Husband kidnaps ex-wife in a bizarre plot to impress and save her

In a bizarre plot, which went horribly wrong, a Georgia man was recently charged after he kidnapped his ex-wife so he could save her and win her back. The accused has been identified as 36-year-old Rodney William Metzer. According to a press release posted to Facebook. Metzer 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," the release said. Metzer's arrest followed a January 1 incident at the home of Metzer's ex-wife. Officers with the sheriff's office responded at around 2 a.m. to a 911 call, the district attorney's office said. When officers spoke to Metzer, he said he had just arrived at the residence and found his ex-wife lying on the deck and zip-tied with a pillowcase over her head. Officers first believed that Metzer was "a concerned family member," the press release said, but investigators discovered a much different story from what Metzer told them.

Before the January 1 incident, Metzer tried to restore his relationship with his ex-wife but she refused, prompting him to break into her house wearing a mask and displaying a gun, the release said. "When he spoke to her, he disguised his voice. He hit her with the butt of his gun and tried to strangle her two times. He zip-tied her hands, assaulted her, placed a pillowcase over her head, and dragged her to the deck," the press release said. It added that Metzer told his ex-wife if she moved from the deck she would be shot. Metzer then returned to his residence to change his clothes and went back to his ex-wife's home, which is when he called the police. The district attorney's office said that "evidence in the case was substantial," as Cherokee County sheriffs found a handgun in Metzer's apartment as well as zip ties that matched the ones found on his ex-wife. Additionally, investigators saw Metzer on surveillance video carrying a package of zip ties while leaving a local Lowe's store. Metzer's cellphone and laptop search history revealed to investigators that he searched topics such as "how long before you starve to death, how to change the sound of your voice, and how long it takes to choke someone unconscious. "Assistant District Attorney Rachel Ashe, who prosecuted the case, called Metzer a "master manipulator." "In the days leading up to this attack he faked a cancer diagnosis in an attempt to gain sympathy from his ex-wife. 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," Ashe said in the release. "When he couldn't go through with that plan, he instead devised a new plan to rescue her. Fortunately, Sheriff's Office investigators saw through this scheme and quickly arrested the defendant," she said. Metzer was sentenced by Judge Anthony Baker to 70 years, with the first 25 years to be served in confinement and the remaining 45 to be served on probation, according to the district's attorney's office.