Joel Guy Jr. was raised to reap the benefits of his parents' hard work. His father, Joel Guy Sr., had three daughters from a prior relationship before he met and married Lisa Guy, with whom they had one son, Joel Jr.
However, unlike his hardworking parents, Joel Jr. was lethargic and lacked motivation. He shied away from social interaction and had a strained relationship with his family. Despite having average intelligence, his parents viewed him as highly intelligent.
After graduating high school, Joel Jr. briefly attended George Washington University in Washington D.C. before transferring to Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA.
Growing up, Joel Guy Jr. was raised to believe that he was entitled to the financial support of his parents, Joel Sr. and Lisa Guy. Despite being intellectually capable, he was known for his laziness and lack of interest in relationships, including with his family.
He attended George Washington University for one semester before transferring to Louisiana State University, where he pursued his goal of becoming a plastic surgeon.
For nearly nine years, his parents, who never expected him to work while in college, supported financially Joel Jr.. Surprisingly, Lisa had her paychecks made out and sent directly to her son, who believed that the money was rightfully his.
Joel Sr. and Lisa had hoped that by supporting their son through college, he could focus solely on his studies and graduate early, launching a successful career on his own. However, as he became more invested in his dream of becoming a plastic surgeon, their support continued.
The Guy's plans took a turn when Joel Sr. faced a layoff from his job as a civil engineer. At 61 years old, he decided to retire and he and Lisa set out to plan for her retirement as well. To make this possible, they decided to sell their house and move to Joel Sr.'s family home that had been left to him. The most significant change was that they would end their financial support for their son, Joel Jr. It was time for him to become self-sufficient and for the couple to enjoy their retirement without this burden. However, unbeknownst to them, Joel Jr. had dropped out of school but continued to pretend he was still a student in order to receive money from his parents.
On November 24th, 2016, on Thanksgiving Day, Joel Jr. arrived at his parents' home with plastic tubs full of items, which was considered unusual, but everyone ignored it. Joel Sr.'s three daughters also attended the celebration and noticed Joel Jr.'s behavior was unlike his usual self. He was socializing with his nieces and even giving them some of his old toys, which puzzled his half-sisters, as during holidays he would usually spend the entire time in his room.
However, two days after Thanksgiving, while Lisa was shopping at Walmart, Joel Jr. attacked and fatally murdered his father. He inflicted 42 wounds on Joel Sr. who tried to defend himself but was eventually overpowered. Then, he waited for Lisa to return and killed her as well, stabbing her 31 times in a brutal attack that almost completely severed her head and broke nine of her ribs.
With a plan gone wrong, Joel Jr. was faced with the task of disposing of his parents' bodies. He mutilated their remains and placed them in plastic containers filled with chemical substances, hoping to eliminate the evidence. He positioned his father's hands in a prayer-like manner and placed his mother's head in a pot on the stove, turning on the heat to boil it. Joel set the thermostat to its highest setting, believing that the extreme heat would destroy any forensic evidence. Tiring of the cleanup, he left the house, with his parents' remains dissolving and his mother's head boiling, to get medical treatment for his own injuries. He went to a hospital in Baton Rouge, thinking it would raise less suspicion than going to a hospital near his family's home.
The police were alerted to the situation when Lisa failed to show up for work, causing concern among her coworkers. A welfare check was requested, and when the police arrived, they saw that the house was for sale with the realtor's lock box missing from the front door and the lock on the back door also gone. A policeman peered inside and was met with a strong, unpleasant odor and intense heat. They entered the house with probable cause and were greeted with a horrific crime scene. The kitchen still had Lisa's head boiling on the stove, and the entire house was filled with chemicals and groceries scattered on the floor. Upstairs, they found a horrifying mess of body parts and blood. Many officers said it was the worst crime scene they had ever encountered. Joel Jr. was quickly located at his apartment in Baton Rouge and arrested without incident. Investigators found notebooks that detailed his plan, including a list of items he needed to purchase and instructions on how to dispose of the bodies. He also documented the family's assets and the money he intended to inherit, hoping to frame his father for the crime as a murder-suicide.
The investigation revealed that Joel Guy Jr. had been purchasing supplies and tools for weeks leading up to the murders, using cash to try and avoid detection. In 2020, he was found guilty of two counts of premeditated first-degree murder, three counts of felony murder, and two counts of abuse of a corpse, and sentenced to life in prison. No one knows the full story of that fateful day, as Joel Jr. did not testify or speak about the events. He had planned the murder of his parents, knowing that one day their financial support would come to an end, and acted on it without remorse.
“Bring blender and food grinder,” the notes said. “Grind meat.”
“Flush chunks down the toilet.”
“Get plastic bin for denature process.”
“Place her in shower. Turn on hot water and point it at her to get rid of forensics. Remove her clothes and take them with me for disposal.”
“Cut off his arm and plant his flesh under her fingernails. Place her hand with his DNA so that his DNA is not washed away by shower.”
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