Main: Justin and Amber Hicks with their then-2-year-old son, Jacob (GoFundMe). Inset: Matthew S. Lanz in court during opening arguments on Nov. 17 (Law&Crime/YouTube).
This week marks the commencement of the trial for a 26-year-old man in Georgia, charged with the murder of a couple in their newly-purchased residence. The suspect allegedly broke into the home, fatally shot the couple, and left their 2-year-old son alone and bloodied for nearly 12 hours until law enforcement intervened.
Matthew Scott Lanz is facing numerous felony charges, including multiple counts of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and child cruelty, stemming from the 2021 killings of Justin and Amber Hicks. The couple was reportedly murdered in front of their young son, Jacob Hicks. Justin Hicks had served as a firefighter with the Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services for six years.
Georgia law distinguishes murder not by degrees but by intent. It differentiates between malice murder, which involves premeditated intent to kill, and felony murder, where a death occurs during the commission of another felony.
During opening statements on Monday, prosecutors said the couple were killed just over two months after moving into “their dream home” on Cameron Glen Drive in Atlanta.
According to the prosecution, on the night of November 19, 2021, the couple was relaxing on the couch watching television, oblivious to an intruder outside. Prosecutors claim that intruder was Matthew Lanz.
“At approximately 10 p.m. that evening, the family’s worst nightmare unfolded,” stated the prosecutor. “Their back window was shattered around that time, catching the Hicks completely off guard. They were helpless and ultimately murdered.”
The prosecution also presented evidence indicating that after the shooting, young Jacob attempted to interact with his unresponsive parents, leaving his toys scattered around Justin Hicks’ body in a heartbreaking display of innocence.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, Lanz lived just around the corner from the the Hicks family, whose new home shared a backyard fence with Lanz, who lived with his parents on Delphinium Boulevard.
The previous owner of the Hicks home, Phillip Brent, said Lanz and his older brother conducted a “long harassment campaign” against him and his fiance when they lived in the home.
The day after the Justin Hicks and Amber Hicks were killed, officers with the Sandy Springs Police Department responded to a call about a possible break-in at a home located on Cameron Glen Drive, Atlanta Fox affiliate WAGA-TV reported. A patrol car was reportedly already in the area because someone called 911 minutes earlier and reported a suspicious person in the area.
“Once our officers arrived, they confronted the perpetrator still inside the house,” Sgt. Sal Ortega told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “At some point, a struggle took place where the suspect attacked one of our officers, stabbing him multiple times throughout his body. At least one other responding officer shot at the suspect in an attempt to stop the stabbing.”
The officer sustained multiple stab wounds to the neck and back. Lanz was also reportedly shot twice by officers. Both the wounded officer and the suspect were rushed to Grady Hospital for treatment. Both Lanz and the injured officer survived.
In the summer of 2021, the defendant’s older brother, Austin Lanz, made national headlines when he attacked Officer George Gonzalez of the Pentagon Police at a bus station near the federal building. The attack reportedly happened “immediately” and “without provocation” as soon as Austin Lanz stepped off a bus. Austin Lanz then used Gonzalez’s service weapon to kill himself.
Prior to fatally stabbing Gonzalez, Austin Lanz had been charged with breaking into the same house where Justin and Amber Hicks were killed, though Brent owned it at the time.
