Tennessee killer Sean Finnegan became physically distraught as he learned his he was being sentenced to death for his sickening murder and torture of a homeless woman.
Finnegan had been found guilty of the 2019 murder of Jennifer Paxton when he stood to learn his punishment in the courtroom yesterday.
As the judge announced his sentence – death by lethal injection – the color drained from his face.
He began to shake and fussed with his long, greasy grey hair – but said nothing as the sentence was handed down.
Paxton’s body was kept in a freezer in Finnegan’s bedroom for approximately eight months after he killed her. He viewed her corpse for sexual pleasure.
Sean Finnegan became physically distraught as he learned his fate for his sickening crime
Anderson County jury reached a verdict Wednesday and sentenced Finnegan to death by lethal injection for the 2019 murder of Jennifer Paxton
Finnegan moved the body to a hiding place under his bed before police arrived to search for it in early August 2020.
Paxton was the ideal victim for Finnegan, prosecutor Kevin Allen told jurors Friday.
She was a homeless drug addict who sold her body to make money.
Investigators believe Paxton was strangled to death in December 2019. Finnegan’s partner, 26-year-old Rebecca Dishman, told officers that Finnegan killed Paxton, strangling her with a string over an extended period of time, taking breaks, and pausing to smoke.
Dishman has already pleaded guilty to murder.
The judge announced the sentence, stating that Finnegan would be transferred to the state penitentiary in Nashville for execution by lethal injection.
Following the verdict, Paxton’s family was seen crying and embracing each other in the courtroom. Finnegan shook his attorney’s hands, thanking them for their work on the case, after everyone had been dismissed.
Finnegan’s partner, 26-year-old Rebecca Dishman, told officers that Finnegan killed 36-year-old Jennifer Paxton (pictured), strangling her with a string over an extended period of time, taking breaks, and pausing to smoke. He then kept her body in a freezer for 8 months and viewed it for sexual pleasure.
The chief medical examiner dominated Thursday’s proceedings, providing a detailed account of Paxton’s injuries. To illustrate her testimony, the prosecution had her demonstrate the location of the injuries on a mannequin, using pins to mark the exact points of impact.
‘Sean Finnegan will never be free again,’ defense attorney Forrest Wallace told Anderson County jurors on August 20 at the start of his sentencing hearing. He noted that the minimum sentence for first-degree murder was 51 years, and Finnegan was already 56. ‘Do the math,’ he said.
Prosecutor Kevin Allen countered, advocating for the death penalty. ‘Sean Finnegan must be given the same amount of mercy they (he and Rebecca Dishman) gave Jennifer Paxton,’ he said.
Finnegan remained emotionless throughout the case until the verdict was announced, local ABC affiliate WATE reported.
The only other time he did show emotion was when his brother’s ex-wife, Roxanne Mundy, testified on behalf of Finnegan, detailing his abusive childhood, where he was a victim of physical and sexual violence.
Ahead of Finnegan’s sentencing, Tennessee had 45 individuals on Death Row.
However, in June 2022, Governor Bill Lee instituted a moratorium on executions, pending the completion of an independent investigation into the state’s lethal injection methods.