Life without parole
By Kenneth Fine
Published in News on October 17, 2014 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Gary Metzger reacts to being found guilty of first-degree murder in the 2011 death of Jean Metzger Hubbard. Superior Court Judge Arnold Jones sentenced him to life in prison. At left is Metzger's attorney, Bill Gerrans.
Moments after a jury convicted Gary Metzger of first-degree murder for his role in the 2011 strangulation of his sister, Jean Hubbard, Wayne County Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Arnold Jones sentenced the man to life in prison without the possibility of parole -- characterizing the murder as an act "as heinous as any I have seen."
Metzger, who was visibly agitated after the verdict was read -- dismissing his lawyer, Bill Gerrans, via hand gestures and removing the hair tie that had secured, during the trial, his long hair into a ponytail -- was then taken into custody.
Assistant District Attorney Matthew Delbridge spent several moments in quiet reflection -- his head bowed and eyes closed -- before making a statement.
"Jean Hubbard was a simple person that had no family, status or wealth," he said. "But she possessed a humble spirit that was deserving of the consideration this jury gave her case."
The men and women who found Metzger guilty deliberated for less than an hour.
Gerrans had hoped that testimony regarding his client's mental state would sway them toward a lesser charge of second-degree murder, but the expert in the field of clinical psychology who was supposed to be a star witness for the defense might well have contributed to the first-degree conviction.
Thursday, the jury heard Delbridge repeat, over and over again, a portion of Dr. Claudia Coleman's "expert" testimony during the closing argument he delivered several hours after the psychologist stepped down from the stand.
"What did she have to say? 'Gary Metzger told me that he strangled her and put a plastic bag over her head to make sure she was dead,'" Delbridge said. "What else do you got to assume to know he's guilty of first-degree murder based on that?"
Gerrans filed an appeal on behalf of his client, but said he would not be the attorney handling it.
Gerrans' strategy, from the beginning, seemed to be dominated by the defendant's mental state.
He called two local doctors to the stand who testified that Metzger was seen at Wayne Memorial Hospital and Waynesboro Family Clinic in connection with an alleged suicide attempt.
And Dr. Coleman told the court that during her six sessions with Metzger, she learned a great deal about his past -- that the information she was privy to helped lead her to diagnoses of both PTSD and depression.
Delbridge, though, had another theory.
He unwrapped, during what turned into a contentious cross-examination of Coleman, how Metzger only seemed to be mentally ill when it was beneficial for him -- after he lost his job, when he applied for disability and after he was arrested for murder.
And the doctor acknowledged that most of the information that resulted in her diagnoses was provided to her by Metzger himself -- that she was aware that several months before Ms. Hubbard's death, the state had denied the defendant's request for disability benefits and concluded that he was not, in fact, mentally ill.
Gerrans seemed to take exception to the implication that his client was lying.
"We can sit here and belittle mental health and you can say, 'Well, different doctors said different things,' but if you went to builders, they might build a house differently. ... It doesn't mean one's wrong and another's right."
Delbridge said it would be inappropriate, at this time, to comment on whether or not the state will move forward with its first-degree murder case against Metzger's wife, Ann.
The state has contended, since Ms. Hubbard's remains were discovered in a wooded area off Millers Chapel Road Aug. 4, 2011, that the Metzgers acted in concert -- that both are guilty of murder.
No court date has been set for Mrs. Metzger's trial.
Thursday's witnesses included:
Defense Witness No. 3, Wayne County Department of Social Services employee Vida Hamm: Told the court that she has been a social worker for 16 years -- that she got involved with the Metzger family in 2011 after someone reported, to the agency "neglect" and "domestic violence." She testified that Gary and Ann Metzger's two children were, eventually, removed from the home as a result of DSS's investigation.
Defense Witness No. 4, clinical psychologist Dr. Claudia Coleman: Told the court that she has been a licensed clinical psychologist for more than 30 years -- that her work often involves people who have been charged with crimes. After being recognized by Wayne County Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Arnold Jones as an expert witness, she testified that she first met Gary Metzger several weeks after he was charged with first-degree murder -- that she has met with him six times since his arrest.
Coleman told the court that she diagnosed Metzger with post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition she believes he has been suffering from since he was physically and sexually abused as a child.
The doctor testified that she believes Metzger was mentally ill the day he killed his sister -- that he still, to this day, suffers from PTSD and depression; that his condition played a role in his actions.
"By the time I saw him ... he continued to have some symptoms of PTSD," she said.
"Any time that Mr. Metzger becomes emotionally overwhelmed because of his depression disorder and because of his PTSD, he is very susceptible to becoming overwhelmed emotionally and not being able to think through things and process his emotions very well and to be reactive and impulsive," she said. "I think his capacity to make plans would (have been) impaired. ... He was impulsive. ... (His actions were) emotionally based, not cognitively based."
Assistant District Attorney Matthew Delbridge was not moved by the doctor's testimony.
During cross-examination, he asked her what her diagnoses -- and her claim that Metzger was abused as a child -- were based on. Coleman said she relied, primarily, on her patient's word.
And the prosecutor walked the witness through a timeline of the defendant's mental health claims -- asking her to acknowledge that with every mental health issue, a disability claim soon followed.
Their discussion became contentious, at times, when Delbridge asked Coleman to describe, for the court, what Metzger told her about the way he murdered Ms. Hubbard.
After a heated back and forth, the doctor said the defendant told her he strangled her with his hands and then secured two plastic bags over her head to "make sure she was dead."
Delbridge also questioned whether Metzger truly had PTSD -- asking the doctor why, during a stressful interview with police several days before his sister's body was discovered, Metzger did not show signs of mental illness.
And he made it clear, to the jury, that Coleman was hired as a defense witness -- that she makes more than $100,000 a year "looking for ways" to help people charged with crimes.
Defense Witness No. 5, Tara Hamilton: Told the court that she shared a prison cell with Ann Metzger in 2011 after the woman was charged with first-degree murder for her alleged role in Ms. Hubbard's death.
She testified that after listening to various stories told by Mrs. Metzger, she became "uncomfortable" and went to the police. She read part of a statement she gave to Goldsboro police officers in 2011 and told the court that the woman said she was not worried about being charged with murder because her husband was going to take the fall.
Ms. Hamilton also alleged that her cellmate "bragged" about extorting nearly $70,000 from Ms. Hubbard -- and that the reason the woman was killed was because she told the Metzgers she could no longer provide them with money.
-- News-Argus staff writer John Joyce contributed to this report.