TN v. Sean Finnegan: Kept Alive to Torture Murder Trial (2024)

CLINTON, Tenn. (Court TV) — A Tennessee jury is deliberating the fate of a man accused of the brutal rape and murder of a woman in 2019. If they find him guilty, he could face the death penalty.

Sean Finnegan, 56, is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence in the death of Jennifer Paxton, 36. Finnegan is also separately accused of sexual abuse of a child 3 years old or younger, which allegedly occurred in May 2020.

Finnegan is accused of conspiring with his girlfriend, Rebecca Dishman, to lure Paxton to his home in Oak Ridge, Tenn., with the promise of giving her a place to stay. Once Paxton was in the house, investigators say the couple attacked her with a baseball bat, raped her and tortured her. Documents reviewed by Court TV reveal the couple is accused of shackling the victim to the bed before finally strangling her with a ligature and leaving her for dead.

The crime is alleged to have been committed sometime between Dec. 1 and 31, 2019. But investigators say the crimes didn’t end with Paxton’s death, noting that Finnegan allegedly “physically mistreated a corpse in such a way as to be shocking and offensive.” Finnegan is accused of removing a portion of at least one of Paxton’s breasts and nose, as well as breaking her bones and ligaments to get her body to fit into a stand-up freezer.

Police found Paxton’s body on Aug. 5, 2020, while investigating her murder at Finnegan’s home. Prosecutors say Finnegan, knowing police were coming, removed Paxton’s decomposing body from the freezer, hid it under the bed and cleaned the freezer in an attempt to cover up the crime.

Dishman pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and two counts of rape of a child on Sept. 5, 2023. As part of the agreement, she must testify against Finnegan at his upcoming trial. If she testifies truthfully, Dishman will receive a sentence of life in prison plus an additional 50 years to be served at 100%.

DAILY TRIAL HIGHLIGHTS

DAY 4 – 8/16/24

• The prosecution and defense delivered closing arguments.
  • WATCH: Kept Alive to Torture Murder Trial: Prosecution Closing Argument
  • WATCH: Kept Alive to Torture Murder Trial: Defense Closing Argument

DAY 3 – 8/15/24

• SA Jennifer Millsaps, a forensic scientist with the TBI, testified about DNA found inside a freezer that matched victim Jennifer Paxton.
  • WATCH: Forensic Expert: Jennifer Paxton’s DNA Found in Freezer, on Wall
• Rent-A-Center employee Daniel Miller testified that Finnegan purchased a deep freezer in Dec. 2019. It was delivered that day and he instructed them to leave it on the front porch.
• Dr. Darinka Mileusnic-Polchan testified about the condition Paxton’s body was in and the wounds she suffered.

DAY 2 – 8/14/24

• Jurors heard testimony from a series of law enforcement officers and a TBI forensic scientist who detailed the evidence collection process.

DAY 1 – 8/13/24

• The prosecution and defense delivered opening statements.
  • WATCH: Kept Alive to Torture Murder Trial: Prosecution Opening Statement
  • WATCH: Kept Alive to Torture Murder Trial: Defense Opening Statement
• Co-defendant Rebecca Dishman, who pleaded guilty as part of an agreement that took the death penalty off the table in exchange for her testimony, testified.
  • Dishman described – in graphic detail – her “submissive” role in a romantic relationship with Sean Finnegan, as well as the abduction, torture and eventual killing of Jennifer Paxton in Finnegan’s home
  • WATCH: Ex-Girlfriend Gives Gruesome Testimony of Victim’s Torture and Murder