Man Fatally Shot 2 Parents in Front of 2-Year-Old, Who 'Tried to Cuddle' and 'Play' with Their Bodies: Prosecutor

Firefighter Timothy Justin Hicks and his wife Amber Hicks, both 31, had just moved into "their dream home," as described the prosecutors in court, a little over two months before the night of November 19, 2021, when tragedy struck. On Monday, the trial for Matthew Scott Lanz, 26, kicked off with opening statements that detailed their final moments together as a family.

Lanz is facing multiple felony charges including multiple counts of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and cruelty to children.

Prosecutors in court said that the couple was "cuddled up on the couch" watching television, per Law&Crime's coverage of the trial, completely unaware that at that moment, "there was someone lurking on the outside of their home."

The prosecution said that it was just past 10 p.m. when "the back window was broken into" and the Hicks' "worst nightmare came true."

"They were defenseless," the prosecutor argued in court. "They were executed."

Prosecutors showed surveillance footage that they claim shows Lanz leaving the Hicks house that night and driving back to his apartment in Athens, Georgia, where he was attending UGA.

The state also purportedly has evidence that after the shooting, their 2-year-old son "tried to cuddle with" and "play with his parents" as they sat deceased on the couch, per Law&Crime. The prosecutor said that several of the toddler's toys had been placed on and around Justin Hicks' body after the shooting.

Officers arrived at the home the following morning after receiving a 911 call from a family member. According to CBS News and 11 Alive, they arrived to find the 2-year-old hiding, still in his pajamas and unchanged diaper from the night before, and covered in blood.

Lanz's parents' home shared a backyard fence with the Hicks, and had apparently also caused problems for the previous owners of the house. Phillip Brent, who'd sold the house to the Hicks, reportedly said that Lanz and his older brother conducted a "long harassment campaign" against him and his fiancée when they lived there, according to Law&Crime at the time.

Lanz's older brother is Austin William Lanz, who previously made national headlines in August 2021 when he stepped off of a bus and killed Officer George Gonzalez of the Pentagon Police near the federal building. Authorities said the elder Lanz then fatally shot himself, per CNN.

Law&Crime notes that Austin Lanz had previously been charged with breaking into the house the Hicks were killed in before they had moved in. It was a few months after the break-in that the home was sold to the Hicks.

Just one day after the murders of the Hicks, Fox affiliate WAGA reported that the Sandy Springs Police Department responded to another call about a possible break-in. They arrived at the property to find Matthew Lanz still in the home, Sergeant Sal Ortega told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

In that incident, Lanz reportedly "attacked one of our officers, stabbing him multiple times throughout his body," said Ortega, while "at least one other responding officer shot at the suspect in an attempt to stop the stabbing." Lanz was shot twice, the officer sustained multiple stab wounds, but both men survived the encounter.

There were hearings to determine if Lanz was mentally competent to stand trial, which delayed the proceedings, but it was ultimately determined last month that the case could move forward. In court, though, his defense argued that he believes he was set up by the CIA, FBI, and the government.

Lanz also waived his right to face a jury and is instead undergoing a bench trial. The proceedings are ongoing.