Nikki Batiste
Appearances
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
Like she thought, as she told me in the hour, she was going to die. Yeah. And they said, well, that's the aggravated assault charge. That's for the strangulation. But I think it's a really good question. I think Morgan really struggled with that because I think she believed certainly at some points that he intended to kill her.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
I don't think she's actively concerned about her safety. He is not allowed to contact her. I think she hopes that he'll respect that. I think at the moment she feels OK. I think right now she's just sort of in the present and trying to take care of her kids. 25 years is still a long time. So I think right now she's she's OK.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
So after the 25 years in prison, he then has 45 years of probation. He's not allowed to contact Morgan even during the probation. So basically, that is the end of his relationship with his children as well.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
I know. I struggle with that, too. We're parents, so it's hard to imagine. And the one thing I'll say about Morgan, and I respect this, I'm sure a lot of the audience will, that even given what she's gone through and... Rod's in prison, having pleaded guilty to these crimes.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
She's told us that whenever her children who are young still bring up their dad, she talks about the memories like she tries to keep him in a good light for them. You know, the dad that he was, the dad that they knew. And I think that really shows a lot of grace on her part.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
At the moment, according to Rod's mom, they don't. It was clear to me that Rod's mom, Kathy, would love to see her grandchildren. But I think out of respect for Morgan, she hasn't. And I'm sure that's difficult for her how that will transpire in time.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
Does she believe he's guilty? I asked her several times if she thought Rod was guilty. She never said either way that she did believe he was guilty or not guilty. What she did say is that he pleaded guilty. That was her response to my repeatedly asking her about his guilt. I think she spoke to 48 Hours because she's still his mom. She still loves him.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
She did tell me that he'd been through quite a bit of trauma. lost a baby at 18 days, obviously crushing for anyone. So I think that she feels her son was broken in a way and wanted to make sure that someone spoke for him.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
So much. It was really... My heart broke for her because she has lost both sons in a way. She lost a grandchild. She lost her husband and her only surviving son is in prison. She speaks to him by phone often in prison and she's worried about him. Did she talk about how those conversations go with Rod from prison?
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
We were able to listen to snippets of a small number of calls between Rod and his mom. And this was earlier on when he was in prison. And initially, you know, it's a mom worried about her son. She's trying to figure out what's going on legally. She's trying to see what he needs. He's diabetic. And I think currently she's mostly worried about his health. She is depressed.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
told me she's worried he will die in prison. His diabetes has gotten so bad. And she says the prison isn't providing the care that he needs, the medical care that he needs.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
I saw her again after we sat down for quite some time. We chatted again in Georgia and asked her how she's doing and She said, you know, things are going pretty well. She's trying to rebuild her life. She wants to help other women and men who've been through something like this, gaslighting. She spoke at a domestic violence event recently to share her story and try to help women.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
She's remarkably strong. And I'm glad you brought that up, actually, because we talked for it had to have been about two hours the first time we sat down. And I don't know that she was emotional at all, maybe briefly. And I was struck by that. And I believe I said that to her in the interview. I'm struck by how strong. strong you are. It's amazing given what you've been through.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
And then we learned that during her victim impact statement in court, she doesn't cry once. You know, she's just strong. It's notable and it's noticeable how strong she is.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
I think in the moment she believed he had pancreatic cancer and was worried enough about him that she actually took him back into her house to try to take care of him. And she was saying, look, you need to tell your family. He hadn't told anyone else at that point and he didn't want to. And she started to get frustrated.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
Later, after this assault transpires and she reflects and investigators tell her, look, this was a fake diagnosis. We have a fake letter from a doctor, a fake email account, you know, fake bill. I asked her that question. I said, do you think that this was a way to try to get back to you? Do you think this was just part of his bigger plan?
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
And she does think, reflecting, that it was in an effort to try to get her to feel badly for him, take him in.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
I don't think he thought this out. It's one of the deadliest cancers. And his younger brother had passed away from leukemia. And yet he does this.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
One thing I will say, what is unique is that Morgan did leave him eventually. She did. Which we don't always see. But I think the gaslighting was gradual and became more severe. She also tells us a story in The Hour about Rod essentially throwing himself down the stairs and then telling their kids that she had pushed him. Right. And her best friend also told us...
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
That Rod would make Morgan believe that she was crazy, that this was her fault for some reason or another. And, you know, gaslighting has become a term that we hear so often now.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
Okay, so sometimes with 911 calls, you sort of get an inkling that it's not legit, right? I mean, he sounds reasonably concerned. Does anything stand out about the 911 call? He...
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
Makes a move that investigators told us was very suspicious, and he basically offers the 911 operator an alibi saying, I was home and I heard a knock on my window. And we know from many of the true crime stories that we've covered that. It's a token move by men and women who ultimately are convicted of their crimes. Right. So immediately that that alerted the investigators.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
I just found my wife and she's, you know, beaten badly. Oh, I was home and someone knocked on my window. That wasn't necessary. Ah.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
I think this is a question a lot of the viewers will have because you feel like you just know your husband, especially someone you've known for years. But She has indicated that it crossed her mind it might be Rod earlier than that, but it was really that moment, that lifting of her off the bed that made her positive it was him. She knew that feeling.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
He was very sort of delicate in doing it like she was when she was pregnant. And I think if people are saying, well, how could she not know it was him? Look, to the same point is the father of her children, the man she's loved for 20 years, she doesn't want to believe that it's him. And so she... is avoiding believing that it's him until she just can't anymore. She's like, I know that feeling.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
No, I said to the lead detectives, when you saw how violent the attack was, what did that tell you? And it's personal. It's personal. And it turned out it was. Yeah.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
I think we all wonder that. I think only Rod knows what his actual intention was on the way to her house that night.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
I think any good investigator immediately looks at an iPhone, a cell phone, because it's really a roadmap of our minds, our movements. It tells a whole story.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
I think what struck me is that Anyone who watches True Crime knows that sometimes in interrogations, investigators might say something that isn't entirely true to try to get something out of someone they're questioning. But in this case, Seven Ways to Be Her Hero is not a book most people have. And Rod Metzer knew he had that book. Rod Metzer knew he had zip ties.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
Rod Metzer had to have known what they were saying were facts and that they knew they were onto him and that they'd seen this evidence. And the fact that he was still... Playing dumb, essentially, for lack of a better word, just didn't make any sense to me. Like, I didn't understand. You're not helping yourself. And it was honestly his demeanor was just pretty brazen, I think.
48 Hours
Post Mortem | The “Batman” Intruder
I think it's a great question. It's a question that Morgan herself asked the investigators, and they told her that essentially because Rod, he had a gun, didn't shoot her, one. And two, took her off the bed and... Put her out on the porch knowing she was fully alive, saved him from an attempted murder charge. And she said, well, but what about the strangulation?