Son charged in gruesome murder of parents; mother worked in Oak Ridge

Joel Michael Guy Jr.

A 28-year-old man has been charged in the gruesome murder of his parents, one of whom worked in Oak Ridge, authorities said.

Joel Michael Guy Jr., 28, was arrested Tuesday evening in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and charged with killing his parents, Joel Michael Guy Sr., 61, and Lisa Guy, 55, at their home at 11434 Goldenview Lane in west Knox County, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office said.

The parents are believed to have been murdered between Friday, November 25, and mid-day Saturday, November 26. Both suffered vicious stab wounds as well as dismemberment, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office said. Their remains were found in multiple rooms in the house. The suspect placed portions of the remains in an acid-based solution in an attempt to destroy evidence, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The toxic fluid required specific biohazard equipment for removal by the KCSO Hazmat Team, authorities said.

“Due to the volume of evidence in such a disturbing scene, the KCSO Forensics Unit worked throughout the night Monday and into the following day processing the crime scene,” the sheriff’s Office said.

The Regional Forensic Center removed the remains for identification. Authorities said two vehicles belonging to the victims were towed from the scene for examination.

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office said Joel Michael Guy Jr. was visiting from his home in Baton Rouge and arrived at his parents’ house on Wednesday and returned on Sunday.

“He and his three sisters spent Thanksgiving with their parents at the west Knox County house with no indication that anything was amiss,” the Sheriff’s Office said. “Joel Jr. had attended LSU, but reportedly withdrew last year.”

Joel Michael Guy Sr. and Lisa Guy were last seen alive on Friday as they left their home to take a watercraft to a family member’s house, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

KCSO responded to the Guy residence on Monday after a welfare check called in by Lisa Guy’s co-workers at Jacobs Engineering in Oak Ridge.

Goldenview Lane is west of Pellissippi Parkway and north of Interstate 40, between Hardin Valley and Turkey Creek.

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office said Joel Michael Guy Jr. was arrested Tuesday as he was attempting to get into his car at his apartment complex on Nicholson Road in Baton Rouge. Two detectives from the Major Crimes Unit of the KCSO were there for the arrest. Officers from the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office participated in the arrest and coordinated the searches, authorities said. The Baton Rouge Office of the FBI used SWAT elements as well as Safe Street Task Force agents and officers in the surveillance and arrest. Search warrants were executed at his apartment as well as his vehicles. Warrants were issued on November 28 in Knox County charging him with two counts of first degree murder, the Sheriff’s Office said.

“While KCSO thoroughly investigates all reported crimes, Sheriff Jimmy ‘J.J.’ Jones has always emphasized that violent crimes committed against citizens of Knox County be given priority and that homicides be given the highest priority,” the Sheriff’s Office said. “Sheriff Jones believes that law enforcement’s responsibility to bring justice to the victims and their families outweigh any responsibility to inform the public, unless there is a threat to public safety. In this case, law enforcement was monitoring the primary suspect since the discovery and identification of the victims. Sheriff Jones said that in this case, the release of information to the public would have been detrimental to the pursuit of justice.”

“It was our goal not to provide any intelligence to the suspect as it related to the discovery of the victims,” Jones said.

See the Knox County Sheriff’s Office press release here.

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