Wannabe Plastic Surgeon Dismembers His Parents After They Cut Him Off
By: Fatim Hemraj
Tags: Family, Justice, True Crime, Crime, Murder

Wannabe Plastic Surgeon Dismembers His Parents After They Cut Him Off

Joel Guy Jr., Lisa Guy and Joel Guy Sr. Source.

Joel Guy Jr.’s father Joel Sr. was a pipeline engineer and his mother Lisa worked in Human Resources at an engineering company. As a result, Joel Jr. grew up in a very privileged and lax household; he never once held a job as his parents supported him financially throughout his entire life; they paid for his tuition at Louisiana State University, his rent in Baton Rouge and anything else he required. Joel’s sister Angela later stated that their mother felt like she ‘only worked to give her paycheque’ over to her son.

Things changed in November of 2016. The Guy’s had grown tired of paying for their then 28-year-old sons' decade-long education to become a plastic surgeon and cut him off. They decided it was time for him to learn financial responsibility, to get a job and stand on his own two feet.

The Guy’s were looking forward to their retirement. All of their children were fully grown adults and they felt it was the right time to sell their Goldenview Lane home in West Knox County and move to Surgoinsville, a small town in Hawkins County, Tennessee.

Before the move, the couple decided to host one final holiday dinner at their home; Thanksgiving. Their children and grandchildren attended the dinner, including Joel Jr. who drove up from Lousiana and would be staying in a spare bedroom for the entirety of the weekend.

Although tensions were high between Joel Jr. and his parents due to their recent decision to withhold financial support, his siblings noted he appeared to be in a relatively good mood during the get-together; he was upbeat, friendly and outgoing. Joel’s siblings later stated that this was unusual; he was usually quiet and kept to himself.

It was later discovered that Joel Jr.’s so-called happy and cheerful disposition was all an act to deflect attention from himself. He knew that if he appeared at all agitated during the holiday, he might be singled out as a suspect for the brutal murder of his parents, which he had been planning for weeks.

Joel Jr. entering Walmart where he purchased his murder supplies. Source.

On November 7, 2016, Joel Jr. purchased hydrogen peroxide and muriatic acid from a hardware store. On the 18th, he purchased a timer, bleach and extension cords. On the 19th, he purchased his murder weapon, a Ka-Bar knife. On November 21st, Joel Jr. made his final purchase; a plastic 45-gallon container.

The Murders

On Saturday, November 26, 2016, Lisa Guy was grocery shopping at Walmart while her husband Joel Sr. worked out in their second-floor home exercise room. Joel Jr. walked into the exercise room and attacked his 61-year-old father with a knife. Although Joel Sr. attempted to fight back, it was of no use. He was stabbed fourty-two times. The entire room was covered in blood splatter including the walls, the torn blinds and an exercise machine that had flipped over during the struggle.

When Lisa arrived home she placed the groceries on the ground in the foyer and walked upstairs where she too was suddenly attacked by her own son. The 55-year-old mother had been stabbed thirty-one times and nine of her ribs were broken.

Immediately following the murders, Joel Jr. gruesomely dismembered his parents' dead bodies. He cut off his father’s hands which he left on the floor in the exercise room. He then proceeded to cut off his parents' legs, arms and heads. Joel Jr. put his mother’s head into a pot which he then placed onto the stove and turned the burner on. Joel Jr. then placed the rest of his parents’ limbs and their torsos into the large bin and submerged them in chemicals in an effort to dissolve them.

Joel Jr. then drove to the same Walmart his mother had just gone grocery shopping at and purchased medical supplies for several cuts he had sustained during the attacks. He drained what he could out of his parents’ bank accounts and drove back home to Baton Rouge where he visited a student medical clinic to have his wounds treated.

A Gruesome Discovery

When Lisa didn’t attend work on Monday her boss knew something was amiss; she rarely ever missed work and if she did she would have phoned in. The police decided to conduct a welfare check. When they arrived at the Guy’s home, they could see the groceries scattered on the ground by the front door but there no sign of any movement within the house.

The doorknob of the back door to the house was also missing. Fearing the worst, the authorities decided to enter the home.

The Guys’ home. Source.

Fortunately, the authorities were able to access one of the couple's vehicles which contained a garage door button which they then used to gain entry into the home. When they made their way through the garage into the home, the smell of chemicals was overwhelming and the home was incredibly warm; the thermostat had been turned up to 90 degrees.

The authorities walked into the kitchen where they noticed a pot on the stove, which had been left on. They opened the lid to find Lisa’s head boiling. They then made their way upstairs and from the hallway, they were able to see the dismembered hands of Joel Sr. strewn about in the exercise room. In the bathroom, authorities found the rest of the couple's body parts submerged in chemicals in the large bin.

Inside the bedroom where Joel Jr. had spent his weekend, authorities found a backpack. The backpack contained a journal that detailed his heinous plan to murder his parents and collect on their $500,000 life insurance policies. The plan was five pages long. In it, Joel Jr. wrote, “Money, all mine. I get the whole thing.”

Joel Jr.’s journal detailing his plans to murder his parents. Source.

Joel Jr. was arrested on Tuesday, November 28, in Louisiana. A meat grinder and tanks of gas were found in the trunk of his vehicle. He had planned to return to Knoxville, dispose of his parents’ remains using the meat grinder and set their house on fire. Fortunately, Joel Jr. was unable to carry out the rest of his morbid plan.

The Trial

Joel Jr. Source.

Despite the overwhelming evidence against him, Joel Jr. pled not guilty. He showed no remorse and no reactions during the murder trial. His main — and only — goal was to have a cell all to himself. In order to retain a private cell, Joel Jr. wrote he would prefer the death penalty if it allowed him to be alone in prison. His request was denied by the judge since the death penalty was not something the state was seeking. When his attempt failed, Joel Jr. threatened to gouge out the eyes of his cellmate:

“I’m writing this letter because I don’t want to end up with a disciplinary infraction, or worse, more criminal charges, nor do I logically believe that this gentleman deserves to be blind. I don’t know what to do. I shouldn’t be allowed access to another person while they’re unconscious.”

Joel Jr.’s relatives described him as a greedy and selfish monster and advocated for his execution. Since the death penalty was not a possibility, they requested he spends the rest of his life in prison stating that ‘cohabitation in the general population would be cruel to him’ due to his ‘social abnormalities.’

Knox County Criminal Court Judge Steve Sword fulfilled their wishes; on October 2, 2020, now 32-year-old Joel Jr. was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, three counts of felony murder and two counts of abuse of a corpse. He was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in November of 2020. He will not be eligible for release for 130 years and will most likely die in prison.

Conclusion

The crimes Joel Jr. committed against his parents were inhumane and purely motivated by gaining ownership of his parents’ assets and life insurance. Although he claims to be mentally unstable, prosecutors argue Joel Jr. is in fact a highly intelligent being whose actions were calculated, premeditated and deliberate, that ‘he knew what he was doing.’

Thanks to the quick actions of Lisa’s boss, authorities and investigators who worked tirelessly at capturing Joel Jr. he will spend the rest of his life in a prison cell.

Joel Sr. and Lisa Guy. Source.

Joel Sr. and Lisa’s children described the couple as wonderful people who were larger than life. They had a great sense of humour, were compassionate and incredibly kind-hearted. Joel Sr. loved to laugh and tell hilarious stories to his children. Lisa was incredibly generous and would give the shirt off her back to anyone. The couple, who were married for thirty-one-years, were the ‘loves of each other's lives.’

Sources: Law and Crime, WVLT 8, Kiro 7, Wikipedia, WBIR 10, Boston 25 News