Murder trial is delayed
By John Joyce
Published in News on July 15, 2013 4:14 PM
jjoyce@newsargus.com
The murder trial of a Wayne County couple charged in the 2011 death of a 66-year-old woman will have to wait.
Gary Metzger, 55, and his wife, Ann, 35, are accused in the murder of Jean Metzger Hubbard, Gary Metzger's sister.
Prosecutors with the Wayne County District Attorney's Office were prepared to go to trial this week, but will now have to wait for the defense to receive records that demonstrate Metzger's alleged long-standing psychological issues.
"The records are supposed to indicate he had an atrocious upbringing," Assistant District Attorney Matt Delbridge said late last week.
Once the records are obtained, the defense will likely take time to review them and to make motions on their clients' behalf -- all factors that could delay the trial even more, Delbridge said.
In fairness to the defendants and their counsel, the prosecutor said he could not go into more detail about the case.
Metzger and his wife allegedly killed Ms. Hubbard in their home and stuffed her body into a closet. The next day, the body was allegedly moved to a wooded area near the couple's home on Country View Drive, wrapped in a sheet and buried in a shallow grave covered by tree limbs and debris, where it lay undiscovered for two days.
Once the body was found, Goldsboro police, who had received a tip that the Metzgers might have been involved in Ms. Hubbard's death, determined that the couple should be considered suspects and began a search for them. They eluded law enforcement officers for several hours by hiding in the heavily wooded area near their home before they were apprehended.
Police reportedly discovered that the couple had tried to use Ms. Hubbard's ATM card at several locations and went to several financial institutions to try to access her accounts.
Metzger allegedly confessed to having killed his sister at his home. Investigators have not released the cause of her death.
No date for the trial has been set. Gary and Ann Metzger have both been charged with first-degree murder and could face the death penalty if prosecutors decide to pursue it.
According to police, Ms. Hubbard had earlier obtained a restraining order against Ann Metzger.
Ms. Hubbard was first reported missing when she did not show up at work for several days. She was employed by The News-Argus.