Prosecutor: Money motive for killing
By Kenneth Fine
Published in News on October 14, 2014 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Assistant District Attorney Matt Delbridge delivers his opening statements during the murder trial of Gary Metzger on Monday morning in Wayne County Superior Court. Metzger and his wife, Ann, are charged with killing his sister, Jean Hubbard. Ann Metzger will be tried separately.
But video footage from that ATM was not the only thing jurors saw play out on the large television screen positioned in front of them inside a Wayne County courtroom Monday.
They also watched, from several different angles, footage captured that same evening at the Spence Avenue Walmart.
Law enforcement officials are expected to testify that the man and woman seen, on those videos, parking a car, walking into the store, withdrawing, using Ms. Hubbard's debit card, a large sum of money, and leaving the store, were the Metzgers.
Assistant District Attorney Matthew Delbridge said, during his opening statement, that Ms. Hubbard was murdered because of the nearly $90,000 her mother, Ruth, left her in her will -- money the woman specifically instructed Ms. Hubbard not to give to her adopted son, Metzger.
"You know how much Gary got from the estate? Zero. Because in Ruth's will, she specifically disinherited (him)," Delbridge said. "The evidence will show that the defendant ... was a resentful and greedy man back in 2011."
To build that case, the DA called several financial experts to the stand during the first day of testimony -- bankers and security personnel who testified about the large sum of money Ms. Hubbard had after her mother died -- and how it nearly was gone by the day Ms. Hubbard went missing.
The state was scheduled to continue building its case this morning.
Monday's witnesses included:
State Witness No. 1, Anita McCormick: Told the court that she has worked at the Goldsboro News-Argus for 10 years -- that Ms. Hubbard used to drive her to and from work. She characterized Ms. Hubbard as a "very nice lady" and "friend."
State Witness No. 2, Millie Davis: Told the court that she currently works at the Goldsboro News-Argus as a supervisor -- that Ms. Hubbard was, before her death, one of her employees. She said she grew concerned back in 2011 that something had happened to Ms. Hubbard after she failed to show up July 30 for her Saturday evening/Sunday morning shift at the newspaper. When Ms. Hubbard failed to show up again that Monday, she told her supervisor who, consequently, notified police. Ms. Davis told the court that she went to Ms. Hubbard's home several times after she went missing in hopes she would see the woman return. When asked when she stopped going to the house, Ms. Davis said, "When they found the body."
State Witness No. 3, Debbie Pennell: Told the court that she works as the human resources manager and executive assistant to the publisher of the Goldsboro News-Argus. Mrs. Pennell told the court she saw Ms. Hubbard nearly every day when the woman delivered newspapers throughout the building -- that she was quiet and kept to herself. Mrs. Pennell also said that after Millie Davis came to her and said she was concerned something was wrong with Ms. Hubbard, she was the one who called the Goldsboro Police Department to file a missing persons report.
State Witness No. 4, Suzette Williamson: Told the court that she works at First Citizens Bank -- that she knew Ms. Hubbard from her days as a customer there. She testified that she was aware that Ms. Hubbard had, at some point before her death, come into a large sum of money. And she told the court that on one occasion, Ms. Hubbard came into the bank with her sister-in-law, Ann Metzger -- that during a private meeting, Ms. Hubbard told her that she needed to withdrawal a large sum of money for Mrs. Metzger because her children had been kidnapped.
State Witness No. 5, Joseph Williams: Told the court that he works for First Citizens Bank -- that he was notified about suspicious activity associated with Ms. Hubbard's account. He told the court that employees at one of the Wayne County branches told him about Ann Metzger -- and how the woman was receiving quite a bit of money from Ms. Hubbard. He also felt that Ms. Hubbard was, during at least one of the occasions where she showed up with Mrs. Metzger at the bank, "under duress."
State Witness No. 6, Sharon Crabbe: Told the court she works for First Citizens Bank as a financial crimes investigator -- that she became aware of the many transactions that took place between Ms. Hubbard and Ann Metzger after she was contacted by Joseph Williams. "The concern was withdrawals that were being made from Ms. Hubbard's account by Ann Metzger," she said. She told the court she placed a "hard hold" on Ms. Hubbard's account and reached out to the woman to address the "suspicious" activity in September 2010. She testified that Ms. Hubbard had nearly $90,000 at one point -- but that by July 2011, her balance was less than $100. She told the court that, in her opinion, Ms. Hubbard was "uncomfortable with the activity -- the checks that she was writing -- and would like the activity to stop." The witness said she told Ms. Hubbard that the bank would no longer cash checks made out to Mrs. Metzger -- but that after that, Ms. Hubbard would come into the bank by herself and withdrawal large sums of cash.
State Witness No. 7, Brian Stevenson: Told the court that back in 2011, he worked at AutoZone -- that he sold a car battery to a man and was later questioned by police about that transaction. He testified that he could not remember what the man looked like.
State Witness No. 8, Jon Mallaper: Told the court that he is the senior fraud and security officer for the State Employees' Credit Union -- that he was asked, by law enforcement, to pull still photographs from video footage captured at several SECU ATMs in Wayne County. During his testimony, the state published, to the jury, photographs and video footage of the defendant withdrawing money from the machine July 30, 2011, using Ms. Hubbard's ATM card. Mallaper told the court that the footage was not manipulated and detailed how ATM video is stored and saved.
State Witness No. 9, Jesse Futch: Told the court that he is a manager at Walmart -- that he oversees the security and surveillance systems. He testified that he pulled various video clips from the Spence Avenue store's parking lot and inside the building. While he was on the stand, the state published, to the jury, video clips that they say depict the defendant and his wife, Ann Metzger, parking a car, walking into the store, withdrawing money from an in-store ATM using Ms. Hubbard's debit card and, finally, leaving the store.