Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Young Parents Murdered By Man Next Door

Episode Date: December 7, 2025

Justin and Amber Hicks had just moved into their dream home in Acworth, Georgia in 2021 when a man broke in an murdered them. The Hicks' two-year-old son was found in a dirty diaper, covered in their blood. Detectives determined that a neighbor, Matthew Lanz, had broken into the home and killed the Hickses. Lanz was 22 at the time. A judge recently found him guilty during a bench trial and sentenced him to two life sentences. But Lanz's legal troubles are far from over. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy explains in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: Grow your own audience today – go to https://opus.pro/crimefix and get 65% off an annual Opus Pro plan for the month of November.Host:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5Producer:Jordan ChaconCRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. And that monster stole everything from them in less than 10 minutes. A Georgia man learns his punishment for the brutal murders of a young mother and father, parents who never saw this attack coming. He cuddled with his dead parents. They were dead in his house. He came down the stairs and he crawled in their flats.

I break down the devastating details of the murders of Amber and Justin Hicks and what's next for the killer. Have you ever wondered how we are able to share so many clips from breaking news cases as they are unfolding? Well, here's a little secret. Opus Clip is an all-in-one AI editor that makes it a breeze to cut, create, and upload videos across any platform. Through AI, OpusClip generates B-roll, reframes footage, and even cleans up audio. Just visit opus.pro slash crime fix, sign up and upload. In minutes, you'll have perfectly edited clips ready to go. For TikTok, shorts, or reels, it's a one-stop shop.

Having Opus Clip means our producers can post viral updates instantly. This is the most powerful tool for sharing ideas and editing like a pro. So go to opus.pro slash crime fix to create your videos today. Justin and Amber Hicks had just moved in to their dream home in Akworth, Georgia. Days after celebrating their son's second birthday, everything seemed perfect and everything was falling into place until 73 days later, when police found Amber and Justin brutally murdered. their two-year-old son was alive unharmed, but completely alone, and the child was covered in his parents' blood, wearing a heavily soiled diaper. It turns out the killer was living right next door. 26-year-old Matthew Lans will now spend the rest of his life behind bars for the senseless

2021 double murder that left a little boy without his parents. Judge Sonja Brown sentenced Matthew lands to two life sentences to be served consecutively, but before she did, she took a moment to address the sensitivity of the decision with the family. When you're making a decision, you don't leave your human side at the door. You don't leave your human side at the door. But you have to remember that you have to look at the facts. You have to look at the law. You have to apply it. Even when it may not be the popular thing or the things that people want you to do, it's without fear or favor that we serve and to be servants of the people. And that's what makes this job difficult, because you have to separate the human emotion

from the facts and the law that you have before you. But I swore an oath, and I swore an oath, again, to uphold the laws in the Constitution of both Georgia and the United States and I committed to being of service, to serving with compassion, and to being just. Now get this, Matthew Lanz actually waived his right to appear at the sentencing, so he wasn't in court to hear his sentence or to face the family of his victims. Justin's father addressed the court first. I've spent time alone in the woods on the lake. and I just find that there's just really not words

proper enough to convey how this has impacted me personally and, Your Honor, look out in the courtroom. There's so many people here that love to do of those kind of people they were they earned this

by being good people, good Christian people. Then some of the Hicks' friends had their chance to speak. This violence stole my sense of safety in my own home. But the greatest loss belongs to Jacob. Jacob lost his entire world in one night. He will grow up without the mother who adored him in every way.

A child deserves to be adored. He will never feel her arms around him after a hard day. He will never hear her voice cheering him on. Never get the whistlered reassurance that she loved him more than anything. And he lost his dad, who was strong, kind, devoted, and very brave. A father who ran into burning buildings so other families could stay whole. He will miss out on lessons, moments, memories, and love. that no one else can ever replicate, though I know these grandparents will all do a fantastic job.

After all, they raised Amber and Justin. Amber and Justin Hicks were two literal angels on the earth. It sounds so cliche, but it was the truth. Living their day-to-day, putting nothing but good into this crazy world, and that monster stole everything from them. in less than 10 minutes. I repeat from us and absolutely everything from Jacob in 10 minutes. Today, though, Your Honor, we ask you to submit her to the maximum extent of the law,

locking away and throw her with a key and we never have to see the space again. Thank you. Now, one of the last people to address the court was Amber's aunt, who essentially raised her after her mother passed away from cancer. Evil invaded their home and maliciously took Justin and Amber's lives. He, the monster, talks about the demonic lights in their home. Those lights were not demonic. It was their Christmas tree.

The only thing demonic in their home was him and his black heart. Amber's mom was too. She had no choice in leaving Amber to grow up without her. But this evil monster made the choice to break into their home and take Amber intestine's life, leaving little Jacob to grow up without his mom or his day. that night changed all of our lives forever for the first time ever I sleep with a gun under my pillow sometimes when I wake up in night and I can't pinpoint what woke me up

I just return that pillow and touch my gun and then pray that I never have to use it to hurt anyone Justin and Amber will never be forgotten just as and we're only knew her mom through our memories and pictures. Jacob will not only know his mind, daddy, and that's so what. The sentencing capped off three days of raw emotional testimony where prosecutors laid out how Matthew Lanz forced his way into the Hicks' home,

opened fire on the couple, and left their young child traumatized. The road to trial was long. Early on, Lanz was ruled incompetent to stand trial, but that changed after a forensic psychologist testified that he was suffering from schizophrenia, prompting the judge to reverse her decision. His bench trial fell on the four-year anniversary of the crime. In court, prosecutors delivered a tight, compelling case built on digital evidence and a meticulous forensic timeline, even without any physical evidence tying him to the scene.

Among the key pieces of evidence was surveillance footage. So we'll continue to play this. We'll then circle back to it in a few minutes. Pausing the video at 21, 21, 11 seconds. Is this one of the video at 21, 21, and 11 seconds, is this one of the SUDs previously seen? passing 5064 verbena. Which vehicle is this screenshot up? This is up the lands vehicle.

So all the ten images that are contained in this folder, is this all the lands vehicle? Yes. Okay. And so here, which camera angle are we looking at? This is the 5064 verbena driveway camera covering this residence is trial. trial. It occurs in the backyard initially here, it's depicted.

As this clip plays, we'll actually see some object passes between the source of light, the floodlights, closing up to create shadow, briefly, very briefly, in this area and across the spectrum of this light. At this point, there is someone in the backyard moving and then they'll move closer to the light source, creating some shadowing, and then they will move out of the light source in this area and toward the side of the house, the garage side of the house where there's a porch or a doorway. We'll continue on. There, the shadowing had just occurred, moving closer to light source causing a shadow. And now moving towards the side of the home. The sensor from the backyard will kick off.

The back yard will kick off. The sensor for the side door, infrared illuminator will kick on. shrub line, and now we'll see someone, a person, moving out across the grass to the roadway and moving up from the home towards 600. Another video of evidentiary value was Lance's police interview, where he openly shares how his mom thought he was involved in the crime, but he wasn't. He explains he was actually commuting home from Athens. I had woken up around 2 o'clock to my mom, not globally. And I asked.

Yeah. And I was like, what was she? Okay. So I didn't know that was she? She had told, she had come to tell me the TV wanted to murder in the house that is behind hours. behind hours. And she was, you know, how would ask me, like, were you involved?

And I said, you don't know, I was, I was on my home anyway. And when all of that happened, you know, I didn't hear any other, didn't hear any of it. And I had that case left before. It had happened because I had been a young girl. And then I went back to happen because I was just too tired to go home and need to come back with her glasses. That's what I was doing that night before. Matthew Lanz denied any involvement in the homicide, but he did admit he noticed a light that caught his attention coming from the home. I did look at the people's house.

It's a light because there's a big thing that's there are in RBC. the light was, yeah, and she was, you know, like, did you look over to their house and did you hear anything love it? Yeah, I looked over there and saw a night on her two when I was opened a cigarette and then I had to go back to her to apartment and then it was lost. Lans mentioned to police that he thought those lights were demonic. Now, although that sounds far-fetched, it's relevant because later in the interview, Matthew Lanz references his late brother, Austin, who has a criminal history and troubled past. Months before the murders,

Austin was caught breaking into the same home, but the Hicks, they weren't the owners yet. Austin claimed the neighbors were messing with him. Austin Lanz was the suspect responsible for an attack outside the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., in August 2021, where he murdered one of the agency's police officers. Austin ended his own life using that officer's service weapon. When detectives spoke to Lanz's parents, they confirmed that Austin's death affected him mentally.

You know we had something wrong in his head that we couldn't figure out. We know if we couldn't make our loss in either. We thought we were right to have a little bit of will. But Matthew wasn't right. We were going to bring back home, let him go with uncle, be around with more, and he did money today, so he's got some issues. After all, we had Markey. He went out in Florida and cut him. He told us October. We didn't have it until yesterday. Well, we went to see him. There was a kind of mental heart.

What was the other woman? It was this, where did she get this? I bought it in Athens Gunsworth. Godwrench. Whatever, how do you remember? And I said, well, you can't have this. He said, Dad, his personal property, he's mine, he's defiant, he doesn't like all, and doesn't like rules.

And he doesn't protect himself. There's a fear that's coming out. There's no reason. Yeah. Lanz's parents. He said that's what he said every time we say, why do you think you need something to protect yourself? With everybody to have something to protect themselves. Lanz's parents revealed that their son had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and they said he'd been seeing a psychiatrist since his brother's death. The motive wasn't revealed in the trial, but the crimes align with his brother's run-ins with the law so you can come to your own conclusions on that. So get this, Lance's defense was that he was set up by the government, that he was basically a Patsy. Matthew believes that he is set up either FBI, CIA, or some government agency. I think we'll hear some information about that through the statements.

Or will have the ability to listen to those and evaluate those. We believe that, and certainly are confident that the court, after you hear all the evidence in the case, we'll be able to make an enlightened and fair judgment as to the guilt of Matthew. We'll have an opportunity to come back before the court and talk about what the state's case has proven or not proven. The defense didn't present any witnesses, so prior to closing arguments, Judge Brown asked Matthew Lanz, whether he intended to take the stand. Mr. Lans, if you raise your right hand for the court, please, sir. Do you swear to earn the testimony will give to this court?

She'll be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing with the truth that will be not. No comment. Okay, can put your right in now for me? Mr. Lans, do you understand that you have the right to testify, and if you want to testify that no one can prevent you from doing so? No comment. Do you understand that no one can make or compel you to testify? That is, do you understand?

you understand that you have a right to not testify if you do not want to? No comment. Do you understand that you and not your lawyer must personally decide whether you will testify or not? No comment. Do you understand that if you do not testify, then upon your request, the court will not use your not use your decision against you. No comment. Do you understand that if you choose to testify, you will be examined by your counsel and cross-examined by the assistant district attorney?

No comment. Do you personally want to testify or not? No, no comment. Ultimately, Judge Brown found lands guilty of all charges, which included two counts of malice murder and one count of child cruelty. But wait. There's more. There's another striking detail about this case that I haven't mentioned yet. So Lance was arrested two days after the murders, but only because he committed another crime. He was involved, allegedly, in an attempted burglary in Fulton County.

According to authorities, Lanz attacked one of the officers who responded to the scene, stabbing him repeatedly in the back and neck. In response, officers fired shots at Matthew Lance twice, wounding him. He survived. but that event linked him to the murders of Amber Hicks and Justin Hicks. Sandy Springs Police tweeted out an update when the officer was released, stating he is doing extremely well and is recovering at home with his loved ones. Lans will be tried separately for 38 charges stemming from that incident.

Earlier this month, his attorneys appeared in court for a status conference for that case. Lans waived his appearance. Until that time, Lans will remain in custody at the Cobb County Adult Detention Facility. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Janette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.