In the quiet Acworth, Georgia, neighborhood of Chestnut Hill, 31-year-old Timothy Justin Hicks, a male firefighter for Cherokee County, and his wife Amber had recently moved into what they hoped would be their dream home. Their new life together with their two-year-old son was tragically cut short on the night of November 17, 2021. That evening, a neighbor, Matthew Scott Lanz, stood in their backyard for nearly an hour, watching them before he broke into their home through a back window.
Inside, as the couple was watching television, Lanz shot them both multiple times. Justin was shot three times, with the final, fatal shot to his head. Amber was also shot multiple times, with evidence suggesting she was in a defensive posture. Their young son, who was upstairs during the attack, was left unharmed but alone with his parents' bodies for approximately 12 hours. The next morning, after Amber failed to show up for work, family members went to the house. Justin's father, Timothy Hicks, discovered the horrific scene after looking through the broken window and immediately had his daughter call 911. When police arrived, they found the toddler covered in his parents' blood.
The investigation quickly led to 22-year-old Matthew Lanz, whose family home shared a backyard fence with the Hicks' property. Lanz was arrested the day after the murders in connection with a series of burglaries in Sandy Springs. During that arrest, he stabbed a police officer multiple times before being shot and apprehended by another officer. Ballistics testing matched the 9mm casings found at the Hicks' home to a pistol belonging to Lanz. Investigators also uncovered surveillance footage showing Lanz leaving the Hicks' home and driving away.
The motive for the killings remained unclear, though prosecutors pointed to a strange and troubled history connected to the house. Months before the Hicks family moved in, Matthew's brother, Austin Lanz, had been arrested for breaking into the same home and had a history of harassing the previous residents. Austin Lanz was later involved in a high-profile incident where he fatally stabbed a Pentagon police officer and then killed himself with the officer's weapon. After delays due to arguments over his competency to stand trial, Matthew Lanz waived his right to a jury, and a judge heard the case. His defense attorneys argued that Lanz believed he was being set up by a government agency. In November 2025, Judge Sonja N. Brown found Matthew Lanz guilty on all 13 charges, including two counts of malice murder, felony murder, home invasion, aggravated assault, and cruelty to children. He was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 21 years. Lanz chose not to appear in court for his sentencing.
