Son convicted for killing and dismemberment of parents

Once the trial started it lasted only four days with the jury deliberating for three hours before handing down a unanimous verdict, finding 32-year-old Joel Guy Jr guilty of the 2016 murder of his parents.

The verdict was not unexpected after the jury was presented with what prosecutors were calling a "book of premeditation."  The book, which was recovered from a backpack in the room Guy had been staying in over the Thanksgiving holiday, contained 5 pages of handwritten plans on how to carry out the murders.

The jury heard that the underlying motive for the slayings was financial.  Guy had never held a paying job and was accustomed to his parents providing for his every need.  As they were planning to cut him off financially, he set his sights on their $500,000 life insurance policy.

He was found guilty on all seven charges: two counts premeditated first-degree murder, three counts of felony murder and two counts of abuse of a corpse.

Guy was automatically sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 51 years for each of the two murder counts by Knox County Criminal Court Judge Steve Sword.

A hearing is scheduled for November 19 at which time it will be determined if the sentences are to be consecutive or concurrent.  At that time, Sword may add additional time to the mandatory 51 years for the conviction on the abuse of corpse charges.

Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen intends to seek a ruling that the terms be served consecutively, thereby requiring that Guy serve 102 years in prison before being eligible for parole.