COBB COUNTY, GA — Matthew Lanz, the Cobb County man accused of breaking into a neighbor’s home and killing a couple while their toddler was upstairs has been found guilty on all counts.
Sentencing is set for Friday morning.
The defense began presenting its case Thursday morning in the bench trial of Lanz, the man accused of killing Cherokee County firefighter Justin Hicks and his wife Amber in their Acworth home in 2021.
The shift came after prosecutors rested their case Wednesday, focusing heavily on police interviews and investigative findings. Superior Court Judge Sonja Brown viewed a series of interviews Lanz gave to Sandy Springs police after a separate home break-in, which investigators say raised concerns.
Cobb Police Detective Zachary Stannard testified that what Lanz told officers suggested he might know something about the fatal shootings in Acworth. “It became increasingly apparent that there was another incident involved and the Cobb County incident was brought to light,” Stannard said.
Stannard also testified that Lanz’s cell phone went into airplane mode just after the estimated time the Hicks were shot. Under cross-examination, he acknowledged that if someone intended to commit a crime, it would make more sense to put a phone in airplane mode beforehand, rather than afterward.
Lanz told investigators it was a coincidence he was home the night of the killings and claimed he didn’t see or hear anything. His attorneys argue there is no physical evidence tying him to the Hicks’ home or the murders.
It is not known whether Lanz will testify. The trial, delayed for years amid questions about his competency to stand trial, has drawn national attention. Months before the killings, Lanz’s brother, Austin Lanz, fatally stabbed a Pentagon police officer before shooting himself.
WSB Radio’s Veronica Waters contributed to this story.