Naman Shrestha
A family-oriented 60-year-old Ann Metz met her unexpected and tragic demise in 2009. When the police found her body and the news of the murder of the mother of two broke out, a wave of grief and concern took over the entire community. In the episode titled ‘I Love My Wife’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘American Monster,’ intricate details about the case, including the investigation and conviction of the perpetrator, are covered. Besides that, the loved ones of the victim also feature in the episode and talk about Ann and the impact her death had on their lives.
Ann Metz Was Found Murdered in Her House
Ann Sue Young Metz was born on December 6, 1948, in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, but she spent most of her childhood in Maryland, where she was raised by her loving parents, Katherine Cuzic Young and Raymond B. Young Sr. Growing up, she was accompanied by her four sisters — Alice Hilderbrand, Ramona Martin, Rita Wilt, and Kathleen Fair — and two brothers — Raymond B. Young Jr. and Patrick J. Young. Since she was a bright student at Governor Thomas Johnson High School in Frederick, Maryland, she graduated with flying colors. After completing her education, she bagged a job at the National Geographic Society, where she was employed for nearly three decades.
During her stint at the scientific organization, she made many friends but made a special connection with Kathy Burress, a co-worker turned best friend. Being a nature and animal lover, Ann was known to provide a nursing refuge for box turtles and raise them like a mother. Meanwhile, by the late 60s, she had fallen in love with a guy named Marshall Franklin Metz Sr. and made their relationship official in the eyes of the law by getting married. The couple raised two children together — Phyllis A. Toms and Jimmy Trout.
Ann was described as a helpful person with hobbies such as yardsaling, crocheting, and participating in Relay for Life. Moreover, she was into football and supported the Dallas Cowboys. After her children became parents, she loved spending time with her grandchildren, whom she considered her world. However, her dreams of watching them grow up were shattered when the 60-year-old died on September 29, 2009. She was found with two fatal gunshot wounds to her chest by the authorities in her Frederick residence. Although she was immediately rushed to Frederick Memorial Hospital, she passed away on the way. At the crime scene, the police set up a perimeter and began searching for any incriminating evidence to catch the perpetrator responsible for the murder.
Threats From a Loved One Resulted in Ann Metz’s Demise
As the investigators started interrogating potential witnesses, family members, and friends of Ann Metz, they learned that the marriage between Ann and Marshall had deteriorated over the decades. When Ann gave away $12,000 to her son, Jimmy, so that he could establish his own business about four years earlier, Marshall threatened him and asked him to return the money. He made a big deal out of it, leading to many arguments and threats, allegedly from Marshall’s side. Due to the threats, Ann decided to take away most of the guns owned by her husband when they separated and give them to her son. After spending almost four decades with Marshall, Ann went to stay with her best friend, Kathy, in a secure Frederick condominium after the separation.
However, she still went to her house to work on the computer, feed her box turtles, and talk to her husband. About a month before the fateful day, Ann saw a gun at the Metz residence and got rattled because she was under the impression that she had gotten rid of all the guns from the house. According to Kathy, Marshall used to call her at all hours of the night, and when Ann refused to pick up his call, he threatened them a few days before the demise of the mother of two. When the detectives questioned Marshall, who had to be admitted to the hospital for a while right after the shooting due to a heart condition, he claimed that on September 29, 2009, his wife came over to the house to use the computer.
According to him, when they started arguing, she pulled out a gun from the desk, and the two got involved in a struggle for the firearm. During the struggle, it went off, and the bullet hit Ann twice, as per his claims. He told the police that he covered her body and called 911 in a state of shock. After his confession, the suspect was immediately handcuffed and charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and use of a handgun in the commission of a violent crime. While he was in custody, he managed to sell their family house and take total control of all her assets, using the money to fund his criminal defense. A few months into the murder of Ann, her children filed a $21 million wrongful-death lawsuit against the accused.
Marshall Metz Died While Serving His Life Term
Almost a year into the tragic death of Ann Metz, Marshall Franklin Metz Sr. stood on trial for the same in September 2010. Despite the arguments from the defense, the jury found the testimonies from witnesses and pieces of evidence presented by the prosecutors enough to find him guilty of the crime. Thus, 66-year-old Marshall was convicted of first-degree murder for shooting his estranged wife to death. A month later, in late October, he was sentenced to life in prison for the first-degree charge and twenty years for the handgun violation. During the sentencing, Marshall addressed the court and claimed, “I loved my wife to death. There’s no way in the world I could do anything like that. That’s bull.”
He also stated, “I’ve been suffering in jail for a year for nothing … for saving my own life. She meant to kill me. That is the truth. My wife shot herself.” A year after getting convicted, he also agreed to pay $500,000 in damages to her estate, bringing the wrongful death lawsuit to a close. In 2013, the Ann Sue Metz Law was passed by the government that prevents an individual from inheriting property or money from their intentional victim. After Marshall had served five years of his sentence, Jimmy received an alarming message informing him that his stepfather had been released from custody. When he dug deeper into it, he learned that the convict had died while serving his sentence.
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