A man accused of killing his parents during Thanksgiving weekend in 2016 stood trial at Knoxville court, Tennessee on Tuesday. Joel Guy Jr., 31, appeared for his second day of trial with evidence that revealed the meticulous notes he had made on how to slaughter and dispose of his victims. The jury heard his testimony detailing his plot before stabbing and dismembering his parents.

Prosecutors said Guy Jr. knifed his father, Joel Michael Guy Sr., 61, stabbing him 42 times to his death in the family exercise room . He then attacked his mother, 55-year-old Lisa Guy, whom he stabbed to death 31 times when she came home from a shopping trip.

His father's hands were severed, and his arms were cut off at the shoulder blade. His legs were removed at the hip and his right foot was also removed. His mother's stab wounds were so extreme, severing nine of her ribs. Her legs were cut below the knee and her arms, at the shoulder.

Guy Jr. allegedly dismembered both his parents' bodies and attempted to dispose of their remains by dissolving them with chemicals. Investigators from the Knox County Sheriff's Office found limbs in 45-gallon containers filled with a corrosive substance.

His mother's head was found still stewing in a pot of liquid on the kitchen stove.

The gruesome plot was said to have been intricately written in great length by Guy Jr. in a notebook which contained step-by-step notes on every move it entailed. The notebook was found in a backpack in the room where Guy Jr. slept for the holiday weekend.

According to an article on Boston25 News, the prosecutors said Guy Jr.'s motives were pinned on financial issues because his parents were planning to stop giving him money. They had been supporting his studies in Baton Rouge for 9 years so he can pursue a career as a plastic surgeon. The couple both worked as engineers and were nearing retirement, hence why they planned to stop providing their son with assistance.

Two of the couple's daughters who testified said they were aware of their parents' plan to financially cut their brother off and were going to tell him around Christmas time. Authorities suspect the parents decided to tell their son sooner than planned.

The murder trial is expected to last for a week. However, the state is not looking to hand the death penalty to Guy Jr.

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Map showing the worldwide use of the death penalty in 2016 Amnesty International