to check the house out, make sure everything's good,
Speaker 2: and make sure everyone's gone.
Speaker 1: He walked around the house, opening closet doors, but he.
Speaker 2: Still has under my handcuffs or got me my clothes
Speaker 2: that I needed.
Speaker 1: Then Rodney called the police. Morgan listened, still handcuffed as
Speaker 1: he told the nine one one dispatcher.
Speaker 2: He's gone now and it's no big deal. We don't
Speaker 2: need the sirens of the lights or the big old
Speaker 2: or deal or anything like that. And I'm sitting there
Speaker 2: like what.
Speaker 1: The police made their way to the house at a
Speaker 1: leisurely pace. Based on Rodney's account, they didn't think it
Speaker 1: was that serious of a situation.
Speaker 2: The policeman walks in the front door and he stops
Speaker 2: in his fracks and back right back out outside and
Speaker 2: calling her back up.
Speaker 1: Rodney sounded calm on the phone, but one look at
Speaker 1: Morgan told a different story. She had been physically assaulted.
Speaker 1: She was bleeding from a head wound, her face was
Speaker 1: swelling and starting to turn purple.
Speaker 2: I mean, I can't even see out of like one eye.
Speaker 2: The cop was kind of like, what do you mean?
Speaker 2: This is not this big of a deal.
Speaker 1: The police took Rodney aside for questioning. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: they searched the house. Occasionally someone came over to talk
Speaker 1: to Morgan, but all of their words faded into one
Speaker 1: loud hum.
Speaker 2: I just felt like I was medicated or something. It
Speaker 2: was all a blur. My brain was just going, you know,
Speaker 2: a thousand miles a minute, and I couldn't even keep
Speaker 2: up with what detectives were saying.
Speaker 1: But then one of the detectives said something that cut
Speaker 1: through the noise. He told her they were arresting Rodney.
Speaker 1: Morgan's head was spinning. She remembered the look on Rodney's
Speaker 1: face when he first saw her injuries. He had looked surprised,
Speaker 1: but they had been together since they were teenagers, and
Speaker 1: Morgan knew Rodney's expressions.
Speaker 2: Intimately, it was a genuine shock. But I think it
Speaker 2: was a genuine shock of like, oh, Lee wrap, what
Speaker 2: did I do to have.
Speaker 1: Her thoughts were racing. Could Rodney really have done this?
Speaker 2: Maybe it said, Maybe it wasn't. I don't know. I
Speaker 2: didn't know if he'd hired anybody else.
Speaker 1: Morgan was taken to the hospital. Luckily, her kids were
Speaker 1: still out of town, staying with her sister. Rodney was
Speaker 1: the prime suspect, but authorities needed solid proof if they
Speaker 1: were going to charge him with the crime, so they
Speaker 1: got a warrant to search Rodney's apartment. That's when the
Speaker 1: picture began to come together. Detectives found a book in
Speaker 1: Rodney's apartment, Seven Ways to Be Her Hero, a self
Speaker 1: help book for men, and Rodney's search history told a
Speaker 1: disturbing story.
Speaker 2: They took his computer and they found searches of how
Speaker 2: to strangle somebody and writing a suicide letter.
Speaker 1: He also searched for how to change the sound of
Speaker 1: your voice, how to get sympathy from your ex, and
Speaker 1: how long to choke someone unconscious. Then they found physical evidence,
Speaker 1: zip ties that looked just like the ones used to
Speaker 1: restrain Morgan.
Speaker 2: And they took the zip ties to forensics to see
Speaker 2: if it was a match.
Speaker 1: Forensics came back quickly it was a match. The evidence
Speaker 1: was overwhelming. Rodney was the intruder.
Speaker 2: I just dropped to the ground and just started crying.
Speaker 2: Finally someone saw that it wasn't my fault.
Speaker 1: For years, Rodney had been gaslighting Morgan, telling her she
Speaker 1: was to blame for his violence. Now it was finally over.
Speaker 2: I was just throwing back like, Oh my gosh, I
Speaker 2: can't believe he was honestly just stupid to look it
Speaker 2: all up online.
Speaker 1: In the weeks before the attack, Rodney told me he
Speaker 1: had terminal cancer, but in their investigation, police discovered a
Speaker 1: forged doctor's note proof that Rodney's story was a lie.
Speaker 2: It was just so mind boggling. I guess I never
Speaker 2: really truly thought he would go that far.
Speaker 1: Rodney had been desperate to regain control of Morgan's life
Speaker 1: and to get her back. He started by trying to
Speaker 1: gain her sympathy. When he first told Morgan about his cancer,
Speaker 1: she was distraught, but even though she was worried for him,
Speaker 1: she still didn't want to get back together with him.
Speaker 2: That is when I think he finally made a decision. Okay,
Speaker 2: he's going to go through with what his end game was.
Speaker 1: Morgan had let Rodney sleep on her couch. He said
Speaker 1: he was scared about his terminal diagnosis, but in reality,
Speaker 1: he had ulterior motives.
Speaker 2: During that time I was sleeping, he went downstairs in
Speaker 2: the basement and took a window sensor off the window,
Speaker 2: so he was a planning as next est.
Speaker 1: With the window sensor removed, Rodney had an easy way
Speaker 1: to enter Morgan's house without activating the alarm system. On
Speaker 1: the night of the attack, he'd asked for Morgan's phone
Speaker 1: password and gone through her phone. Police discovered he'd been
Speaker 1: deleting security footage. Rodney Metzer was charged with fourteen counts
Speaker 1: related to the attack, including kidnapping, home invasion, armed robbery,
Speaker 1: aggravated assault, and sexual battery. But one question remained, why
Speaker 1: would Rodney do this to her? Why take it this far?
Speaker 1: Morgan thinks it's because he wanted to create a villain
Speaker 1: so that he could be the hero.
Speaker 2: Because he wanted to gain back that guy next door
Speaker 2: type of vibe everyone like the penny of the perfect person.
Speaker 1: The assistant district attorney who prosecuted a case believes Rodney's
Speaker 1: motivations were even more sinister. In a press release about
Speaker 1: Morgan's case, she gave this quote, which we've had read
Speaker 1: by a voice actor. This man is a master manipulator.
Speaker 3: In the days leading up to the attack, he faked
Speaker 3: a cancer diagnosis in an attempt to gain sympathy from
Speaker 3: his ex wife. When that didn't work, he created a
Speaker 3: convoluted plan that the investigators in this case and our office,
Speaker 3: truly believe involved a plot to kill her and then himself.
Speaker 3: When he couldn't go through with that plan, he instead
Speaker 3: devised a new plan to rescue her.
Speaker 1: In the weeks following the attack, Morgan's sister agreed to
Speaker 1: take care of her kids while she focused on recovering.
Speaker 1: She checked herself into an impatient rehab for PTSD recovery,
Speaker 1: but even with professional help, she found her self struggling
Speaker 1: to return to the life she had before.
Speaker 2: I didn't want to be left alone in the house.
Speaker 2: But I didn't want to leave my house because I
Speaker 2: worked very hard to pay for that house. At that time,
Speaker 2: I was too afraid to work because I didn't want
Speaker 2: to go to random people's houses.
Speaker 1: I was scared nights for the hardest. She didn't feel
Speaker 1: safe letting her guard down in her own home.
Speaker 2: There was a month that I would sleep in my
Speaker 2: son's room and just sit in the corner of the
Speaker 2: room and stare at the door. I just wouldn't sleep.
Speaker 2: I couldn't find comfort in it, but I refused to
Speaker 2: let him beat me.
Speaker 1: Meanwhile, the state built their case against Rodney and prepared
Speaker 1: for trial.
Speaker 2: I was just talking to the DA constantly, just constant questions.
Speaker 2: They came to get server at my house, they went
Speaker 2: through his phone. It was just reliving that moment every
Speaker 2: second for like eight months.
Speaker 1: Rodney pled guilty to for team counts related to the attack.
Speaker 1: On August fourth, twenty twenty one, Rodney was sentenced to
Speaker 1: twenty five years in prison and forty five years of probation.
Speaker 1: Morgan wanted to go to his sentencing hearing. She prepared
Speaker 1: a victim impact statement. What she read in the.
Speaker 2: Courtroom and my last statement to him, I said, do
Speaker 2: you know, rod the pain you've given me is turned
Speaker 2: into so much power. I walked off that stand feeling
Speaker 2: like weight was lifted off my shoulders. I just felt
Speaker 2: like I could breathe a little bit more. I feel
Speaker 2: like some things that were at peace.
Speaker 1: In that same press release about the case, the prosecutor
Speaker 1: wrote a line that stood out to our team. Here's
Speaker 1: what she wrote.
Speaker 3: This is a classic example of how the most dangerous
Speaker 3: time for a domestic violence victim is when she decides
Speaker 3: to leave an abusive relationship.
Speaker 1: Morgan had to find a way to explain to her
Speaker 1: kids why the couldn't see their father anymore.
Speaker 2: I told them, do you guys know when you get
Speaker 2: in trouble, there's a consequence for your actions. And they
Speaker 2: said yes, and I said, well, that did something very
Speaker 2: bad and he has to have a punish net and
Speaker 2: he's going to be away for twenty to twenty five years.
Speaker 1: She did everything she could to process her trauma and
Speaker 1: heal for herself and for her kids. It took months,
Speaker 1: but slowly.
Speaker 2: I felt like I was more myself, letting the kids
Speaker 2: go to school, more Okay, we're getting back into a routine.
Speaker 1: Rodney was a defining figure in Morgan's life since she
Speaker 1: was fourteen years old. Without him around, even the smallest
Speaker 1: things felt new.
Speaker 2: I was trapped by him for so long that I
Speaker 2: was getting to know my real self too. I had
Speaker 2: to reintroduce myself. I feel like I had to relearn
Speaker 2: how to walk and talk again, like do they Eventually
Speaker 2: I started learning to get up every day and learn
Speaker 2: who the new me was going to be.
Speaker 1: In her victim impact statement, she told Rodney she would
Speaker 1: turn the pain he inflicted into power, and she did
Speaker 1: that power.
Speaker 2: It's gotten me through figuring out how to provide for
Speaker 2: my children, how to figure out how to do daily
Speaker 2: life today.
Speaker 1: Morgan's interior design business is thriving. She reclaimed the house
Speaker 1: where she was attacked and turned it into a loving home,
Speaker 1: and as for her twins, she's proud of the people
Speaker 1: they're becoming. We end every weekly episode with the same question,
Speaker 1: why do you want to share your story?
Speaker 2: I'm very lucky. Unfortunately a lot of women in my
Speaker 2: situation don't get out alive. And I just want women
Speaker 2: to know that it's important to speak to each other
Speaker 2: and to be open and to talk about things. I
Speaker 2: never said anything out loud. I never really went to
Speaker 2: a lot of my friends because I wanted to paint
Speaker 2: this beautiful picture of my family and nothing was wrong.
Speaker 2: And we as women are each other's big guest supporterers,
Speaker 2: and if we say what's going on, maybe would have
Speaker 2: been able to get help earlier.
Speaker 1: On the next episode of Betrayal.
Speaker 4: Weekly, suddenly the knock is on my door. I open
Speaker 4: the door. These two men in street clothes are claiming
Speaker 4: to be us Marshals. My whole body is hot. I
Speaker 4: feel like my stomach is dropped and they show me
Speaker 4: a picture. Yeah, that is my fiance.
Speaker 1: If you'd like to share your story on Betrayal, please
Speaker 1: email Betrayal Pod at gmail dot com that is Betrayalpod
Speaker 1: at gmail dot com. Please note that we are not
Speaker 1: a mental health organization. If you are in crisis or
Speaker 1: currently experiencing domestic violence, we encourage you to seek local
Speaker 1: help or dial nine to one one. Please contact organizations
Speaker 1: that offer immediate support. In our show notes, we've included
Speaker 1: a list of US based resources. You can follow us
Speaker 1: on Instagram at betrayal Pod, or find me at It's
Speaker 1: Andrea Gunning. To access our newsletter and additional content, and
Speaker 1: to connect with the Betrayal community, join our substack at
Speaker 1: Betrayal dot substack dot com. We're grateful for your support.
Speaker 1: One way to show support is by subscribing to our
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Speaker 1: thank you to all of our listeners. Betrayal is a
Speaker 1: production of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass and Entertainment Group,
Speaker 1: in partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The show is executive produced
Speaker 1: by Nancy Glass and Jennifer Fason, posted and produced by
Speaker 1: me Andrea Gunning, written and produced by Olivia Hewitt. Our
Speaker 1: story editor is Monique Lebord. Also produced by Ben Fetterman.
Speaker 1: Our associate producer is Leah Jablo. Production management by Kristin Melcurie,
Speaker 1: Booking support by Curry Richmond. Voice acting by Teresa Christine Brabson.
Speaker 1: Our iHeart team is Ali Perry and Jessica Crincheck. Audio
Speaker 1: editing by Tanner Robbins, with additional editing and mixing by
Speaker 1: Matt Delbecchio. A Trayals theme composed by Oliver Baines. Music
Speaker 1: library provided by my Music and For more podcasts from iHeart,
Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get
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