Jury selection commenced today for the Anderson County death penalty case against Sean Finnegan, charged with first-degree murder following the grim discovery of a dismembered body in his Oak Ridge home back in 2020. Details of the case emerged via the local police department's investigation, revealing that Finnegan and his girlfriend, Rebecca Dishman, are implicated in the death of 36-year-old Jennifer Paxton, as reported by WVLT.
On the trial's first day, the focus was on jury selection at the Anderson County criminal court, with the process expected to span most of the day. Reflecting on the nature of the crime, the Oak Ridge Police Department’s Sergeant Marvell Moore recounted during the couple’s preliminary hearing in 2021 how Finnegan lured Paxton to his home, where she was beaten with a baseball bat, chained, assaulted, and raped for several days before being strangled to death with a shoelace. Finnegan, however, claimed he had paid Paxton $100 for consensual sex with him and Dishman and, upon discovering her bleeding body post-shower, placed her in the freezer "some time after Christmas," as reported by WVLT. The couple confessed to the brutal crimes, sparking a broader discourse on the latent horrors that sometimes lurk behind closed doors.
The circuit trial, presided by Senior Judge Don Ash, will include statements from co-defendant Rebecca Dishman, who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in September 2023. According to WBIR, Dishman is anticipated to testify against Finnegan during the proceedings. Jurors are expected to be sequestered for the trial, isolated from outside influence until a verdict is reached.
In addition to the charges of first-degree murder, Finnegan faces accusations of aggravated rape and exploitation of a child. Details shared by WIVK outline that Finnegan and his then-girlfriend lured Paxton into their residence with the pretense of providing her shelter, resulting in a horrifying ordeal that would ultimately end in her murder, and in one of the more chilling aspects of the crime, the storing of her body in a freezer for an extended period.
