The trial has commenced this week in Georgia for a 26-year-old man charged with the murder of a married couple in their newly purchased residence. The suspect is accused of breaking into the home, fatally shooting both parents, and leaving their 2-year-old son alone and bloodstained for approximately 12 hours before authorities arrived at the scene.

Matthew Scott Lanz is facing a multitude of felony charges, which include several counts of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and child cruelty related to the 2021 killings of Justin Hicks and Amber Hicks. The tragic event took place in front of their young son, Jacob Hicks. Justin Hicks was known for his six-year tenure with the Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services Department.

In Georgia, the legal system does not categorize murder by degrees as in many other states. Instead, it distinguishes between malice murder, defined as killing someone with the intent to cause harm, and felony murder, which occurs when a death results from the commission of a 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 prosecutors, on the evening of November 19, 2021, the couple was peacefully “cuddled up on the couch” watching TV, unaware of the danger lurking outside their home. Prosecutors claim that the intruder was Matthew Lanz.

“At approximately 10 p.m. that night, this family’s worst nightmare came true,” stated the prosecutor. “The back window was broken into around 10 p.m. The Hicks were caught off guard. They were defenseless. They were executed.”

The prosecutor also said the state had evidence that following the shooting, Jacob “tried to cuddle with his parents” and “tried to play with his parents” as they laid lifeless on the couch. Several of the toddler’s toys were allegedly found on and around Justin Hicks’ body.

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.