The Truly Horrific Crime Scene Of The Joel Guy Jr. Murders
In late November 2016, Joel Guy Sr. and Lisa Guy planned to have a final Thanksgiving celebration at their Knoxville, Tennessee, home (via All That's Interesting). According to Oxygen, the pair had decided that they were going to retire and move to East Tennessee. The Guys had been married for 31 years and had four children — three daughters and a son, Joel Guy Jr. However, Soap Boxie states that the daughters were from Guy Sr.'s previous marriage; Guy Jr. was the couple's only child together. Born in 1988, Guy Jr. could be described as a freeloader and a hermit.
His half-sisters later went on to say that he rarely, if ever, left his room (per WVLT). The then-28-year-old was living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He had dropped out of Louisiana State University and was being financially supported by his parents. Boston 25 News reports that Guy Jr. made his way from Baton Rouge to Knoxville to celebrate the holiday with his family. His sisters stated that everything was normal; they could not have foreseen what Guy Jr. was about to do next.
While his mother went out shopping on November 26, 2016 (via KIRO 7), he ferociously stabbed his father 42 times. According to WVLT, Guy Sr. suffered extensive injuries to his lungs, liver, and kidneys. When his mother returned home, Guy Jr. proceeded to stab her 31 times, severing nine of her ribs. Shockingly, this was only the beginning of his diabolical actions.
Authorities encountered a gruesome scene
Boston 25 News writes that after he killed his parents, Joel Guy Jr. returned to Baton Rouge. When Lisa didn't show up for her work soon after, her boss called her and got no response. Feeling that something was wrong, she notified the authorities. Soap Boxie reports that a welfare check was requested at the Guy family home. When police walked in, they found blood-splattered walls and floors (via All That's Interesting). After killing his parents, Guy Jr. dismembered them, per WVLT. The heat was turned up, and body parts were scattered throughout the home. Some were even placed in Tupperware containers.
Guy Sr.'s wrist, arms, legs, and right foot had all been severed. His hands were found on the floor in a bedroom. As for Lisa, her legs and arms had also been removed. The limbs were then placed in chemical substances in an attempt to dissolve them. Both of their torsos were placed in the bathroom, and Lisa's head was found boiling in a pot on the stove. One detective stated (per WVLT), ″I will never get those smells out of my head or my dreams." Although Guy Jr. was not immediately on their radar, Oxygen writes that a disturbing discovery made him their prime suspect.
Joel Guy Jr.'s depraved notebook
As the authorities headed to Baton Rouge to talk to Joel Guy Jr. about the murder of his parents, investigators found a notebook at the Guy family home (per Oxygen). According to WVLT, the notebook was found where Guy Jr. had been sleeping only days before. It included lurid details on how he planned to kill and dispose of his parents. Some notes stated, "get killing knives" and "flush chunks down toilet, not garbage disposal" (via WVLT). All That's Interesting reports that he also wrote about faking an alibi.
Additionally, Boston 25 News states that receipts in Guy Jr.'s name were later found for chemicals that were used in the crude attempt to dissolve his parents' remains. Soapboxie explains that Guy Jr. was arrested in Baton Rouge only a day after his parents' bodies were discovered. Detectives also found a dog bone in the bathtub with chemicals. It seems that Guy Jr. was testing out how long it would take for the bone to dissolve. He was subsequently charged with two counts of first-degree murder, felony murder, and abuse of a corpse.
The motive was financial
According to Oxygen, Joel Guy Jr.'s notebook included information about who would inherit his parents' money after their deaths. The motive became pretty apparent — he wanted access to their $500,000 life insurance policy (per All That's Interesting). His notebook also stated that his inheritance would be larger if his siblings died. At 28-years-old, Guy Jr. had never had a job and dropped out of two universities. His parents were bankrolling his life in Baton Rouge and thought he needed to grow up. One of Guy Jr's half-sisters stated that his mother "only worked to give her paycheck" to him (per Boston 25 News).
The Guys decided that their retirement and subsequent move would be the end of their financial support for their son. They had told his other siblings of their plans to cut him off. Although the family had planned to tell Guy Jr. during Christmas, it seems that they told him sooner rather than later, which resulted in the killings. Guy Jr.'s trial began in September 2020. Prosecutors stated that his notebook was all the proof they needed to prove his guilt. Per Oxygen, they referred to it as a "book of premeditation."
Joel Guy Jr. recieved two life sentences
Throughout his murder trial, Joel Guy Jr. showed little to no emotion (via Oxygen). According to Boston 25 News, it had been very clear that his parents' deaths were premeditated. Prosecutors presented Guy Jr's notebook and stated that he had murdered them in cold-blood for their hefty life insurance policy. The prosecution then went on to explain that Guy Jr. planned to dissolve their bodies after dismembering them. However, he was injured during an intense struggle with Guy Sr., which led him to leave for Baton Rouge instead. Jurors were shown explicit photos and videos of the ghastly crime scene.
Per WVLT, detectives recounted their harrowing experience of entering the Guy family home and seeing strewn body parts. While on the stand, detective Jeremy McCord stated that it was the worst case he had ever come across, and he could not wrap his mind around what he had witnessed. He eerily explained that he "saw hands ... not connected to a body." Per Boston 25 News, prosecutors later described the crime scene as a "diabolical stew of human remains."
Nearly four years after his parents gruesome deaths, Guy Jr. was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, three counts of first-degree felony murder, and two counts of abuse of a corpse. The then 32-year-old was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.
Joel Guy Jr. and his disturbing prison fantasies
Shortly after his conviction, WATE reported that Joel Guy Jr. wrote a letter stating that he wanted to hurt a fellow inmate. The letter described his thoughts of gouging out the man's eyes while he slept (via WBIR). Moreover, Guy Jr. said that there was nothing stopping him as he could easily use his hands to accomplish the task. He goes on to say (per WATE), "I shouldn't be allowed access to another person while they're unconscious."
Although Guy Jr. said he wrote the letter in an effort to prevent this act from happening, officials thought it was nothing but a ruse for him to get his own prison cell. They argued that it proved his manipulative nature and noted that he previously asked for the death penalty in order to be in a cell on his own. As for his half-sisters, Oxygen writes that they are unable to forgive him for what he did. Tellingly, they omitted him from their parents' obituary (per Boston 25 News).