Sentencing for Sean Finnegan in 2019 murder case continues

OAK RIDGE, Tennessee – The jury will continue deliberating Wednesday in the trial of Sean Finnegan to decide whether to impose the death penalty on him.

The court met Tuesday to decide whether Finnegan faces the death penalty for the 2019 murder of Jennifer Paxton.

Testimony began at 10 a.m. and ended in the early afternoon. The jury deliberated for several hours before the judge ordered them to quarantine for another night around 5:30 p.m.

During closing arguments Tuesday, the state asked the jury to give Finnegan the maximum sentence, which was the death penalty, as prosecutors argued he showed no mercy toward Paxton.

“I ask you to give him as much mercy as he gave her,” said prosecutor Kevin Allen.

The defense asked the jury to consider that Finnegan is guaranteed to spend the rest of his life in prison, as the only alternative to the death penalty for him is life without the possibility of parole. The defense said Finnegan could still contribute to society while in prison.

“His life is essentially over, but we believe he can go on and continue to function and be helpful. He has job skills and you've heard from Ms. Mundy and Ms. Miller that he's a reliable guy. He's reliable and a hard worker, and we believe that counts for something,” said defense attorney Forrest Wallace.

Finnegan was found guilty Monday of Paxton's first-degree murder. He was also found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, several counts of aggravated kidnapping, attempted aggravated rape, aggravated rape, two counts of conspiracy, desecration of a corpse and tampering with evidence. He was found not guilty on two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and aggravated rape with bodily harm. The jury took nearly 12 hours to deliberate on a verdict.

The trial began with jury selection in Clinton on August 12. Attorneys and the judge had screened hundreds of potential jurors in advance of the death penalty trial, a rare occurrence in Tennessee.

Finnegan is accused of kidnapping 35-year-old Jennifer Paxton of Knoxville in December 2019, holding her captive in his Oak Ridge apartment, repeatedly raping, abusing, beating and finally strangling her. His partner and co-defendant Rebecca Dishman has already pleaded guilty to murder and testified at his trial last week.

The jury must consider more than a dozen charges, ranging from murder to desecration of a corpse. Within the charges, there are alternative crimes that the jury can consider.

If they convict Finnegan of first-degree murder, there will be a second phase of the trial to consider punishment and decide whether he should be executed.

Prosecutors argue Finnegan should be executed for what he did to Paxton. After killing her, he placed her body in a freezer he rented and stored it in the closet of his bedroom.

According to the prosecution, he held her there for months and looked at her body for his sexual pleasure. Dishman knew what he had done to her and was present during the rapes and abuse, according to court testimony.

In the summer of 2020, according to witnesses, Dishman wanted to leave the apartment and Finnegan. When she fled with a neighbor on August 5, 2020, she confided that Paxton was in the freezer, which prompted a call to authorities.

Finnegan confronted the neighbor's husband for helping Dishman. Oak Ridge police responded and reported that a body was found in the freezer. Finnegan questioned them.

When Finnegan realized he would be discovered, he took the body out of the freezer and hid it under the bed, according to the indictment. Oak Ridge police found it nonetheless during a search of his home.

The trial featured graphic and disturbing testimony about how the killers treated Paxton in life and in death. For Finnegan, she was the perfect victim, prosecutor Kevin Allen told the jury on Friday. She was addicted to drugs, homeless and had to sell her body to get money.

Defense attorney Kit Rodgers urged the jury throughout the trial not to forget Dishman and her role in Paxton's abuse and death. Dishman spent most of his time with the victim, he said. Dishman controlled the relationship with Finnegan, he argued Friday.

And it was Dishman, he said, who made Finnegan the scapegoat when she was ready to end the relationship.