Justin Hicks Georgia firefighter and wife Amber found murdered at their Acworth, Cobb County home. Matthew Lanz arrested after going on a burglary spree in the neighborhood.
A 22-year-old man has been arrested following a crime spree that left a Georgia firefighter and his wife murdered along with a police officer injured.
Matthew Lanz, of Acworth, is accused of killing Timothy Justin Hicks and Amber Hicks, both 31, at their home in the same town on Wednesday night, according to Cobb County police.
Sandy Springs police say Lanz is also responsible for stabbing an officer and burglarizing at least two homes in the town on Friday.
Cobb County police say officers discovered Justin and Amber dead from gunshot wounds after responding to the Hicks’ Acworth home on Thursday shortly after 9:30 a.m. local time. A 2-year-old toddler was found unharmed inside WSBTV reported.
Officials said Hicks had been with the Cherokee County firefighting department for more than six years.
Series of home burglaries
Sandy Springs police responded to a call shortly after 8:30 a.m, Friday morning regarding a burglary in progress at a home on Cameron Glen Drive. Officers were at the scene of another reported burglary on a nearby street when they were alerted to the break-in.
Upon their arrival, Sandy Springs police say officers located and confronted Lanz inside the home. After attempting to subdue the suspect with a taser, Lanz allegedly ran toward one officer and ‘stabbed him multiple times.’ A second officer shot the suspect ‘in an attempt to stop the stabbing.’
The injured official was tended to by a third officer before he was rushed to GradyHealth Hospital in stable condition. On Saturday, Sandy Springs police announced the officer has been released and is doing extremely well while recovering at home.
Lanz was also taken to a local hospital with undisclosed injuries before he was arrested and booked at Fulton County Jail. Another officer was injured by a bullet fragment that hit his hand, per Sandy Springs police.
Residents of the home where Lanz was caught were reportedly uninjured. Sandy Springs police claim that Lanz, who is said to have no known connection to the neighborhood, is also responsible for burglarizing the home officers were at prior to the stabbing.
Lanz according to WSBTV lived in a home that shared a backyard fence with the Hicks home.
Cobb County police say investigators identified Lanz as the suspect in Wednesday’s double homicide on Saturday and charged him with the crime on Saturday following his Friday arrest.
COUPLE MURDERED INSIDE HOME: Timothy Justin Hicks and his wife Amber just moved into their home a couple months ago. Thursday they were shot and killed in their home while their 2-yr-old was inside. @cbs46 https://t.co/BWUf0O3dYT pic.twitter.com/YBJnF7Xo8A
— Tori Cooper (@toricoooper) November 19, 2021
No known motive
It’s unclear what relationship, if any, Lanz had with the Hicks family and police have not determine a motive for their murders.
Lanz is facing 41 charges following his alleged crime spree, according to police, including two counts of felony murder, ten counts of attempted murder on a police officer, and ten counts of aggravated assault on a police officer.
Cherokee County Fire Chief Tim Prather said the Hicks ‘will be dearly missed’ while addressing the Acworth couple’s deaths in a statement posted on Facebook.
‘[Justin] has always been recognized as a happy, funny, loved by many kind of guy,” Prather said. “He was always a highly motivated, energetic individual who deeply loved his job as a firefighter and consistently worked to do better and be better every day. He was really thrilled on his recent accomplishment of completing his paramedic program training.’
A local neighbor who described Justin and Amber as “really sweet people” had recently bought a house in the neighborhood, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.
‘This is the nicest couple. They were young, they had a young child,’ Hannah Mabrey told Fox5. ‘They just moved here and were so excited to be homeowners.’
Senseless act
The couple’s two year old child is now with family members.
Family members started a GoFundMe campaign for the Hicks to cover the funeral and childcare costs. As of Sunday afternoon, more than $36,620 has been donated toward the cause.
‘Our Amber & Justin have been taken from us in such a senseless act. We can’t understand it, and we are still as a family, and as a community processing it,’ the description reads.
Lanz is currently being held at Cobb County Adult Detention Center, according to Cobb County police.
Investigations into the double homicide and officer stabbing are ongoing.
