Rich McElligott showed a Ned fly at his table at The Early Show in November. It’s an adaptation of the Ned rig, his homemade fly-fishing version of one of most popular lures smallmouth bass.
It comes with a twist, he makes it with a roofing nail. Before he ties the fly, he grinds one side of the nail flat, then ties the hook on and finishes the fly.
The idea came while doing a project, as he put, “I’m from Berwyn.”
Practical ingenuity is a compliment to Berwynites.
McElligott came from Berwyn, but he’s headed to the Illinois Outdoor Hall of Fame in the spring as part of its largest class.
Practical ingenuity shows in his work with the Shabbona Lake Sportsman Club, where he has been president off and on (alternating with vice presidents) since 1995. SLSC, founded in 1982, is one of the oldest fishing clubs for Chicago-area anglers. The club is noted for practical projects–Rockfest, habitat work, fishing leagues,fish rescues–at Shabbona Lake, the 318-acre centerpiece of Shabbona Lake Recreation Area in DeKalb County.
Volunteers working a muskie rescue in Indian Creek below the Shabbona Lake spillway.
The club has a wide draw.
“One third of the members are within 20 minutes, another third half hour away and a third are an hour away,” said McElligott Wednesday, just back from trying a new fly at a nearby pond kept open by geese. “The presidents come from within 20 minutes. It is easier to work with the park when have you have somebody local.”
That really showed around 2000 when McElligott, who lives in nearby Lee, thought to try rock as cover and structure, particularly for walleye.
“Why not try it,” late fisheries biologist Al Pulley agreed.
“That first year, it cost about $200 for a load of shot rock,” McElligott said. “We had five truckloads the first year [other clubs pitched in]. First year it was about five degrees outside and we had over 75 people.”
Shot rock is the rough stuff after quarry dynamite blows.
“We get the pieces,” McElligott said. “We wanted microwave size and bigger. We had some three by three feet.
Rockfest, putting in rock habitat at Shabbona Lake, is the brainchild of Rich McElligott.
“Most years were the shot rock. One year they were picking apart a parking lot, all concrete. [The construction boss] fished there. The biologist approved it and we got about 300 tons.”
For the non-fishing crowd, rock makes cover and ambush points for fish.
Rockfest is a cool event, but McElligott said getting kids and adults involved in fishing made him most proud.
“When I was growing up, it was like you had to have the magic lure and you could catch fish anywhere on the lake,” he said. “That’s not the way it is.”
McElligott grew up in Chicago at 63rd and Oak Park. His family moved to Berwyn when he was in seventh grade and he graduated Morton West in 1975. After marrying, he moved farther out, first Carol Stream then west.
In teaching fishing, McElligott picked up a universal truth. “Get the father out with son, you’re actually teaching the dad,” McElligott said. “If you do a fishing clinic for kids, the kids will get dropped off.”
So he aims to include parents. He had an example from bowling with his dad at Argo Bowl. They were good enough to win a Chicago father-and-son bowling event.
“I was in a bowling league when I was younger in Chicago and I said I wonder if that would work for fishing,” McElligott said.
The Awesome Anglers took first in 2016 the fishing league at Shabbona Lake.
With fisheries biologist Karen Rivera, they started a a fishing league in 1997.
“That is probably one of the best things I remember,” McElligott said.
Some league alumni went on to fish walleye tournaments and high school bass fishing.
McElligott became involved in fly fishing and teaching it to others. He has caught hybrid striped bass, walleye, perch, catfish, bluegill and crappie fly fishing at Shabbona.
Rich McElligott and his grandson Tony Schnupp, 14, working a table of their fishing flies and fly supplies at The Early Show in November.
He’s also been previous president of the Illinois Smallmouth Alliance, but his mark is on SLSC.
“I enjoy all aspects of [the outdoors], the intertwining of the plants and animals and the fish and the changes of the seasons, and the cycles that go through,” McElligott said. “I really like that fishing is not one tactic all the time. It keeps changing. I enjoy fly fishing, especially for bluegills. I do a lot of jig fishing, that’s probably most of what I do. But I will go out there and have a fly rod and a spinning rod.”
Rich McElligott holds a smallmouth bass he caught fly fishing.
The ICF will formally induct the 2025 class at the ICF Gale in the spring. Other area people going in with McElligott area are Kankakee River teacher/advocate/guide Matt Mullady, Kankakee, and Thomas Foss, Wonder Lake, for his decades of preservation, conservation and environmental education.
DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have been married less than a year, and I’m pregnant with my first child. Our baby was planned, and we were thrilled.
Something changed with my husband once I hit the second trimester. If I read something about pregnancy and try to share it with him, he instantly shuts me down, saying I shouldn’t believe everything I read or that I’m wasting my time. He doesn’t want to set up anything in the nursery, either. He keeps saying we don’t need to do it until a month before the baby is due.
I’m trying to be patient and understanding, but friends have now taken a step back from talking to me and I’m feeling very isolated. The other night, my husband put me down at dinner with friends. One of them said being pregnant was the most selfish thing a woman could do, and my husband AGREED! I am still hurt by the comment. While the person apologized for saying it and further explained their position on the subject (everyone had been drinking, except me), my husband hasn’t apologized. He refuses and says I’m idiotic for being so upset about it.
I am at a loss here. We planned for this baby, and I thought it would bring us even closer. Now I feel incredibly alone and sad. Why would anyone say something so cruel, and why would my husband agree instead of being on my side? — EXPECTING MORE IN NEW JERSEY
DEAR EXPECTING: Pregnancy is an exciting and challenging experience for all concerned, and your emotions may be heightened. Although your husband was initially enthusiastic about the idea of starting a family right away, it’s possible that during this second trimester he recognized the reality of the responsibilities that come with parenthood. It is also possible that, because of your excitement about your pregnancy, it has become your main topic of conversation, which may be why your friends have stepped back.
The remark that was made the evening the two of you were with friends was likely fueled by too much alcohol and not enough good judgment. Your husband may have agreed because he feels jealous that your body has been “co-opted” by the baby. Not knowing him, I can’t guess at why he continues to refuse to apologize for it.
It seems to me you would feel less isolated if you found an older, more experienced female friend or relative to guide you through this challenging period. Also, keep up with your medical appointments to make sure everything is progressing normally.
DEAR ABBY: I was born deaf in my right ear. No matter how many times I remind the people I am closest to, they still seem to get annoyed with me because I ask them to repeat what they say. It is especially hard for me when their backs are turned to me. Any suggestions on how to curb my anger? Yes, it does upset me because of my hearing challenge. — HEARING AS BEST AS I CAN
DEAR HEARING: Curb your anger by continuing to remind people they need to talk into your “good” ear and, when you are seated, be sure the people you are interested in conversing with are sitting to your left. If you do, it may be less stressful for all of you.
Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
To receive a collection of Abby’s most memorable — and most frequently requested — poems and essays, send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $8 (U.S. funds), to: Dear Abby — Keepers Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)
An advice column where Chicago can ask questions on how to navigate life transitions, relationships, family, finance and more.
Dear Ismael,
I have been a stay-at-home mom for over two years now. Recently I thought about going back to work but I have been struggling with mom guilt. I want to be with my children 24/7 but I also worked hard for my career. And I feel like society tells women to stay home and be a full-time caregiver. How do I stop feeling guilty for doing something I want for myself?
— Guilty Mom in Albany Park
Dear Guilty Mom,
You were someone who had her own passions, goals and ambitions before the kids came along. And even now that you’ve taken the role of mom and caretaker, you’re still a member of the family. So, I would argue, if you go against your own happiness, aren’t you going against the happiness of the family?
If you have the urge to go back after a few years off, that means that line of work means something to you. Whether the job brought you fulfillment or great money you were proud of making (hopefully both), you should not feel ashamed about going back.
My mom was a homemaker for most of her life, but our family wasn’t in the best economic shape. Yes, she could be there for us for life events. But even then, there were times when she would have to prioritize which of the six kids deserved the gas money to see them at a school ceremony or pick them up from an after-school activity.
Need advice?
Submit your question to ‘Someone in Chicago.’
And if the school field trips weren’t free, we weren’t going.
I have a best friend whose mom was, and still is, a career workhorse. She works for a large supply chain store in Texas, and we joke that she’s the CEO, but she isn’t — even though she might as well be. Although my friend is proud of her mom and had a nice middle-class upbringing, she does wish her mother was more present throughout her childhood.
This friend of mine is now a mom of two kids, and is also a working mom. I asked her for her advice as a daughter of a working mom, and a working mom who also understands the guilt you feel.
“I think doing both, working and being a stay-at-home mom now twice in my kids’ lives, has really helped me realize that more than anything my kids need me to work. For the sake of my mental health, it helps to be doing something I need that provides income and also keeps me sane. Working moms shouldn’t be ashamed because it’s hard to do both. You come home exhausted, then start your ‘second shift.’ I think every mom has to remember she was a person first before she brought the kids into this world. It’s OK to think of her first sometimes. In the end, a happy mom creates a happier life for everyone’s sake.
“I used to HATE that my mom worked so much. I will say, for those who have a choice, don’t work 80-hour weeks like my mom did. It’s emotional for the kids and you’re missing out on the memories. As an adult, I completely understand why my mom had to work. She worked hard to support us, and when we were little she worked hourly. She took every hour she could to support our family. I just think there can be a good balance. Some careers don’t have the luxury to flex with hours but if she can, she should.”
You feeling guilty isn’t an indicator that going back to work is something you shouldn’t do.
That sense of guilt tells me you will do your best to make up for parts of motherhood where you feel you come up short. Trust that your kids will one day see and appreciate those efforts.
Avoid shopping or important decisions from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Chicago time. After that, the moon moves from Gemini into Cancer. The full moon in Gemini peaks at 6:02 a.m. Chicago time.
Pay attention to everything you say and do because this is an accident-prone day for you. Keep your eyes open. Meanwhile, discussions about legal matters, travel and medicine might suddenly get the green light. It’s all systems go!
You might feel pulled between the desire to put your own interests first versus the desire to deal with shared property and how you relate to the resources of others. Whatever happens, you will see a new way to go forward.
Today the full moon is in your sign. Discussions with others could be heated. Fortunately, issues from the past that have been a pain in the neck might be resolved. For some, an ex-partner is now out of the picture. (Was that a sigh of relief?)
Issues related to your health, a pet or your job might come to a head today. Something has to give. Fortunately, the silly errors and mixed-up communications at work will reduce because today Mercury retrograde is over. Glory hallelujah!
Today you’re strong and pro-active because fiery Mars is in your sign. This means you need to be tactful and charming because lots of full moon energy is flying around. You might end up at odds with your kids or a romantic partner. (It’s hard out there without your towel.)
Today you might be challenged by the interests of home and family versus the interests of your career and public reputation. Fortunately, issues related to old bosses, parents and authority figures from your past are now settled. “And just like that …”
Be careful because this could be an accident-prone day for you. Therefore, think before you speak or act. Travel delays will be reduced, which will be happy news. Meanwhile, this is a great day to schmooze! (A competition from the past might be back in your world.)
Today’s full moon might create tension between your financial interests and the financial interests of others. (Or perhaps responsibilities?) Either way, delays and mistakes that have plagued your finances, cash flow and shopping will fade because Mercury retrograde is over. Yay!
Today the full moon is opposite your sign, which will create some tension between you and others, especially partners and close friends. However, the upside is that Mercury has been retrograde in your sign, and today it’s over! Now you can move forward with more confidence!
The full moon energy today might create health problems or issues related to your job or your pet. Nevertheless, as of today, Mercury retrograde is over, which will make you feel calmer and more confident. That tingling feeling in the back of your mind is gone. Thank goodness.
Because of the full moon today, it’s hard to know whom to put first — friends and groups versus your kids and romantic partners. Perhaps this is the perfect time to say goodbye to an old friend who has reappeared? Things can return to a normal footing.
Today you feel pulled between the demands of home and family versus the demands of your career and your public reputation. Recently, you dealt with old bosses and parents who came back into your world. As of today, this energy is fading because Mercury retrograde is over. (Whew!)
If your birthday is today
Actor Don Johnson (1949) shares your birthday. You’re easygoing and witty. You’re also curious and impulsive. You can be competitive, certainly proactive. This year you can seize opportunities and attain power and leadership. You will get recognition for your past efforts. Expect a promotion, a raise, kudos, awards or some acknowledgment. Bravo!
NEW YORK — Travis Hunter turned every play into prime time — on both sides of the ball — and ultimately took home the Heisman Trophy.
Now he’s got a leg up on his celebrity coach at Colorado.
The two-way star won college football’s most prestigious award Saturday night at Jazz at Lincoln Center in Manhattan, punctuating a tireless performance all season by a dynamic player with a unique combination of skills.
“I never thought I would be in this position,” said a tearful Hunter, who grabbed the trophy hard with two hands and let loose a happy roar. “It’s crazy.”
A big-play wide receiver and lockdown cornerback, Hunter dominated on both sides of the ball for coach Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes, joining former Bears running back Rashaan Salaam in 1994 as the only Heisman winners in school history.
Hunter received 552 first-place votes and 2,231 points in a comfortable victory. Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty was the runner-up with 309 first-place votes and 2,017 points, the closest margin since 2009.
Hunter garnered 80.14% of possible points, the 11th-highest in Heisman Trophy history, and joined Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson (1997) as the only full-time defensive players to claim the prize. Woodson also made big plays on offense but didn’t play nearly as much as Hunter on that side of the ball.
Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel came in third and Miami quarterback Cam Ward finished fourth in balloting for the 90th Heisman Trophy, presented annually since 1935 to the nation’s most outstanding player.
It marked only the fifth time this century a quarterback didn’t win. The last time no signal-caller placed in the top two was 2015, when running backs Derrick Henry of Alabama and Christian McCaffrey ran 1-2 in voting.
Hunter also won the Associated Press player of the year award this week. He helped spark an impressive turnaround at Colorado, from 4-8 in 2023 when he missed 3½ games because of injuries to 9-3 this year in Sanders’ second season. The 20th-ranked Buffaloes got their first bowl bid in four years and will face No. 17 BYU (10-2) in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28.
Hunter has pledged to play, rather than skip the game to prepare for the NFL Draft and prevent any possible injury as many top prospects do. The 6-1, 185-pound junior from Suwanee, Georgia, plans to pass up his senior season and is expected to be a top-five pick by the pros — perhaps even No. 1 overall.
“He wants to be great at everything,” Sanders said. “He wants to have a commitment to excellence in everything he does — including fishing.”
Showcasing his blazing speed and explosive playmaking, Hunter rarely came off the field this year — making him an every-down throwback to generations gone by and the first full-time, true two-way star in decades.
On offense, he had 92 catches for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns, plus a rushing score. On defense, he made four interceptions, 32 tackles, broke up 11 passes and forced a critical fumble that secured an overtime victory against Baylor.
He played 688 defensive snaps and 672 more on offense — the only Power Four conference player with 30-plus snaps on both sides of the ball, according to Colorado research.
It would seem an overly exhausting workload for any player these days, both mentally and physically, but not Hunter.
“I think I laid the ground for more people to come in and go two ways,” he said Friday. “It starts with your mindset. If you believe you can do it, then you’ll be able to do it. And also, I do a lot of treatment. I keep up with my body. I get a lot of recovery.”
When Morgan Metzer glimpsed a masked figure standing in her bedroom doorway shortly after midnight on New Year’s Day 2021, she thought she might just be seeing things. But then —
Morgan Metzer: He’s standing there like a soldier, like with his fist clenched and like he was ready to go. … He ran at me and jumped on top of me. And that’s when he started pistol-whipping me.
Just hours earlier, she’d been ready to ring in the new year in Canton, Georgia, with her best friend, Nichole Stabasefski.
Nichole Stabasefski: That’s what we were looking forward to. … And I knew she was exhausted.
It had been a long year for Morgan. Recently divorced, her 8-year-old twin son and daughter were spending a few days with her sister in Florida.
Nichole Stabasefski: I mean we’re moms. … We just wanted to hang out for a second. … We had planned for it.
But after arriving at Stabasefski’s, Morgan, feeling tired, decided to make it an early evening.
Nichole Stabasefski: When she left, I did — I — I gave her some crap. I was like, “what are you doing?” … And I was like, “You loser, fine, whatever. Text me when you get home, blah, blah, blah, see you tomorrow.”
A VIOLENT INTRUDER DRESSED IN BLACK
Little could either friend have guessed that a short time later, Morgan would be in fear for her life. Her attacker had brought zip ties with him, already pre-looped and intertwined. He put Morgan’s hands behind her back, slipped them on, and tightened them.
Morgan Metzer: It’s an out-of-body experience.
Nikki Battiste: I can’t imagine what you’re thinking. What you’re feeling.
Morgan Metzer: Vulnerable, exposed. What’s going to happen to my kids? … I haven’t done a will. … I haven’t talked to my family about who gets them. … I was like … “they’re not going to have a mom.”
” I opened my eyes … I saw the shadow of a man’s body standing there, you know, all in black and just lit up by — the light in the background. He had a mask on. … And I screamed so loud. … He pounced on me, he then hit me with a gun. Then he punched me.”
Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office
Her assailant strangled her nearly unconscious twice.
Morgan Metzer: It’s the worst feeling in the world to think you’re dying. And you feel like you’re going to be tortured beforehand.
Morgan’s attacker sexually assaulted her.
Nikki Battiste: Who did you think was attacking you?
Morgan Metzer: I don’t know. I just felt like it was some random person.
In addition to the mask, the intruder had taken great pains to disguise himself.
Morgan Metzer: Black … hoodie jacket. … Black pants, black gloves.
He said very little, but when he did, Morgan says her assailant seemed to be disguising his voice — making it sound low and gravelly like the Batman movies. He also seemed to know about Morgan’s personal life — specifically, her recent divorce.
Nikki Battiste: He said something about your husband.
Morgan Metzer: Yes. “You’re going to miss your husband.” I said, “No, don’t hurt my husband.”
Morgan says her mind raced trying to piece together why this was happening to her.
Morgan Metzer: I swear, I like went through my whole life in my head. That’s how my brain was … just everywhere. I mean, 50,000 tabs opened up at one time in my brain.
Her attacker demanded to know where Morgan kept her valuables.
Morgan Metzer: “Where’s your jewelry? Where’s,” you know, “all of your other nice stuff?” And he is ripping out stuff out of my, you know, my drawers.
And then —
Morgan Metzer: The attacker asked for my phone and the passcode to my phone.
Morgan’s house had an alarm system which she’d set before going to bed. An app on her phone controlled it, along with several security cameras around her home and a lock on the door of her second-floor bedroom which led out to a back porch.
Morgan Metzer: I wasn’t too sure what he was doing on my phone at the time until I heard a, uh, a door lock open, which was for the back porch.
The attacker had unlocked the door remotely through that app on Morgan’s phone. Morgan says he put a pillowcase over her head.
Morgan Metzer: He got me out of the bed, walked me out to the back porch. I was naked … still with my zip tie handcuffs behind my back.
Nikki Battiste: Did he just leave you there?
Morgan Metzer: Yes.
Nikki Battiste: What did he say as he left?
Morgan Metzer: He said, “do not get up until you hear two car honks or I’ll kill you.”
Morgan’s property was secluded, with little chance of a neighbor seeing or hearing her on the back porch. And with that pillowcase over her head and the attacker’s final words of warning ringing in her ears, Morgan had no way of knowing if he — or someone else — was watching her.
Morgan Metzer: I just listened to the stream and tried to be as peaceful and calm as I could.
Forty minutes passed. Then, a sound in the distance struck terror in Morgan all over again.
Morgan Metzer: I hear somebody walking up.
Unable to see, she feared her attacker had returned to finish the job.
Morgan Metzer: I hear them shuffling, walking and they hit the stairs. … And I knew they were at the top when he hit the first board and it creaked really loud.
That’s when Morgan heard a very familiar voice.g
Morgan Metzer: “Oh honey, what happened?”
Morgan’s grueling ordeal was finally over. And who would turn out to be her rescuer? Her ex-husband Rod Metzer.
A HERO TO THE RESCUE?
When Morgan’s ex-husband Rod Metzer turned up at her house, he immediately called 911.
911 DISPATCHER: Cherokee County 911.
ROD METZER: Somebody — somebody broke in over here.
ROD METZER: She was on the back porch. Uh, and — and the back door was wide open.
ROD METZER: She was tied up with a hood over her head.
As they waited for help to arrive, Rod tried to console Morgan. Their conversation heard on the 911 call.
MORGAN METZER (911 call): Please don’t leave, Rod.
ROD METZER: I’m going to be right here.
MORGAN METZER: Please.
ROD METZER: I’m going to leave the door open, OK?
Sgt. Dakota Lyvers: He came up and — and rescued her on the back porch.
Nikki Battiste: Saved her.
Sgt. Dakota Lyvers: Saved her.
Nikki Battiste: Her hero.
Sgt. Dakota Lyvers: Absolutely.
Sergeant Dakota Lyvers was a detective with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department in 2021. He had a lot of questions. Exactly why had Rod gone to Morgan’s home in the middle of the night?
Rod moved out of Morgan’s home and into his own apartment shortly after the divorce, said Lyvers.
Sgt. Dakota Lyvers: He was … getting ready for bed. He was brushing his teeth when he heard knocking on his window. Um, that knocking was accompanied by a voice in which he could only decipher the word “Morgan” was being said.
Concerned, Rod said he tried calling Morgan, but she didn’t answer.
Nikki Battiste: What did he say he was thinking? I mean, someone knocks on his window in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day.
Sgt. Dakota Lyvers: He obviously went to the worst. Um, he thought that that something was, uh, gonna happen to Morgan or something might be happening to Morgan.
Morgan and Rod Metzer met as teenagers and were together 20 years before divorcing
Morgan Metzer
Rod told investigators he’d gotten in his car and made the 12-minute drive over to his ex-wife’s house. Despite being divorced, Rod said he was still looking out for Morgan. Their relationship stretched back nearly 20 years.
Nikki Battiste: How old were you when you met Rod?
Morgan Metzer: 14 years old.
Nikki Battiste: Was it love at first sight?
Morgan Metzer: Yes, it was. It was — it was scary how fast it was.
Kathy Metzer: He was 17 at that time.
Kathy Metzer is Rod’s mother.
Kathy Metzer: We were on the way to a baseball game and he said, “Mom, you’re gonna meet Morgan tonight.” And I said, “Who’s Morgan?” “That’s my girlfriend.” And I said, “What?” He said, “Be nice.” (laughs)
Nikki Battiste: Did Rod change at all when he was dating Morgan?
Kathy Metzer: Oh, yeah. … There was nothing that she could mention that she didn’t get.
Nikki Battiste: How did he treat you?
Morgan Metzer: Amazing. … He called me “princess.” And so he literally treated me like that.
No one was surprised when the couple married in 2009. Morgan was 21 years old.
Kathy Metzer: Morgan was one of the most gorgeous brides I’ve ever seen in my life.
Kathy Metzer: Weather was perfect. It was outside, so thank goodness for the weather.
Morgan Metzer: It was everything I dreamed of. My dad gave me everything I could want, you know. … It was just precious.
Nikki Battiste: What was marriage like in the very beginning?
Morgan Metzer: It was just awesome. … It’s just you two. … You’re mourning the loss of your, like, wedding being over (laughs) and your honeymoon. And it’s like, “I wanna go again!”
Unfortunately, their newly wedded bliss would be short-lived. Eight months after the wedding, Rod’s younger brother Kevin, who wished the couple “endless years of love, health and happiness,” at their wedding, lost his battle with leukemia at the age of 19.
Kathy Metzer: It really hit Rod hard. I mean, it — I don’t think he was ever the same after that. … He depended on Morgan at that point, more than he did anybody. I don’t think he left her side for more than an hour or two.
But the next year would bring some good news to celebrate.
Morgan Metzer: We got pregnant with our son.
Morgan says picking his name was easy.
Morgan Metzer: Kevin always wanted to be an uncle. He always talked about it, how much fun he would have.
Kathy Metzer: They named him Kevin after my Kevin, Rod’s brother. (cries)
But the family would suffer a second, and devastating, loss. Baby Kevin was born early, with a congenital heart defect. He lived just 18 days.
Morgan Metzer: He actually died on his due date.
Nikki Battiste: The loss of a child is unthinkable and I would imagine tough for you and Rod.
Morgan Metzer: Very tough. … Don’t really remember a lot of it. It’s a big blur with all the emotions.
So it seemed like a miracle when, just three months later, Morgan discovered she was pregnant again. Kathy remembers the moment Rod showed her the ultrasound picture.
Kathy Metzer: He says, “what do you see?” I said, “a baby.” He said, “No. Look, what do you see?” And I just screamed at the top of my lungs, “two babies,” you know. (laughs)
Nikki Battiste: Twins.
Kathy Metzer: Twins. They were gonna have twins.
Morgan gave birth to a healthy boy and girl in 2012. It should have been a happy time but not long after, the marriage began to change.
Morgan Metzer: Probably about a year after they were born, which is right around the time that Rod lost his job, is when it started going down south from there.
Nikki Battiste: What did Rod do for work?
Morgan Metzer: He, he had so many jobs. His main one, when he lost all of his money, was he was being a day trader for himself.
Rod’s job loss happened to come at the same time Morgan’s career was starting to flourish.
Morgan Metzer: I started my own interior design business and it took off. … I just didn’t expect it to boom and blow up.
Morgan’s company, Shiplap and Sugar, became so successful she asked Stabasefski to join her.
Nichole Stabasefski: She was saying, you know, like “I need help, I’m overwhelmed.”
Nikki Battiste: So you became business partners?
Nichole Stabasefski: Yeah. … Making money. … Working our tails off, doing what we love.
Morgan says her professional success, and Rod’s lack of it, made for a dangerous combination. She says he began to abuse her — both physically and mentally. She recalls one Labor Day weekend. She and Rod were celebrating on a boat with friends and had just returned to their cabin.
Morgan Metzer: I guess we had gotten into an argument about something, … that’s the first night he beat the — he beat me.
Nikki Battiste: Did you think, he hit me. I’ve gotta get out of here?
Morgan Metzer: Yes. I had my dad come and get me.
Morgan Metzer said her decision to file for divorce came after years of what she described as mental and physical abuse from Rod Metzer.
Kathy Metzer
Shockingly, Morgan says Rod tried to convince her, and the people closest to her, that she was to blame for her injuries.
Morgan Metzer: He convinced my parents that I was the one that did it.
Nikki Battiste: What did he say?
Morgan Metzer: “You were just out of control. You — you — you couldn’t keep your temper. You were just whaling all over the place.”
Morgan says Rod claimed she got hurt because he was forced to physically restrain her.
Morgan Metzer: And I’m like, OK, well, maybe that’s my fault. … And my friends stopped talking to me then because he had no marks on him. It was all me.
Morgan says that’s when a new phase in the marriage began, one in which she started to doubt her own reality because, she says, Rod was gaslighting her — making her think every conflict Rod instigated actually began with her.
Nichole Stabasefski: I think she thought she was crazy. You know, you get programmed to think that you’re crazy, like it’s all in your head.
Morgan says Rod even involved their children in his deception.
Morgan Metzer: He pretended I pushed him down the stairs and he literally rolled down the stairs. You know, he actually got hurt and said to the kids, “Look, Mommy pushed me downstairs. Can you believe that?”
Morgan says Rod sexually abused her as well, although she says it took a while for her to recognize what it was.
Morgan Metzer: A lot of times he’s very aggressive and wouldn’t take the word no. And so now looking back on it, I guess he did sexually abuse me.
Morgan filed for divorce in 2020.
Nikki Battiste: When Morgan decided to … go through with the divorce, how was she handling it?
Nichole Stabasefski: You know, it was the first time I think I saw her have peace.
The divorce was final in December and Morgan was ready to move on. But now, in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day, it appeared Rod had come back into her life as her hero.
CRITICAL CLUES IN THE INVESTIGATION
Sergeant Lyvers and Sergeant Robert Haugh recall that when they first arrived at Morgan’s house at 3 a.m. Rod’s behavior had struck them as unusual.
Sgt. Dakota Lyvers: So, as we were walking up … Rodney was, um, seated in his car right here … with another deputy.
Nikki Battiste: Did he say anything?
Sgt. Dakota Lyvers: Yeah, he did. … He asked, “Hey man, are you the guy that we’ve been waiting on? And I said, “uh, yes, sir, I am.” And then he replied, “do your f****** job.”
Nikki Battiste: What did you think?
Sgt. Dakota Lyvers: I was taken aback. I really was.
Sgt. Dakota Lyvers: This guy just had found his wife bound, um, and beaten on the back porch. And you would think that my arrival to help find a resolution to this, uh, would be welcoming.
Immediately, Morgan’s appearance startled the investigators.
Morgan Metzer’s assailant used zip ties to constrain her wrists before strangling her nearly unconscious twice.
Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office
Sgt. Robert Haugh: Her eye was swollen shut, black and blue. … She still had the, uh, zip tie around her one wrist. And I was shocked, and I had seen a lot in my career. And, uh, I was surprised that somebody would — would be so harsh.
Nikki Battiste: What did it make you think?
Sgt. Robert Haugh: Somebody was mad.
Sgt. Dakota Lyvers: Absolutely. It was an emotional attack.
Morgan was not only physically injured; investigators could tell she had suffered psychologically after the attacker left her.
Sgt. Dakota Lyvers: She was in fear that she was — someone was still back here watching her and that they were gonna kill her if she moved. And so she laid here and waited.
Morgan was outside for 40 minutes before Rod arrived, but initially she thought it was just half that.
Sgt. Dakota Lyvers: Morgan believed it to be somewhere around 15 to 20 minutes, max. Um, that was her perception of time.
Nikki Battiste: Interesting. I would’ve thought the opposite, that would’ve felt longer for her.
Sgt. Dakota Lyvers: I agree. … When their adrenaline’s going, you know, people perceive things differently.
The first thing Lyvers and Haugh did was separate Morgan, Rod and Morgan’s father and brother — who came over after she called them. Then Lyvers recorded his conversation with Morgan inside the house.
Safely out of earshot of her ex-husband, who was standing just outside, Morgan told investigators that she suspected her attacker was the man pretending to be her hero.
MORGAN METZER: I just thought it was him.
SGT. DAKOTA LYVERS: When you say “him,” you’re talking about your ex-husband?
MORGAN METZER: Mm-hmm.
Morgan said she had no idea who her assailant was when the attack began, but then came one critical moment.
Morgan Metzer: When he said … “you’re going to miss your husband,” I said, “no, don’t hurt my husband. I love him very much.” And I don’t know what made me do that. But at that exact moment is when … the mood of the room changed. I knew I was going to live.
And then there was another, even bigger clue, when her attacker lifted Morgan off the bed to place her outside.
Morgan Metzer tells “48 Hours” contributor Nikki Battiste how she came to suspect her ex-husband was her attacker.
CBS News
Morgan Metzer: That’s when I really knew it was him.
Morgan remembered something from years earlier.
Morgan Metzer: I was pregnant with my kids, my twins. And sometimes you have to get help out of the bed. … The way he gently held me and got me out of bed, it was so familiar that I was like, this is him. I know it’s 100% percent him.
Morgan Metzer: I wasn’t going to let him know that I knew it was him. Because if he did then he — I didn’t know what he was going to do.
She told them the attack had followed a chaotic week which began with very troubling news.
Morgan Metzer: He thinks he’s got pancreatic cancer.
Morgan Metzer: He just called me … and said, “I’ve got pancreatic cancer.” And so I rushed to go see him. … I said, “you’re the father of my children. … I’m here for you.”
Morgan Metzer: He showed me doctor’s notes and whatnot.
Rod had told no one else and Morgan explained that she’d been letting him stay at her house.
Morgan Metzer: He’d been sleeping on my sofa because he had been really freaked out and upset obviously.
Morgan told the investigators that Rod had spent the week trying to reconcile with her.
Morgan Metzer: He kept begging me to get back together with me. … Just constantly haggling me.
But Morgan says she had no interest. By the morning of Dec. 31, she’d had enough. Feeling the pressure of being his sole emotional support, Morgan insisted Rod share his health news with his parents.
Morgan Metzer: He said, “no, absolutely not. I’m not telling anybody.” And that’s when I was like, “OK, get out.”
Morgan says Rod spent the day texting her.
Morgan Metzer: “You need to get back with me. I’ll make enough money. You can quit your job right now.”
Fed up with it all, Morgan lied and told Rod she’d be sleeping elsewhere that New Year’s Eve night.
Morgan Metzer: “Staying at my parents’ house tonight. I’m turning my phone off.” Like, give me some space.
As Morgan shared her suspicions with investigators, she didn’t know if they would accept what she was telling them.
Morgan Metzer: I’ve been mentally, emotionally, physically abused.
Because Rod made her feel like she was to blame for years.
Morgan Metzer: That’s what he’s built in my brain.
But that all changed when Lyvers told her he believed her.
Morgan Metzer: And I just melted. … He heard me. I have not been heard in years. Nobody listened. Nobody heard me and he heard me.
Rachel Ashe: That started the investigation into Rodney Metzer.
Rachel Ashe is the Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney for Cherokee County. She works exclusively on domestic violence cases. Parker, an emotional support dog, is often with her to comfort victims. Ashe says investigators were perplexed that Rod had come to Morgan’s house that night after she’d told him she’d be at her parents’ home.
Rachel Ashe: Why did you even come here? Why didn’t you go to her parents’ house? Why didn’t — why didn’t you check with her parents?
Sgt. Robert Haugh: He claimed it was just habit, normal.
Sgt. Dakota Lyvers: “It’s what I would do.”
Nikki Battiste: Were you scratching your heads?
Sgt. Dakota Lyvers: Yeah.
Sgt. Robert Haugh: A little bit.
Sgt. Dakota Lyvers: We questioned him on it.
Rod said that after hearing that knocking on his window, and someone saying Morgan’s name, he tried phoning Morgan to warn her. Haugh wanted to check.
Sgt. Robert Haugh: I think that’s what prompted, “hey, where’s your phone?”
Rod handed his cellphone to the investigators.
Rachel Ashe: Gave them permission to look through his phone.
And what they found came as a surprise.
Sgt. Robert Haugh: It was an Apple iPhone, and it had a hidden folder. … And in the hidden folder were images of Morgan — um, partially dressed.
Rachel Ashe: A lot of photos of Morgan nude and those photos of Morgan nude, it was pretty apparent that she didn’t know he was taking those photos of her.
Sgt. Robert Haugh: She was quite alarmed.
Investigators also discovered Rod had snapped pictures of Morgan’s cellphone showing text messages between her and another man. They considered these and the photos of Morgan to be an invasion of privacy.
SGT. DAKOTA LYVERS: You didn’t have that permission. Y’all don’t have that relationship. She’s f****** baffled that you have that. That’s stalkerish.
Sgt. Robert Haugh: We knew we had to … get him in custody … while we started doing search warrants and started investigating … to prevent him from destroying evidence.
ROD METZER: People make mistakes, man.
SGT. DAKOTA LYVERS: I think you made a lot of mistakes.
SGT. ROBERT HAUGH: Big, big mistakes.
Nikki Battiste: So you arrested him for having taken those photos secretly?
Sgt. Dakota Lyvers: That’s correct.
An image from the home security camera on Morgan Metzer’s porch shows Cherokee County investigators taking Rod Metzer into custody.
Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office
SGT. DAKOTA LYVERS: Stand up.
ROD METZER: You’re kidding me?
SGT. DAKOTA LYVERS: Nope, we’re not kidding you. Stand up. This is not a joke. C’mon.
But could investigators prove that Rod had attacked Morgan that night?
ZIP TIES AND ALARMING INTERNET SEARCHES
Morgan Metzer: Watched him get, uh, arrested, walk to the car, and be put in. It was kind of like, is this really happening?
Nikki Battiste: Was any part of you sad?
Morgan Metzer: No, not at the time. It was angry and just sore.
Even as they booked Rod for taking those pictures of Morgan and her texts, Haugh and Lyvers had already developed a theory about why Rod might have attacked her.
Sgt. Robert Haugh: I believe, he thought he was going to come in and — and rescue her and be the savior and, uh — and win her back.
Investigators hoped home security cameras would support their theory. But they quickly learned that all the video from the time of the attack had been erased through the app on Morgan’s phone that the assailant had used to unlock her back porch door when he left. Morgan’s attacker took her phone with him. It was never recovered.
Nikki Battiste: Were you ever able to retrieve those missing videos from the security company?
Sgt. Robert Haugh: No. … Once videos are deleted, they’re deleted from their cloud.
But since Morgan had a home security system, how did the attacker get in without setting off the alarm? It did not take long to figure out.
Nikki Battiste: This is the window the attacker entered?
Sgt. Dakota Lyvers: That’s correct. Right here is the, uh — the window that we found the screen was actually removed.
Sgt. Robert Haugh: That basement window … had an alarm sensor that was removed from the window and put together on the windowsill. So, if the window was to open, it would appear, you know, to the alarm system that the sensor is still making contact.
Investigators believed Rod had disabled the sensor while he was staying at Morgan’s house that week.
Morgan Metzer: I was sleeping. It was in the middle of the night.
Although the home security videos had been erased, there was other video from prior to the attack. The camera on Morgan’s front porch caught Rod earlier that evening.
Rod Metzer is seen on Morgan Metzer’s home security camera earlier in the day of the attack.
Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office
Morgan Metzer: He had sent me a picture of a check…. And he’s like, “it’s underneath your front porch.”
Sgt. Robert Haugh: It was for $56,000 and change.
Morgan says the message Rod sent with the picture of the check made it seem like he was trying to make a grand gesture.
Morgan Metzer: “You should have all the money. You deserve everything,” pretty much in a nutshell.
Sgt. Robert Haugh: I think it was to get her to come back to the house that evening because … she told Rodney she was gonna be at her parents’ house for New Year’s.
Sgt. Robert Haugh: Morgan returned to the house, retrieved it, and kind of made some sort of a — uh — of a gesture and she walked back into the house and put it on the kitchen countertop.
Morgan’s attacker took that check with him. It was never found.
Nikki Battiste: What did you find out about Rod’s finances?
Sgt. Dakota Lyvers:: That check would’ve bounced.
Sgt. Robert Haugh: Yeah, he was broke.
The day after his arrest, investigators executed search warrants on Rod’s car and his apartment. As soon as they walked through the door, they found a key piece of evidence.
Investigators executed a search warrant of Rod Metzer’s s apartment and found a bag of zip ties along with a portion of a zip tie.
Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office
Rachel Ashe: They located this bag of zip ties in his apartment. And … a portion of a zip tie.
Before arriving at her house, Morgan’s attacker had pre-looped the zip ties he’d put on her wrists.
Sgt. Dakota Lyvers: He was working in the dark. He was handcuffing somebody. You never know how much fight that person’s going to put up.
Sgt. Robert Haugh: One of the zip ties actually, um, was pretty unique because it had two, um — other zip ties that had been, uh, ratcheted onto it and then cut. And so basically what we were looking at was a — a zip tie that had two extra heads.
Haugh and Lyvers needed to find out if that portion of a zip tie, essentially a tail, found in Rod’s apartment, lined up with one of the extra heads on Morgan’s restraints. They headed to their crime lab.
Nikki Battiste: So these are the zip ties that were actually found on Morgan?
Sgt. Robert Haugh: Yes, they are.
Melanie Thrasher is a crime scene technician.
Sgt. Robert Haugh: She was able to match the — this tail to one of the heads on the zip tie for Morgan’s wrist.
A crime lab technician confirmed the portion of the zip tie found in Rod Metzer’s apartment lined up with the zip ties used on Morgan Metzer’s wrists.
Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office
The striations on the tail found in Rod’s apartment lined up exactly with those on Morgan’s zip tie. A “perfect match” said Haugh.
Nikki Battiste: What did you think when you saw this?
Sgt. Robert Haugh: That we were going to be adding charges to his, uh, existing booking. … And we had our guy. … I would’ve never, you know, imagined, uh, having a piece of evidence like this.
But the search warrant of Rod’s apartment yielded even more. There was a book —
Sgt. Robert Haugh: “7 Ways to —
Sgt. Dakota Lyvers: “To Be Her Hero.”
Sgt. Robert Haugh: — “Be Her Hero,” to — to win somebody back.
Sgt. Dakota Lyvers: That gave us the motive. … It added to that motive.
Investigators examined Rod’s browser history.
Rachel Ashe: The searches … were very disturbing.
Sgt. Robert Haugh: He was researching “how to change your voice.”
Rachel Ashe: “How long to choke somebody unconscious.”
The searches also included “How to crack an iPhone password,” “How to get sympathy from your ex” and one that was especially appalling.
Sgt. Robert Haugh: He Google searched … “cancer diagnosis letters.”
Investigators searched Rod’s outgoing emails. There they found Rod had set up a fake email account to create the pancreatic cancer diagnosis letter he’d shown Morgan. And there was more.
Rachel Ashe: He had created a bill for a doctor’s office to show that he was being treated for pancreatic cancer. … All of this in order to convince Morgan that he had pancreatic cancer.
Nikki Battiste: He wasn’t sick at all?
Rachel Ashe: No. … He did not have cancer.
Nikki Battiste: Do you think that he faked the cancer diagnosis as a way to try to get you back or as a way to get access to your house ’cause he had this plan?
Morgan Metzer: I think it was to get me back. It might have been both.
On Jan. 3, two days after the attack, Lyvers and Sergeant Tom Harris interviewed Rod. They talked to him about his health.
SGT. TOM HARRIS: You said you’re diabetic
ROD METZER: Yes.
SGT. TOM HARRIS: What other kind of health issues do you have?
ROD METZER: Nothing as far as I know of yet.
SGT. DAKOTA LYVERS: I thought you had cancer.
Lyvers confronted Rod about the cancer diagnosis he’d faked to Morgan.
SGT. DAKOTA LYVERS: How did you tell her that … this — this cancer thing?
ROD METZER: I don’t know if I should talk to you guys anymore. I’m starting to get a really bad feeling. What angle you guys are coming from.
Then Rod tried to turn the tables — by attempting to take the upper hand in the interview.
ROD METZER: I’ve already learned something about you, that your facial expressions.
SGT. DAKOTA LYVERS: Tell me.
ROD METZER: And you keep scratching yourself, and you get agitated by what I say.
SGT. DAKOTA LYVERS: I’m a 100% not agitated.
ROD METZER: Mm-hmm.
Cherokee County investigators confront Rod Metzer about the zip ties found in his apartment.
Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office
The investigators also questioned Rod about his internet searches.
SGT. TOM HARRIS: Has there been a time recently where you were interested in how you can change the sound of your voice?
ROD METZER: Maybe.
SGT. TOM HARRIS: Tell me about that.
ROD METZER: I felt like I wasn’t — my voice wasn’t manly enough.
Then Harris lowered the boom.
SGT. TOM HARRIS: The, uh, most significant thing that we found in your apartment was a collection of zip ties.
ROD METZER: Zip ties?
SGT. TOM HARRIS: Black zip ties.
ROD METZER: I don’t have zip ties.
SGT. TOM HARRIS: I know you don’t. We have ’em now.
SGT. TOM HARRIS: These are identical to the ones that were, uh, binding Morgan’s wrists.
ROD METZER: This is just starting to get squirrelly.
Harris told Rod about that zip tie tail they’d recovered.
SGT. TOM HARRIS: We compared that microscopically to the zip ties that were on Morgan’s wrists when the deputies found her. And wouldn’t you know it? It is a perfect cut.
ROD METZER: There’s something funny going on here.
SGT. TOM HARRIS: Did somebody break in and put ’em there?
ROD METZER: There’s something funny going on here.
SGT. TOM HARRIS: Like what?
ROD METZER: I don’t know.
SGT. TOM HARRIS: What do you think’s going on?
ROD METZER: I didn’t have some big-ass f****** zip ties in my apartment.
But new evidence was about to say otherwise.
ROD METZER PLEADS GUILTY
Hours after the interview with Rod Metzer concluded, he was charged with 10 counts related to the attack on Morgan Metzer — including home invasion, kidnapping, aggravated assault, and sexual battery.
MORGAN METZER: As soon as I felt that gun right here in my head, I was like —
SGT. TOM HARRIS: So, you thought —
MORGAN METZER: “All right, Jesus, I’m coming.”
The next day Morgan, with her friend Nichole by her side, talked to investigators again.
SGT. TOM HARRIS: You thought you were gonna die?
MORGAN METZER: Yep. I thought I was dead. But then also part of me was like, no, I’m not gonna, I’m not gonna let myself die. … I have gotta fight for my kids.
Harris told Morgan they’d watched the home security video of Rod arriving at her house after her attack. He rang the front doorbell but when there was no response, headed around to the back.
SGT. TOM HARRIS: I thought it was kind of interesting that he called out your name as he’s walking around the side of your house.
MORGAN METZER: Yes. … Like, why would you think I was outside.
Nikki Battiste: What was your reaction when you learned Rod had been arrested for violently attacking Morgan?
Kathy Metzer: Oh, that — that absolutely threw me under the ground. … There had to be a mistake. Rod wasn’t capable of that.
Two days after Rod was charged he talked to his mom Kathy on the phone.
ROD METZER (jail phone call): Why is she doing this to me? She knows it wasn’t me.
But the evidencekept mounting. When investigators recovered those zip ties from Rod’s apartment, the bag they came in was found as well.
Sgt. Robert Haugh: I brought up a — a, uh, my Lowe’s app on my phone and scanned the UPC code and the UPC code came back that they were in fact sold at Lowe’s.
Rachel Ashe: The sheriff’s office then went to the two Lowe’s that we have here in Cherokee County. … And they started searching for transactions.
It didn’t take long. Rod Metzer had purchased those zip ties on Dec. 30 — about 36 hours before the attack; easy to find because he paid with his debit card. Investigators obtained the security video from Lowe’s.
Rod Metzer, right, is seen in a zoomed in image from security video purchasing zip ties at a Lowe’s store on Dec. 30, 2020
Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office
Rachel Ashe: This was during COVID and this was during a period where everybody was wearing a mask, except for Rodney Metzer. So the surveillance images and the videos that were recovered from Lowe’s of him purchasing those zip ties … his face is right there in the camera.
Next came the security video from Rod’s apartment building.
Sgt. Dakota Lyvers: There’s actually one inside the, uh — the breezeway there, which leads to Rodney’s apartment specifically.
Lyvers says there was no video of Rod leaving after he said someone knocked on his window.
Sgt. Dakota Lyvers: What we do see is after the time of the incident that Morgan was attacked, Rodney come in, disheveled, in a hurry.
Rod Metzer is seen in security video leaving his apartment building carrying a plastic bag, highlighted, that had never been found. Investigators believe it has evidence Rod discarded on his drive back to his ex-wife’s house.
Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office
Just four minutes later, Rod is caught on camera again, leaving the building, wearing completely different clothes and sneakers, and carrying a plastic bag. The time stamp was 1:24 a.m.
Sgt. Robert Haugh: We never found that bag in his car when we did the search warrant.
Rachel Ashe: We just don’t know where that went.
Investigators can’t know for sure what was in that bag but believe it had evidence Rod discarded on his drive back to Morgan’s house. The attacker’s mask was never found. But Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Rachel Ashe says they had more than enough to prove Rod was guilty.
Rachel Ashe: This is a prosecutor’s dream to put up because the evidence in this case was overwhelming, overwhelming.
But Ashe says she wanted to offer Morgan an opportunity for quicker closure than a trial would bring in the form of a plea deal for Rod.
Rachel Ashe: We went through the pros and cons of letting him plead guilty, letting him accept responsibility. … We agreed, um, we should try. He took it quickly.
On Aug. 4, 2021, Rod pleaded guilty to a total of 14 counts related to Morgan’s attack and the photos found on his phone.
Sgt. Robert Haugh: He agreed to serve 25 years on a 70-year sentence. So, when he gets out in 25 years, he’ll serve another 45 years of probation.
Nikki Battiste: I think you even described it as like a death.
Morgan Metzer: It is a death. I’ve lost my husband. He’s dead to me.
At Rod’s sentencing, Morgan delivered a victim impact statement several pages long.
Morgan Metzer: Once I got started, it just started pouring outta me.
There were no cameras in the courtroom. “48 Hours” asked Morgan to read her statement. Here’s a portion of it.
Morgan Metzer (reading her victim impact statement): Rod, not only will this statement be to my attacker, but it’ll also be my last words to whom I thought was the love of my life. … The last four years being married to you was like living with a monster that constantly tried to break me down and fence me in. … It was a blessing in disguise. … I can now walk with the confidence knowing the pain you have given me is turned into power.
Morgan Metzer: I walked off that stand with a thousand pounds off of my shoulders. It felt so good. It felt empowering. And I got the last word.
Nikki Battiste: How was it to listen to your best friend read this incredibly powerful statement?
Nichole Stabasefski: It was awesome because she did not cry. … Her voice did not shake … and she said everything she needed to say, and when she was done, she was done.
Rachel Ashe: She was laying to rest this relationship. She was telling him this: “I’m never going to be yours,” right? “I’m never going to be yours.”
Rod’s actions that New Year’s Day continue to affect everyone.
Nikki Battiste: Have you been able to visit Rod in person at all?
Kathy Metzer: He hasn’t wanted me to.
Nikki Battiste: Why?
Kathy Metzer: He’s afraid of my reaction.
Rod has from Type 1 diabetes and Kathy says his health is rapidly declining in prison.
Nikki Battiste: You’re worried he could die.
Kathy Metzer: Oh, I’m absolutely worried he’s going to die.
Morgan says once the ordeal was behind her, she had to take steps so she could recover, seeking therapy to help her cope.
Morgan Metzer: Everything happens for a reason. God has everything happen for a reason. And I’m starting to see that right now. There’s just a lot of great things that are happening with us.
Morgan Metzer, right, with her best friend Nichole Stabasefski.
CBS News
She says she is focused on raising her children, and helping others who find themselves in similar circumstances.
Morgan Metzer: I’m trying to raise awareness for … narcissism and gaslighting. … I want to help women realize they’re in a situation before it gets too bad.
Nichole Stabasefski: I’m just excited to see who she continues to grow to become. … She’s … beautiful and strong and resilient. So this is just a steppingstone in her journey.
Rod Metzer’s sentence prevents him from contacting Morgan and their children in any way.
Produced by Susan Mallie. Ryan N. Smith is the development producer. Michael Loftus is the field producer. Annabelle Allen is the associate producer. Marlon Disla, Michelle Harris, and Greg Kaplan are the editor. Lourdes Aguiar is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer.
Nikki Battiste
Nikki Battiste is a CBS News national correspondent based in New York. She is an Emmy and Peabody-award winning journalist, and her reporting appears across all CBS News broadcasts and platforms.
Cook County prosecutors Friday announced an indictment against a Barrington man charged with fatally shooting his estranged girlfriend last month.
William R. Zientek, 46, is charged with first-degree murder in the Nov. 17 death of Vernon Hills endocrinologist Olga Duchon, who is the mother of their young child.
Zientek, who was remanded to Cook County Jail, will be arraigned Jan. 9 in Rolling Meadows.
After inviting Duchon to his home for a discussion, prosecutors say Zientek struck her twice in the head with a baseball bat and shot her with a gun he had previously reported stolen. Zientek’s attorney, Thomas Glasgow, says his client acted in self-defense.
According to prosecutors, the couple was conversing in Zientek’s living room when he struck and shot her. Officers responding to Zientek’s 911 call found Duchon laying on her side with a child’s blanket over her. They recovered a 9 mm handgun, spent cartridges and a baseball bat. In the attached garage, officers found a backpack containing 9 mm bullets and an empty holster.
An Uber driver took two passengers to a hospital after they were shot Friday night on the Dan Ryan Expressway in Englewood.
The driver picked up two people and entered the expressway where someone in another car fired shots at them about 9 p.m. near 59th Street, the Illinois State Police said.
The two passengers, whose ages and genders weren’t released, both suffered gunshot wounds, police said. The driver took them to a nearby hospital, where the victims were treated for injuries not considered life-threatening.
No arrests were reported, and state police are investigating.
Jordan Gainey scored on a driving layup as time expired and finished with a career-high 23 points as No. 1 Tennessee extended its season-opening winning streak to 10 games, beating Illinois 66-64 on Saturday at State Farm Center in Champaign.
After Illinois tied the game at 64 on the second of two free throws by Kasparas Jakucionis with 5.7 seconds left, Gainey took control. The Vols’ senior guard inbounded the ball to Igor Milicic, got it back and raced three-quarters the length of the court and scored over Jakucionis as time ran out.
Chaz Lanier scored 17 points for Tennessee before fouling out with 3:42 left. Milicic had 14 rebounds and a key steal and dunk with 1:32 remaining that put the Vols up 64-62.
Tennessee has won its first 10 games in a season for the first time in 25 years.
Jakucionis scored 22 points for Illinois (7-3). Tre White had 11 points and Kylan Boswell and Will Riley added 10 apiece.
Tennessee led 31-30 at halftime and finished 20 of 28 from the line. Illinois hit 30 of 36 free throw tries.
Takeaways
Tennessee: The Vols should retain their No. 1 spot in the AP poll with the win.
Illinois: The Illini failed to win the rebounding battle for the first time this season, trailing 42-37.
Key moment
Tennessee hadn’t trailed by more than three points this season before falling behind 8-0 in the first half. The Vols rallied and moved ahead at 18-17.
Key stat
Tennessee is 9-1 in games in which they are ranked No. 1 in coach Rick Barnes’ 10 seasons and is 10-2 all-time. Illinois fell to 3-23 all-time vs. No. 1-ranked teams.
Up next
Tennessee hosts Western Carolina on Tuesday. Illinois takes on Missouri on Dec. 22 in St. Louis.
Based purely on the post-game comments and mood of Rich’s players and coach Lou Adams, no one would imagine the No. 10 Raptors beat No. 16 Waukegan 72-59 on Saturday at Crete-Monee.
“There is no excuse for the way we are playing,” Adams said. “We are throwing it away, 24 turnovers. At some point, we will catch fire.”
Last year’s edition of Rich showed tantalizing glimpses of greatness but lacked consistency. That has continued so far this season.
Junior guard Jamson Coulter is currently slowed a bit with a blister on his foot. The talented transfers from Hansberry, brothers Al and Ikee Brooks, are still integrating with the team.
“It’s been good overall,” Al Brooks said. “It started off a little rough, but we are coming together.”
Brooks, a 6-7 senior, had 23 points, 10 rebounds and three steals. But Adams wants more.
“He could be one of the best players to come out of here if he puts it together,” Adams said. “He takes plays off. You can’t take plays off.”
Waukegan (5-2) opened eyes with a win at Warren early in the month but has been without junior Simereon Carter since that game. He missed a loss to Christ The King and a win against Lake Zurich.
“We are being very cautious with him,” Bulldogs coach Ron Ashlaw said. “He has a sore shoulder. But that’s 23 points right there.”
To make matters worse, Waukegan junior Jaali Love picked up two fouls in the first 18 seconds of the game. But the Bulldogs never went away. The team’s chemistry is evident. They play hard on defense and move the ball well.
Rich (2-2) led 38-32 and built a 14-point lead late in the third quarter, but Waukegan battled back. A free throw by Adrian Serrano with 2:29 left cut the Raptors lead to 62-57.
Brooks responded with back-to-back buckets for Rich to end the threat. Coulter finished with 17 points and junior Jayden Williams added 15 points.
“We had too many turnovers,” Brooks said. “We have to slow down. We missed a couple of defensive assignments too. When everything is clicking and we are locked in on defense we are unbeatable.”
Xavi Granville led Waukegan with 25 points and eight rebounds. Serrano scored 11 and junior guard point guard Carter Newsome added eight points while blending it together.
“Our chemistry is off the charts in practice,” Ashlaw said. “Making the leap to game night is a little bit of a hiccup at times. I haven’t team every team in the state but [Rich] is probably in the top handful by pure talent. We just felt a little empty on our side vs. who they are.”
