Man accused of stabbing cop charged in couple’s slaying

The 22-year-old man accused of stabbing a Sandy Springs police officer on Friday has been charged in the deaths of a firefighter and his wife who were shot at their Cobb County home last week.

Matthew Lanz, of Acworth, is in the Fulton County Jail and facing multiple charges related to a Sandy Springs break-in. Police say he stabbed an officer who responded. Another officer shot Lanz, who was treated at a hospital before he was taken into custody.

Now, Cobb police have identified Lanz as the suspect in the fatal shootings of Cherokee County firefighter Justin Thompson Hicks and his wife, Amber Hicks, both 31. Police found the couple dead inside their Acworth home around 9:30 a.m. Thursday, hours after the shootings took place.

Their 2-year-old son was found unharmed in the home and is with family members.

Lanz is facing two counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, home invasion and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, Cobb police said.

The Fulton County Sheriff ’s Office told Channel 2 Action News that Lanz lived directly around the corner from the home where Hicks and his wife were killed. Lanz’s home on Delphinium Boulevard shares a backyard fence with the couple’s home.

The Sandy Springs Police confirmed Lanz is the brother of Austin William Lanz, the man who made national headlines when he fatally stabbed a police officer at a bus stop near the Pentagon in August. After stabbing George Gonzalez, 27-yearold Austin Lanz used the officer’s service weapon to kill himself outside the headquarters of the U.S. military, the FBI said.

Neighbors later told the Washington Post of how Austin Lanz, the son of their neighbors, had repeatedly stalked and harassed them, including “smashing through (their) back door with a sledgehammer” while they weren’t home.

Court records showed that Austin Lanz had open criminal cases in Cobb on several charges, including aggravated battery against an officer, terroristic threats and burglary.

The Associated Press reported that the stalked neighbors “shared a backyard fence with (Austin) Lanz.”

Many questions remain about the Cobb County killings. It’s unclear what relationship, if any, Matthew Lanz had with the Hicks family, and police have not released a motive for their slayings.

“Our Cobb County Crimes Against Persons Unit has been working nonstop since this incident happened, and that’s why they were able to get a suspect as quickly as they did,” Cobb police spokesman Sgt. Wayne Delk told The Atlanta-Journal Constitution. “There’s still some work to do to cross the T’s and a process, but for the most part, this case has been solved.”

The officer who was stabbed was taken to a hospital and has since been released, police said.