A Georgia man has been imprisoned for killing a firefighter and his wife while their toddler slept upstairs.
Justin and Amber Hicks were found murdered in their Acworth, Georgia, home in November 2021, according to a criminal warrant acquired by PEOPLE.
The couple’s neighbor, Matthew Scott Lanz, was arrested on many offenses, including murder, according to the warrant. He was convicted on all counts in a bench trial last week, according to online court papers reviewed by PEOPLE.
The warrant stated that on November 17, 2021, Lanz entered the couple’s home through a rear entrance and fatally shot them.
He was not aware that the couple’s 2-year-old son was sleeping upstairs, according to Atlanta News First. The child remained uninjured.
Justin’s father said during the trial that he went to the couple’s house to check on them after Amber missed work and the couple did not respond to text messages, according to 11 Alive.
When cops arrived on the scene, they discovered the couple’s child cuddling with his parents and attempting to play with them to catch their attention, according to police bodycam footage cited by 11 Alive.
The child was covered in blood and yet wearing the same diapers.
While no reason for the murders was found during the trial, prosecutors said that Lanz had previously informed police that he saw “demonic lights” in the Hicks’ home.
He also said that the previous inhabitants of the Hicks’ land bothered his brother Austin, who had died at that time.
According to the outlet, Austin broke into the same property where the previous residents lived. Austin committed himself several months before the Hicks’ murders, after fatally stabbing an officer in Washington, DC.
Lanz’s defense attorney contended in court that he was not linked to any trace evidence discovered at the crime site, according to Atlanta News First.
Lanz was found guilty of two counts of malice murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, one count of child abuse, and one count of tampering with evidence, among other charges.
He received three life sentences, two without parole, and 32 years of incarceration, all to be served consecutively.
