<i> [dark tone]</i> <i> ♪</i>■ <i> - As the detective got closer,
what he saw</i> <i> will forever change his life.</i> <i> - I completely froze.</i> <i> The first words out of my
mouth were, "Oh, my God."</i> <i> [dramatic music]</i> <i> ♪</i>■ - Lisa and Joel Guy
loved their children. So it was a joyous
occasion when all of them gathered for a family
Thanksgiving dinner in 2016 at Lisa and Joel's bucolic
home in suburban Knoxville, Tennessee. They were thankful
for each other and for the parents' upcoming
retirement from work that would give them even more time
to spend with their children and their grandchildren. But that weekend,
those dreams were crushed by a horrific tragedy that
will haunt everyone involved for the rest of their lives. <i> [dark tone]</i> <i> - In this area, we have our
share of garden variety crime.</i> It just seems in East
Tennessee, when people get mad enough to kill, they
just do it in some really fascinating ways. - Lisa Guy did not show up
for work after Thanksgiving, and that was extremely unusual. - She had a retirement
party that she was supposed to be going to. She was not returning any
phone calls or text messages. - Joel Guy Sr. was employed
as an engineer. He worked in pipe fitting. - So, he was a smart guy,
but also a little bit of a working class type. <i> You know, he liked fishing
and hunting and outdoor</i> <i> things like that.</i> <i> Lisa Guy, for many years,
was a stay-at-home mom</i> <i> and really was dedicated
to raising her children.</i> It was only as the
kids got up and out that she started working. <i> - Lisa and Joel
had a fabulously</i> <i> successful marriage.</i> They were very much
in love and they had planned the next
chapter of their life. <i> - They were really
looking forward</i> <i> to moving to
a more country place</i> so that they could start
really enjoying time together. <i> - People don't miss
their retirement parties.</i> I felt it necessary to
go out there myself. <i> - When a couple
of deputies went</i> to see if there
was anything amiss, <i> one of the things they
noticed is that there</i> <i> were vehicles still there.</i> <i> - If you stuck your head
and looked in the windows,</i> there was groceries right
there in the landing. Most people carry
their groceries in, not leave them right there. <i> So that was alarming.</i> - I decided to go
to the back porch <i> and I noticed that the glass
door was extremely warm.</i> <i> - They could smell this
overpowering kind of chemical,</i> can't put your
finger on it, smell. <i> - One of the guys on the scene
pushed the garage door open,</i> and that's when a lot of heat
came out of the garage door. <i> I made entry first
into the residence.</i> - Going in, it was--I mean,
it was hot as can be. <i> - The heat had been turned up,
and there were heaters on.</i> This is winter,
and inside that house it was, you know,
90, 100 degrees. <i> - I immediately
went to the kitchen</i> <i> and that's where I noticed
a large pot on the stove</i> with an extreme amount of
heat coming from the stove. <i> - And as you start up the
stairwell, you could start</i> <i> noticing brown substance,
staining,</i> we believed to be
blood splatter. <i> - There's clearly blood on the
landing, castoff on the walls,</i> signs of some sort of struggle. [dog howling]<i>
- There was a dog</i> <i> that's barking,
and it's apparent</i> <i> that the dog is upstairs.</i> <i> It would bark,
and then it would stop.</i> <i> In my experience, when there
are unknown people</i> inside of a residence, the only time
a dog stops barking is when somebody's
telling it to. <i> We did not know if there
was another human being</i> <i> inside the residence.</i> <i> - When you get up to
the top of the stairs,</i> <i> there's a pile of clothing
with a large pooling of blood,</i> and down the hallway,
you can see something. <i> At the end of the hallway,
I could see</i> severed hands sitting in
the corner of the bedroom. - They were cut from the wrist,
just like somebody just set 'em right there. <i> - They do appear to have
been staged or placed</i> in a praying position. Now what that
meant or signified, only the mind of
the killer knows. <i> - I entered a room that
was used as a storage area</i> <i> for materials
to include chemicals,</i> and I noticed that the master
bedroom had a master bathroom. <i> [dark tone]</i> <i> - They see a hose that was
hooked to the shower,</i> which was really unusual,
but something that you would see in a morgue. - Nobody on that scene expected
to walk into what they saw. <i> - There's these
big Rubbermaid tubs</i> <i> that are filled with some
kind of water or chemical.</i> - I completely froze. I believe the first words out
of my mouth were, "Oh, my God." <i> - That's where we located two
tubs inside of a master bath</i> with what appeared
to be human remains in some kind of liquid form. <i> We all stepped out and had to
take a deep breath,</i> and what we really saw,
is that--is that true? Is that--is that real? <i> - There's no amount of law
enforcement training</i> <i> that could have prepared me
for walking into that room</i> <i> and seeing and experiencing</i> not just the visual sight,
but the odor, the overall feeling
of what I saw. - To see the carnage and
these deliberate moves to cut up body and stage
hands and all that, I mean, my goodness, do we have some
kind of crazy serial killer at loose, you know? Is he still around somewhere? [barking] <i> - The barking dog was confined
to a room in the hallway.</i> We decided to make sure
we had enough personnel that, if somebody
was in that room, we would have enough people
to deal with him adequately. <i> We went ahead and made entry.</i> <i> It ended up being
a small room.</i> <i> No one there.
So we secured the dog.</i> <i> - And then, as they
walked toward the kitchen,</i> <i> there was a big
pot on the stove,</i> and it had something in it. - We did not see what
was in the pot yet. - They were able to look
at surveillance footage. That's when they get
the first glimpse of who
their suspect likely is. <i> [dark tone]</i> <i> ♪</i> - Nothing could have prepared
the officers of the Knox County Sheriff's
Department for the carnage they discovered at the
home of Lisa and Joel Guy. But as shocked as they were,
the worst was yet to come. <i> ♪</i>■ <i> - The kitchen is
where we located</i> a big pot on the stove,
and the stove was still on. - As the detective got
closer to that stove, what he saw will
forever change his life. <i> - It was Mrs. Guy's
severed head</i> <i> that was boiling
in that stockpot</i> that I'd walked by less
than ten minutes ago. <i> - It's horrific
that you would think</i> that somebody could do this. <i> I'm the one that actually
found the pot on the stove,</i> and you legitimately
will see that forever. You go down an aisle
at Kmart, Walmart, Target, I don't care where
you're at, if you're looking at pots and pans,
that's immediately where your head will go. - This is the worst scene
and case that I have ever worked in my entire career. And my specific role as a lead
investigator was to determine who did this, where they are,
and how to get them, and get them off the street so
that they cannot do it again. <i> ♪</i>■ We went through and started
collecting evidence. <i> When you go past
the guest bedroom,</i> <i> there was a guest
bathroom in the hallway,</i> <i> and that hallway bathroom
was a butcher room.</i> <i> There is a sign of a struggle
inside the room</i> <i> where the severed hands
were located.</i> Those ended up being
Mr. Guy's hands. <i> And of course,
in the corner of the room</i> <i> where the hands were
located was just--</i> <i> it was just saturated
with blood.</i> <i> There was plastic
all over the place.</i> <i> There were bandages where
somebody had obviously</i> <i> been injured
themselves, and then</i> <i> rendered their own first aid.</i> <i> There was a large knife that
was very similar to a K-BAR.</i> Something absolutely horrific
occurred right there. <i> - There was many
different chemicals.</i> <i> There's, like, Liquid Fire.</i> <i> There's Drano, like,
a commercial grade.</i> <i> There's hammers,
there's hoses.</i> <i> there's some guns,
there's timers.</i> Gas cans with gas
in the garage. <i> - There was
a bag from Walmart,</i> <i> which is just down the road
from the Guy residence.</i> <i> Inside that bag was
a receipt,</i> and it had a date
and time on it. <i> I took a photograph
of the receipt,</i> <i> got that data off of it.</i> <i> I also took a photograph
of the receipt that</i> <i> was with the bags of
groceries at the threshold,</i> and I looked at my partner
and I said, "I'll be back." <i> I went straight
to the Walmart,</i> <i> knocked on their security
door,</i> hoping somebody was there,
running the cameras, and thankfully there was. <i> - They were able to look
at surveillance footage</i> <i> that Walmart had.</i> <i> So what they were
able to determine</i> is that Lisa Guy had gone
and bought those groceries, but also, that's when they
get the first glimpse of who their suspect likely is. <i> - At the time, we see
a young, balding guy</i> <i> that has bandages on his hand,</i> and we don't really know
who he is at the time. <i> - He was inside the Walmart,
making the purchase</i> <i> of the items that we
recovered upstairs,</i> inside the residence,
and it showed that he obviously had injuries to his self. <i> He was buying rubbing alcohol,
he bought the peroxide,</i> <i> he bought some bandages.</i> He bought items that, you know,
would be indicative of wiping down and cleaning up
a crime scene. <i> ♪</i>■ <i> I reached out to
Michelle Dennison,</i> <i> to identify her parents,
Lisa and Joel Guy.</i> She gave us a timeframe of
the last time she saw them and where. <i> Her and her children and
her boyfriend at the time</i> <i> had actually come to the Guy
residence on Thanksgiving Day</i> <i> and had Thanksgiving dinner
with the family.</i> <i> Her brother was there,
Joel Jr.</i> <i> - The family was gathered
for the final time</i> <i> for Thanksgiving
in their home.</i> Lisa and Joel were about
to sell their home, put their fortune in going
and creating a new life. <i> - Everybody got along and
everybody went their own ways,</i> and it was just the parents,
Joel and Lisa, and Joel Jr. when she left. <i> - Joel Jr. was going to stay
on for at least a day or two</i> before going back to Louisiana. <i> What was unusual about this
particular Thanksgiving</i> was that Joel Guy Jr.
showed up. <i> Joel Guy Jr.,
since he was young,</i> <i> felt estranged
from his family,</i> insisted that they
put him in a boarding school. <i> Joel Guy Jr. was your
stereotypical nerd.</i> He made a career out of
going to school, studying. <i> - He was a 28-year-old man.</i> <i> He was still attending
Louisiana State University</i> and working on obtaining
his undergraduate degree from that institution. - Mom and dad supported
every bit of his lifestyle. They paid for college.
They paid for the apartment. They paid for everyday
groceries or anything extra that he needed. - The entirety of
his mother's check essentially went into
his checking account. So the sole purpose
that Lisa Guy worked <i> was to fund Joel Guy Jr.'s
living expenses and lifestyle.</i> <i> - Joel and Lisa
were gonna retire,</i> and they were cutting
Joel Guy Jr. off of funds. <i> - Joel Guy Jr. became
aware at some point</i> <i> before Thanksgiving,
likely in a conversation</i> with his mother, that
his mother and his father planned to cut him
off financially. <i> His sisters were at the
residence for Thanksgiving.</i> <i> And based on our conversations
with the sisters,</i> <i> we were then able
to identify Joel Guy Jr.</i> <i> as a potential suspect.</i> <i> - It was through
this conversation</i> <i> that we learned that was him
with the Walmart picture.</i> <i> - It was the Guys' son.</i> You have to let that sink in,
that it's their own child. <i> - We have to follow
every lead.</i> In this case, every lead
pointed to Joel Guy Jr. <i> A backpack was discovered,
and in the backpack</i> <i> was a notebook.</i> <i> - This detailed,
what I call a murder book.</i> As you can see,
it just breaks my heart. <i> [dark tone]</i> <i> ♪</i> - Surveillance video
shows that the person who bought the supplies
found at the crime scene was none other than the
son of the victims, Lisa and Joel Guy. But there's even
more damning evidence about to be discovered. <i> ♪</i>■ <i> - In going through
the residence</i> and securing evidence,
a backpack was discovered in the guest bedroom
that was upstairs. <i> - And in the backpack
was a notebook.</i> And in the notebook,
it was a full itinerary of basically laying
out the murders of Joel Guy Jr.'s parents. - This detailed,
what I call a murder book, where it was very clear that he
had charted out, weeks in advance,
what he was going to do, what supplies
he needed to do it. <i> - It was a full itinerary of,
kill Dad first, then Mom,</i> how to do it. <i> - What we dubbed as
the book of premeditation</i> was essentially entries
that Joel Guy was going to do in order to effectuate
the plan to kill his parents and to liquefy them, put
them in the public waterway, <i> and then to
set the residence on fire.</i> <i> - The hammer is to crush bones
so it'll go down the drain.</i> <i> Bought a meat grinder, which
was located in the vehicle,</i> to get rid of
the human remains. <i> - We found in the murder
book the parental assets,</i> <i> as far the life insurance
policies, the residences</i> <i> that they owned,
and what he would receive.</i> - Joel Guy Jr. was so
put off by the fact that his parents would
cut him off financially, <i> that he put a plan into motion
to collect on a $500,000</i> <i> life insurance policy
so he could continue</i> <i> living without having to work.</i> <i> - It wasn't just "I'm gonna
get life insurance."</i> <i> It was he has studied
these policies</i> and what he's determined is that in order for him to have the biggest bang for
his buck, that Dad needs to be
dead first. <i> If Dad is killed
first and then Mom,</i> <i> then he'll get X amount,
as opposed</i> <i> to if the order were
reversed or they were</i> <i> killed both at the same time.</i> So he had done the math on
how much he could collect. <i> - Michelle Dennison disclosed
to me about the intentions</i> <i> of the family to cut
him off financially</i> <i> as soon as Lisa was finished
with her job and retiring.</i> <i> He was the sole beneficiary
of a life insurance policy</i> <i> that would only be in place
while she was still employed.</i> So he had to kill her
before she retired. Otherwise, he wouldn't get
a payout that was just his. <i> - He had that notebook
in his backpack</i> while he's having dinner,
Thanksgiving dinner with his parents. <i> This whole time that
they're eating and smiling</i> <i> and chatting, he's got,
you know, the plans</i> <i> up there in the bedroom.</i> <i> What I was so overwhelmed by
is that Lisa Guy</i> <i> goes to Walmart to buy her
son his favorite ice cream.</i> <i> He wanted a certain
kind of ice cream.</i> <i> So she goes and she does that
because she loves him.</i> <i> - While Mrs. Guy
was gone shopping,</i> <i> Joel Guy Jr. killed Mr. Guy.</i> - Oh! <i> - Joel Guy Sr. was
attacked first upstairs,</i> <i> in a makeshift workout room,</i> <i> where there was
a large presence of blood.</i> <i> There was also an
overturned Bowflex machine.</i> - And when Lisa Guy
walks back in that house, his kid who she's given
everything to, defended him to the very
end with daddy, she's loved him with everything
in her being-- and when she walks back
in that house, <i> he's holding a knife,
and he attacks her.</i> So the last thing she saw
was her kid stabbing her. I'm guessing she's
going, "Why?" You know? "Why?" As a mother, when you
sacrifice everything you've got for your kids--
as you can see, it just breaks my heart. <i> ♪</i> - Everything he did,
even after their death, was to humiliate them. He didn't just chop off
their body parts. <i> He first took all of
their clothes off.</i> <i> He killed them, stripped them,</i> chopped them, and cooked them. <i> - When you kill people with
knives, it's not a clean kill.</i> <i> And so he got cut himself.</i> <i> He's bleeding.</i> <i> And so he went to Walmart to
get bandages and some ointment</i> to clean it, and he went
back intending to do more work there in the house. [siren wailing]<i>
But when he went back,</i> <i> he saw that there was law
enforcement vehicles there.</i> <i> So what he did was then
returned to Louisiana,</i> went to a clinic there, and
then just kinda hung out. <i> - We were able to
sign the warrants</i> to get him taken into custody. - The plan was for myself
and Detective Sanders <i> to go in with
the arresting officers</i> <i> down there
in East Baton Rouge.</i> And he was not expecting
to be swarmed the way he was when he went to
his mailbox to check <i> his mail that next day.</i> <i> - We charged him with
premeditated murder</i> <i> and abuse of a corpse.</i> We asked him if
he'd like to talk us, which he denied and said
that he would like counsel. But just his voice itself, <i> he fit every bit
of the profile of--</i> make every hair on your back
stand up, you know. <i> - Joel Guy Jr. insisted that
they not plead insanity.</i> His defense team wanted to. It's all they had. He was adamant, he was offended that they
were even suggesting that. <i> - The prosecution might
have been afraid that he</i> <i> would have pled insanity.</i> What's amazing
about what he did is <i> he wanted them to try
to seek the death penalty.</i> <i> - As soon as the
garage door was opened,</i> <i> you could feel heat.</i> Once we get upstairs,
it's like the world does a 180. Everything gets
turned upside down. <i> [dark tone]</i> <i> ♪</i> - The crimes allegedly
committed by Joel Guy Jr. were unimaginably
brutal and shocking. Yet, at the start of
the trial, the defendant himself seems to do
nothing to dispel the impression that he's
guilty of the horrific murders. <i> ♪</i> <i> - Tennessee has
a slayer statute,</i> and what that
essentially says is you cannot profiteer from killing. <i> After he's arrested,
Joel Guy Jr.</i> <i> Was still fighting
in court to try</i> <i> to get at least a cut of
the life insurance proceeds.</i> His argument was
"The slayer statute only "comes into play when and if
I'm convicted "and all my appeals
are exhausted, so I want this money now." <i> He kept trying to
put the case off,</i> and he also was pushing
prosecutors to give him death. - He was strategic, because if
it was a death penalty case, it would take a long time,
and if he pleaded insanity, then he could never recover
the insurance proceeds. So this was all
about the money. <i> He wanted the defense
to seek the death penalty,</i> because then he would
have years and years of years of litigation. <i> - Mr. Guy wanted
the death penalty.</i> <i> He tried to relieve
the counsel</i> <i> that were appointed to him.</i> <i> He tried to represent
himself in order</i> <i> to seek the death penalty.</i> Some of the rationale of why
he wanted the death penalty is to be in a cell by himself,
to be a recluse, to not have to worry about
someone with him, and that was one of the
factors that the family took into account to ultimately
shy away from pursuing the death penalty. <i> They wanted him to be
in general population.</i> <i> They felt as if the death
penalty in this case</i> was the easy way out
for Mr. Joel Guy Jr. <i> - The prosecution
would not pursue</i> <i> the death penalty
because Joel Guy Jr.</i> <i> wanted the death penalty.</i> Now, isn't that a strange one? Once they realized
that he actually wanted the death penalty because
of the insurance stuff, they said, "No, we're not
gonna give you that." <i> ♪</i> <i> This trial was held
during the COVID pandemic,</i> <i> so we're taking
safety precautions.</i> So, rather than do a mask, they came up with this visor <i> with some see-through plastic.</i> <i> Joel Guy Jr. has this on his
face, so he looked weird,</i> <i> and it was magnified somewhat,
with that shield on.</i> - God save this state,
the United States, and this Honorable Court.
- Thank you, sir. Good morning, everyone.
Have a seat. <i> [dark tone]</i> All right, it is time
for opening statements. Do you want to begin
your opening statement? - The strategy in
this particular case <i> was to be able to show
the whole picture.</i> So we had to essentially start
from the homicides occurring on November 26, 2016. And what we did then
is kind of trace back. - Ladies and gentlemen, we
expect to prove to you beyond a reasonable doubt
that on November the 26th of 2016,
Joel Michael Guy Sr. Was viciously
attacked in his home. <i> During this assault,
he sustained</i> <i> 42 sharp force injuries.</i> After he was murdered,
the killer disrobed him, <i> meticulously took off his
clothes, left them in a heap</i> <i> on the carpet.</i> <i> He left his hands in the room.</i> <i> At some point,
Lisa Guy came home,</i> <i> and she, too, was subjected
to a violent assault.</i> <i> She was stabbed 31 times.</i> <i> Nine of her ribs were severed.</i> <i> - I kept looking</i> for some show, some sign, not necessarily of remorse, but at least some reaction. <i> Most defendants, killers
especially, you will either</i> see them look down,
and some of them will actually turn
their body away, or they'll start writing. They'll do something
so they don't look. And Joel looked. <i> He examined.</i> That was just cold, cold, cold. He has no soul,
that's what I kept thinking. - I would definitely describe
Joel Guy Jr. as creepy. <i> He is just dead on the inside,
no emotion.</i> - After Joel Sr.
and Lisa were murdered, the killer went to
work on their bodies. <i> Plastic sheeting was
placed on the floor,</i> <i> and these blue plastic bins
were placed on the sheeting.</i> The killer put Lisa's
body parts in one, and he put Joel Sr.'s
in the other. <i> And then he covered them
with a corrosive substance</i> <i> and left them there to
liquefy into some sort</i> of diabolical stew
of human remains. <i> - Leading up to the trial,
one of the things</i> <i> I was most curious
about is</i> what is this judge going to do,
in terms of photographs and what he lets in? <i> - In terms of where
the bodies were located</i> <i> and how they were,
we blurred everything out,</i> because there's no way
that anybody could view that and not
be shocked to the core. <i> Even our redacted pictures of
this crime scene are horrific.</i> - If you put too much
in front of them, it's gonna scar
these people, right? And they might actually--
midway through trial, you start losing jurors. - We believe that you will find
Joel Michael Guy Jr. guilty of every count of
this indictment, because we will have
proven it to you beyond a reasonable doubt. Thank you very much
for your attention. - Mr. Halstead,
would you like to make an opening statement, sir?
- Yes, Your Honor. <i> - What was the defense?
I'm not sure</i> <i> I have an answer for that.</i> The defense attorneys
who tried this case are fantastic lawyers in
Knox County, but what I will tell you is they just--
I'm not sure they had much of anything. - I want to start out by saying
thank you for being here, for listening to the proof
and making a decision. And another strong part
of our constitutional criminal process is that
that decision has to be made beyond a reasonable doubt. And we just ask you--and
know that you will listen to everything very closely
in making your decision at the end of the case. - How the defense
wanted to plead their case was, you know,
it's still not known to me. I don't think that anybody took
that case expecting to win. - Please raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear
or affirm the testimony you're about to
give in the case now on trial will be the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
- I swear. - Please have
a seat right there. <i> - The court experience,
as far as going to trial,</i> it's one of those
things that you know that the victim's
family are finally going to get their day in court. And until you
experience it yourself, and you see a victim's family
go through that process, it's really hard to comprehend
how important this process is. - At this point, what
are your concerns? You arrive on the crime scene
and go through your concerns as a police officer
conducting a welfare check. - As soon as the
garage door was opened, you could feel heat coming
from the garage door. <i> I was on the stand for about</i> <i> an hour and a half
to two hours.</i> We were able to really,
effectively put a clear picture
on what happened and how it happened in
a small amount of time. <i> The foyer had the groceries
in it, that was in the floor.</i> <i> There were three cases
of beer, perishables.</i> <i> There was breakfast meat,
stuff like that in bags</i> <i> that you could just
see sitting there.</i> <i> - The fact that there's
groceries with perishables</i> in the bags,
did that alarm you, as a law enforcement officer?
- It did. It's obvious that
somebody started a task, and they've not finished it. Most people put
their groceries up when they get home,
especially the items that need to go into
a refrigerator or freezer. - Taking into
account everything you've witnessed thus far, how are you feeling
at this point? - It's terrifying,
because you don't know if somebody needs some help. <i> There's nothing downstairs
that I'm observing</i> <i> that makes sense to me.</i> <i> We go through houses and
we clear houses regularly,</i> <i> and most of the time,
if you encounter something,</i> <i> you kind of know
right when you get in.</i> This was a very
different situation, because once
we get upstairs, it's like the world does a 180. Everything gets
turned upside-down. <i> It's a very humbling process.</i> It's very difficult as an
investigator to have to go up and relive that experience
in front of a jury, <i> especially at such a pivotal
time involved in the case.</i> This one is one that
will probably haunt most of the people at that scene. <i> - Do you observe
anything immediately</i> <i> after you make it through the
gate at the top of the stairs?</i> <i> - I observed what
appeared to be clothing</i> <i> and sharp instruments,
and what appeared</i> <i> to be reddish brown staining
on the floor, the wall.</i> And you can see
straight down the hall, and I saw hands
not connected to a body. - Upon viewing those
hands, does that change how you're feeling at all? - It's gut-wrenching,
and it's something that I've never experienced before. <i> - Detective Jeremy McCord
was a new detective</i> <i> and really had not worked
any major cases before.</i> Every time I saw him
talk about this case, you could tell it
just disturbed him. I've never seen a detective
who seems so haunted by what he experienced. - Let's talk about
the master bathroom. - I went in
the master bathroom, <i> and the only thing
I saw were two tubs</i> with what appeared to be body parts liquefying--
liquefying. <i> - One of the things that
sticks with me about this case</i> is the effect that it
had on the investigators in this case
who had to respond and had to deal with
these things in person. <i> As a prosecutor,
for me, looking</i> <i> at crime scene photos,
videos, autopsy photos,</i> <i> that's hard enough.</i> But to appreciate how hard it was
for these officers <i> to respond to a house that
had loose chemicals flowing</i> <i> through the air, temperatures
in excess of 95 degrees,</i> <i> finding what they found
and being able</i> to deal with that--you can
never unsee what you saw. <i> Are you experiencing
more heat upstairs</i> <i> than you are downstairs?</i> <i> - It's hotter upstairs
than downstairs.</i> - And how about the odors
or presence of chemicals? - It's--I'll never get those
smells out of my head or my dreams. <i> [dark tone]</i> <i> ♪</i>■ - As the trial of Joel Guy Jr.
continues, the details of the traumatic
investigation into the murders gives way to witnesses who
knew the accused defendant intimately, and the testimony
is just as emotional. <i> ♪</i>■ - State your name
for the record, please. - Michael McCracken. - Did you know the defendant,
Joel Michael Guy? - Yes.
- How did you know him? - We went to high school
together and college together, and we were roommates, off
and on, through that time. - Very shortly after Joel Guy
Jr. was apprehended for being charged with two counts
of first degree murder, he made various phone
calls to Michael McCracken, which were recorded. - I take it, because you were
roommates for some period of time, you knew him.
- Mm-hmm. - And you know his voice.
- Yes. - And you could recognize his
voice on a telephone call. Is that correct?
- Yes. - And did you
receive a telephone call from him on or about
December the 10th of 2016? - Yes. <i> - The basis of calling
Mr. McCracken to the stand</i> was to be able to introduce
the jail phone calls. <i> We had to have somebody
to authenticate</i> <i> who was speaking there,
someone who recognized</i> <i> Joel Guy Jr.'s voice.</i> And what better person
than the individual who was on the receiving
end of the line there? - Those phone calls warn
you that anything you say can and will be
used against you and that law enforcement
has access to these calls. <i> - Joel Guy Jr. had
quite a crush on him.</i> He wanted to satisfy
the one friend he seemed to have that he was
particularly obsessed with. - In those particular
calls, Mr. Guy was making admissions
and claiming some degree of responsibility as to his
future and the likelihood that he would spend the
rest of his life in prison. - Michael McCracken
is probably the most thoroughly cross-examined
witness by the defense. <i> And what they did
is they essentially</i> tried to establish
that Mr. Joel Guy was a loner, that he didn't have family
who would come and routinely visit him,
that he wanted to be alone. Essentially, I believe that
it was a play for sympathy. - Did you know him
to have any friends? - When we were in high
school and early college. - And did you see, in the later
years, at least the last three or four years that you were
together in Baton Rouge, did you see that tail off? - Yes. - By the time you
left Baton Rouge, would you say that he
had any friends at all? - No. - So, was he socially
interacting with anyone but you? - No.
- Do you solemnly swear or affirm the testimony you're about to
give is the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth, so help you God? <i> - In talking with
his step-sisters,</i> we were able to determine
that he did not like to attend family functions. - State your name for
the record, please? - Michelle Tyler. - And how are you related
to the parties in this case? - I am Joel Guy's daughter
and Lisa's stepdaughter. <i> - What was conveyed
by Michelle is</i> <i> how Joel was trying to have
a good time with everybody</i> <i> on Thanksgiving Day.</i> <i> She described him
mostly as a loner</i> and as somebody that
did not really hang out with or talk with people. <i> But he was just really
uncharacteristically friendly.</i> - Thanksgiving was
completely different. The moment that I arrived, Joel Michael Jr.
was talking to us. I'm not sure Joel Michael Jr.
knew my kids' names. For him to talk
to them was odd. <i> - One of the things that was
interesting about Thanksgiving</i> <i> of 2016 is he was outgoing.</i> <i> He was paying attention to
his stepsister's children,</i> he would remain outside of
his bedroom, would interact. And that caught them off-guard. - He was talking to my kids and
he was bringing them upstairs. Lisa had kept every single
thing that this kid had, that--I mean, he wasn't
a kid at that point, <i> but Beanie babies
that he had collected,</i> <i> his entire life
in boxes upstairs.</i> <i> They were bringing
those boxes down,</i> but it wasn't Lisa
giving that away. It was Joel Michael Jr.
giving it to my boys, which was still odd. - She only
in hindsight realized that the fact that he
was so cheery and so friendly, that that
was actually an omen, a signal of what was to come. - I've been told the
jury's reached a verdict. - We the jury find the
defendant, Joel Michael Guy... <i> [dark tone]</i> <i> ♪</i> - The sister of Joel Guy Jr.
has testified that her brother, at the
Thanksgiving dinner, was nothing like the
brooding loner he usually was at family get-togethers. And the defense
seizes on that thought for their closing argument. <i> ♪</i>■ - The next part of the
trial will be the closing statements of the attorneys. Would the defense like to
make a closing argument? - Yes, Your Honor. Remember the facts of the case. That weekend, Joel Guy was
outgoing, friendly and happy, in a way Michelle Tyler
had never seen him before. Outgoing, friendly, and happy. That was not a man about
to commit a homicide. Outgoing, friendly, and happy. That's who Joel Guy
was that weekend. That's why we have
to look at every fact to see if this adds up. Outgoing, friendly,
and happy does not add up to what
happened here: Rage, anger, and death. <i> - For the defense to claim
that he couldn't have been</i> responsible for the murder when
all of this evidence existed, because he feasted at the
family table at Thanksgiving, is absurd. He could have been excited
because this was the last meal he ever had to have with them. - You may resume
your closing arguments. - Yes, Your Honor. "Outgoing, friendly,
and happy." Yeah, I'll bet he was. Bet he felt very outgoing
and friendly and happy. Michelle Tyler told you
that that was unusual. His demeanor on
Thanksgiving was strange. He was usually distant. He usually kept to himself. He didn't interact
a lot with his family. He didn't have much of a
relationship with his family. Why would he be outgoing
and happy when he had been distant from them in the past? Well, I submit to you
it's because he was getting ready to get what he wanted. To implement his plan. He wanted to deflect
attention from himself. He wanted to be nice. He was playing nice. <i> In his mind, he's thinking,
"Well, I'm gonna not give</i> <i> "them any reason
to suspect me.</i> <i> "I'm not gonna act
like I'm mad.</i> <i> "I'm not gonna
show them I'm mad.</i> <i> I'm gonna make an effort."</i> <i> But it was an act.</i> It was a show, to deflect
attention from himself. Because if he had acted angry, <i> if he'd had an argument
with his mother,</i> <i> if he'd had it out
with mom and dad</i> <i> over the fact that they were
gonna cut him off,</i> <i> I mean, how would that look</i> <i> when their bodies
turn up later?</i> Or maybe their bodies don't
turn up, because he actually carries out his entire plan
and is able to flush them <i> into the public waterway.</i> We ask you to convict him. Convict him
of premeditated murder, convict him of felony murder, and convict him of
abusing the corpses of his mother and his father. <i> ♪</i>■ - All right, welcome
back, everyone. I've been told the
jury's reached a verdict. - I think that this jury
probably had no problem. Didn't lose a bit of sleep
over concluding that this was a premeditated act. - We the jury find
the defendant Joel Michael Guy guilty of first degree
premeditated murder of Joel Guy Sr., guilty of first degree
premeditated murder of Lisa Guy, guilty of first degree
felony murder of Lisa Guy, guilty of first
degree felony murder of Joel Guy Sr., guilty of felony murder
of Lisa Guy, guilty of abuse of a corpse
of Joel Guy Sr., guilty of abuse
of a corpse of Lisa Guy. <i> - The defendant
received 124 years</i> for the murders of his parents
on November 26th, 2016. I believe justice
was served in this case. <i> - We speak for victims that
can't speak for themselves.</i> So to be able to have
the outcome that we did is why we do what we do. <i> - I think people
look for answers</i> <i> and they look for closure,
especially in today's society.</i> And I think the only closure
that a loved one can be given, that has lost somebody
in a homicide, is that guilty conviction,
that sentence that's appropriate for
the crime that's committed. <i> - It's very hard to
move on from this.</i> <i> It's something that you
never expect to walk into,</i> never expect to see. <i> - There's a lot of things
around the holidays</i> <i> that are not
as jovial anymore.</i> I don't enjoy
turkey and dressing, and it's one of those things
that it's had an effect. It's just like all my
storage bins in my house are either red or green. We don't have any blue ones. <i> - You never think
somebody could do this</i> to another human being,
let alone your parents. And I think that makes it
even more to take in. I mean, this is family. <i> - They had sacrificed
and given and given</i> <i> and given and loved
and loved and loved,</i> and they were repaid
with being attacked in their home,
caught by surprise, in a holiday where they
had to be a little tickled that their son had come home. <i> Anybody that could
attack his own parents</i> <i> and chop their bodies up</i> is a dangerous,
dangerous person. <i> I don't lose any sleep
at night</i> <i> knowing that he's in prison
and will not walk out alive.</i> - Joel Guy Jr.'s never going
to see the light of day again, and that's the safest
thing for society, to place him in an
environment where he can never do this type of thing again. <i> ♪</i>■ - Joel Guy Jr. committed
a horrifying crime that not only impacted
his family but the community. The murder certainly haunts
his siblings, but also every person who
helped put him behind bars, who can't ever
unsee what he did. I'm Tamron Hall. Thanks for watching
"Someone They Knew." <i> [somber music]</i> <i> ♪</i>■
