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Written by: A. Smith
Published November 21, 2025 @ 8:37 AM ET
Update: A Cobb County judge has found Matthew Scott Lanz, now 26, guilty on all 13 charges in the 2021 murders of Justin and Amber Hicks in Acworth. The verdict was delivered Thursday by Cobb Superior Court Judge Sonja Brown, who presided over the bench trial after Lanz’s defense requested that the case be decided by a judge rather than a jury.
Lanz was convicted of two counts of malice murder, four counts of felony murder, home invasion, two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, cruelty to children in the second degree, and tampering with evidence. He faces a possible sentence of life in prison without parole, and sentencing is scheduled for Friday morning, when family members are expected to give victim impact statements.
The conviction comes just days after the fourth anniversary of the killings and after years of delays tied to questions about Lanz’s mental competency. In October, Judge Brown ruled that Lanz was competent to stand trial, rejecting his plea of mental incompetency.
Prosecutors said Lanz broke a back window of the Hicks home late on Nov. 17, 2021, before shooting the couple multiple times as they sat together on their couch. Their 2-year-old son, Jacob, was found unharmed but covered in blood. Prosecutor Stephanie Green said evidence showed the toddler tried to cuddle his parents after the shooting and later placed toys—including a small airplane and toy truck—next to their bodies when he could not wake them.
Key evidence presented during the trial included:
— Lanz’s ZEV OZ-9mm pistol, which matched the cartridge casings recovered in the home
— Lanz’s DNA on the murder weapon
— Security footage showing Lanz’s vehicle in the area the night of the killings
— Lanz’s own admission that he was near the home that night
— Lanz’s Google search history, which included searches such as “Facts about blood,” “What would getting shot by .308 be like?” and “Do heads really explode as portrayed in ‘Pulp Fiction?’” in the month and days leading up to the murders
After the state rested, Lanz declined to testify, answering “No comment” repeatedly when questioned by Judge Brown. He sat expressionless as the verdicts were read.
The murders occurred the same year Lanz’s brother, Austin William Lanz, fatally stabbed Pentagon Police Officer George Gonzalez in Washington, D.C., before killing himself with the officer’s gun—another violent incident prosecutors noted in outlining the family’s history.
Two days after killing the Hickses, Matthew Lanz broke into a Sandy Springs home, where he stabbed a police officer multiple times before being shot by another responding officer. He survived and was later taken into custody.
Judge Brown’s verdict caps years of legal proceedings surrounding the Acworth murders, which devastated the Hicks family and the Cherokee County Fire Department, where Justin Hicks served as a firefighter.
Sentencing will be announced Friday.
COBB COUNTY, Ga. – A judge has ruled that Matthew Scott Lanz, 22, accused of murdering a firefighter and his wife in Acworth in 2021, is competent to stand trial. The ruling comes after a forensic psychologist testified that Lanz suffers from schizophrenia and, in her professional opinion, was not fit for trial. Despite this, the judge reviewed evidence of Lanz’s mental health and determined he can proceed, setting a trial date for Nov. 17.
Lanz is accused of breaking into the home of Justin and Amber Hicks in the Atlanta suburb of Acworth. Both 31, the couple had recently moved to the neighborhood in September 2021. According to Cobb County police, Lanz shot the couple while their 2-year-old child was in the home. Officers discovered the bodies around 9:30 a.m. Thursday. The toddler was unharmed. Lanz lived just around the corner, with a backyard fence adjoining the Hicks home, though it is unclear if the families knew each other.
Authorities did not link Lanz to the double homicide until the following day, when he allegedly attempted to break into two homes in Sandy Springs, approximately 30 miles from Acworth. Officers responding to the call found Lanz inside one of the residences. According to the Sandy Springs Police Department, Lanz ran toward an officer and stabbed him multiple times before a backup officer fired at Lanz, striking him at least once. The injured officer was taken to GradyHealth Hospital and fully recovered. A second officer was injured by a bullet fragment, and the residents of the home were unharmed. Lanz was hospitalized following the shooting before being booked into Fulton County Jail.
Police say Lanz faces six counts related to the Acworth murders, including home invasion and felony murder, as well as multiple other charges stemming from the Sandy Springs incident, including aggravated assault, attempted murder, and weapons offenses. Lanz remains in custody at Fulton County Jail, and his next court appearance will be part of pretrial proceedings leading to the November trial.
Lanz’s arrest in 2021 came amid a series of violent incidents in his family. He is the brother of Austin William Lanz, who broke into the same Acworth home in April 2021 when another family lived there, reportedly harassing them.
Austin was later involved in a deadly attack at the Pentagon, where he fatally stabbed Officer George Gonzalez, 37, before taking his own life with the officer’s weapon. Authorities and neighbors previously described Austin Lanz as having mental health issues.
Authorities have not disclosed additional details about Lanz’s connection to the Hicks family or his motive, and the case remains ongoing.