Mathew Charles "Matt" Lamb was born on January 5, 1948, in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. His teenage mother abandoned him shortly after birth, and he was raised by his step-grandfather, who was known to be abusive. Lamb had a troubled childhood and struggled to connect with others.

By his mid-teens, he was already involved in serious crimes. In February 1964, at age 16, he attacked a police officer. Later that year, in December, he was involved in a shootout with police. He was sentenced to 14 months in Kingston Penitentiary in April 1965. After serving his sentence, he was released in June 1966, but just 17 days later, he committed a deadly crime.

On June 25, 1966, just weeks after being released from prison, Matt Lamb took a shotgun from his uncle’s house and went on a random shooting spree in his neighborhood in East Windsor, Ontario.

He shot and killed two strangers—George Fabbro (18) and John Fyfe (20). He also shot and injured two others, Michael McGuire (17) and John McRoberts (19), who survived the attack.

Lamb was arrested and charged with capital murder, which at the time carried a mandatory death sentence in Canada. However, in January 1967, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity and was committed indefinitely to the Oak Ridge psychiatric facility at the Penetanguishene Mental Health Centre.

Over the next six years, doctors observed that Lamb showed significant improvement. In early 1973, he was released under strict supervision. Instead of returning to a normal life, he joined the Rhodesian Army, where he served in the Rhodesian Light Infantry and later the Special Air Service (SAS).

On November 7, 1976, while on a mission in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Lamb was accidentally shot and killed by friendly fire. He was given a military funeral in Salisbury (now Harare), and his ashes were later returned to Windsor, Canada for burial.