COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A gun, ammunition, tactical backpack and a flash built to break glass are among the items police seized from a college student accused of killing a firefighter and his wife.
Channel 2′s Chris Jose was the only reporter in a Cobb County courtroom on Wednesday to hear the testimony from a Cobb police detective.
Matthew Lanz is accused of killing Justin and Amber Hicks in their Acworth home on Nov. 17.
[RELATED: Firefighter and wife murdered inside their Cobb County home, toddler son found safe]
“Amber was found still sitting on the couch. Timothy Justin Hicks was found on the floor right next to the couch,” said detective Zackary Stannard.
Stannard said Justin Hicks had gunshot wounds to his head, shoulder and torso. Amber Hicks had gunshot wounds to her leg, wrist and face.
Jose also learned the timeline of the moments that led up to the murder.
Stannard told the court that cellphone data shows Lanz leaving his apartment in Athens, where he was a student at the University of Georgia, at 8 p.m. on Nov. 17. Cellphone data also showed Lanz at the scene of the crime in Acworth around 9 p.m.
Lanz’s parents and the Hicks were neighbors who shared a backyard fence.
[TIMELINE: What led up to double murder of Cherokee County firefighter, wife?]
Stannard said Lanz drove back to his Athens apartment after the murder.
“We found a gray North Face hoodie in the washing machine that was still damp,” said Stannard. “And we also discovered ammunition.”
Hours prior to the search of Lanz’s apartment, the detective said Lanz’s parents drove to Athens and asked if him he killed the couple. Stannard testified that Lanz denied he did it, but his parents saw the gun allegedly used in the murder.
“They confirmed they took a pistol, but left the magazine and ammunition at his apartment,” said Stannard.
Police said surveillance video from a neighbor’s camera shows Lanz in the Hicks’ family backyard. In the video, a man is seen wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt. It’s the same one investigators believe they found in the washing machine at Lanz’s apartment in Athens.
Police found the gun at his parents’ home.
RELATED STORIES:
- Funeral held for firefighter, wife found murdered in their home
- Man accused of stabbing Sandy Springs officer charged in murder of Cobb County couple
- Community rallying around family of couple murdered in their Cobb County home
- Metro restaurant hosting fundraiser benefiting toddler whose parents were murdered
©2021 Cox Media Group
