ATLANTA — Matthew Lanz, 22, has now been named the suspect in two crimes that have shocked their metro Atlanta communities this week.
Lanz was taken into custody on Friday after allegedly stabbing a Sandy Springs police officer during a home intrusion. And on Saturday, Cobb County Police named him the suspect in the murder of a young couple found killed at their Acworth home on Thursday.
The cases obviously raise many questions - here's what we know so far:
- Lanz was a neighbor of the murdered couple: Records show Lanz was a listed resident of a neighboring property to the house where Justin and Amber Hicks were found killed in their home on Thursday. Their 2-year-old son was found in the home unharmed. What's still not entirely clear if he lived continuously at the house, was visiting, or what relation he had to the owners.
- Lanz's brother had violent episodes: Police confirmed Matthew Lanz is the brother of Austin Lanz, a 27-year-old man who was shot and killed by law enforcement in Washington, D.C. in August after stabbing a Pentagon Police officer to death.
- The home where the Hicks lived had been targeted before: Arrest records showed that in April this year, Austin Lanz was taken into custody on criminal trespass and burglary charges for entering his neighbor's house - the same home the Hicks recently moved into. The Washington Post reported on Austin Lanz's alleged harassment of the couple that lived in the home before the Hicks.
- Matthew Lanz is in custody: He was shot twice by Sandy Springs officers after the alleged stabbing on Friday. He was treated at a hospital and later released into police custody. He has a first court appearance in Fulton County scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, which is relation only to the stabbing incident.
- Matthew Lanz faces dozens of charges: In the Acworth case, they include two counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and additional charges of home invasion and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to Cobb County Police. In the Sandy Springs case, they include 35 counts including 10 each of felony obstruction, aggravated assault on a police officer and attempted murder on a police officer. He also faces two counts of first degree burglary, one count of first degree home invasion, one count of possession of a knife during the commission of a felony and one count of carrying a concealed weapon without a permit.
- The officer is recovering: Sandy Springs Police tweeted on Saturday that the officer was "doing extremely well and recovering at home with his loved ones."
- The friends and family of Justin and Amber Hicks are grieving: They described the couple, both 31 years old, as "childhood sweethearts" who grew up down the street from one another. Justin was a Cherokee County firefighter and Amber was an audiologist assistant who worked with seniors. "They loved everybody. They would do anything for anybody," Amber's cousin Kristyn Bauer told 11Alive. Their 2-year-old son, Jacob, is now with his grandparents.