Man executed couple, left blood-covered toddler in home who 'tried to cuddle' and 'play' with parents' lifeless bodies: Prosecutor

Trial began this week for a 26-year-old antheral successful Georgia accused of murdering a joined mates successful their caller home, allegedly breaking into the location and gunning down the 2 parents and leaving their 2-year-old lad unsocial and covered successful blood for astir 12 hours earlier authorities arrived.

Matthew Scott Lanz is facing a spate of felony charges, including aggregate counts of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and cruelty to children successful the 2021 slayings of Justin Hicks and Amber Hicks, some of whom were killed successful beforehand of their son, Jacob Hicks. Justin Hicks was a six-year seasoned of the Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services Department.

Unlike astir states, Georgia does not delineate execution by degrees. Instead, the instrumentality differentiates betwixt malice murder, sidesplitting idiosyncratic with malice aforethought, and felony murder, causing someone's decease successful the committee of a felony.

During opening statements connected Monday, prosecutors said the mates were killed conscionable implicit 2 months aft moving into "their imagination home" connected Cameron Glen Drive successful Atlanta.

On the nighttime of Nov. 19, 2021, prosecutors said, the parent and begetter were "cuddled up connected the couch" and watching TV, not knowing that "there was idiosyncratic lurking connected the extracurricular of their home." That person, prosecutors asserted, was Matthew Lanz.

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"At astir 10 p.m. that night, this family's worst nightmare came true," the authoritative said. "Around 10 p.m., the backmost model was breached into. The Hicks were unaware. They were defenseless. They were executed."

The authoritative besides said the authorities had grounds that pursuing the shooting, Jacob "tried to cuddle with his parents" and "tried to play with his parents" arsenic they laid lifeless connected the couch. Several of the toddler's toys were allegedly recovered connected and astir Justin Hicks' body.

As previously reported by Law&Crime, Lanz lived conscionable astir the country from the the Hicks family, whose caller location shared a backyard obstruction with Lanz, who lived with his parents connected Delphinium Boulevard.

The erstwhile proprietor of the Hicks home, Phillip Brent, said Lanz and his older member conducted a "long harassment campaign" against him and his fiance erstwhile they lived successful the home.

The time aft the Justin Hicks and Amber Hicks were killed, officers with the Sandy Springs Police Department responded to a telephone astir a imaginable break-in astatine a location located connected Cameron Glen Drive, Atlanta Fox affiliate WAGA-TV reported. A patrol car was reportedly already successful the country due to the fact that idiosyncratic called 911 minutes earlier and reported a suspicious idiosyncratic successful the area.

"Once our officers arrived, they confronted the perpetrator inactive wrong the house," Sgt. Sal Ortega told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "At immoderate point, a conflict took spot wherever the fishy attacked 1 of our officers, stabbing him aggregate times passim his body. At slightest 1 different responding serviceman changeable astatine the fishy successful an effort to halt the stabbing."

The serviceman sustained aggregate stab wounds to the cervix and back. Lanz was besides reportedly changeable doubly by officers. Both the wounded serviceman and the fishy were rushed to Grady Hospital for treatment. Both Lanz and the injured serviceman survived.

In the summertime of 2021, the defendant's older brother, Austin Lanz, made nationalist headlines erstwhile helium attacked Officer George Gonzalez of the Pentagon Police astatine a autobus presumption adjacent the national building. The onslaught reportedly happened "immediately" and "without provocation" arsenic soon arsenic Austin Lanz stepped disconnected a bus. Austin Lanz past utilized Gonzalez's work limb to termination himself.

Prior to fatally stabbing Gonzalez, Austin Lanz had been charged with breaking into the aforesaid house wherever Justin and Amber Hicks were killed, though Brent owned it astatine the time.