The color drained from the face of Tennessee killer Sean Finnegan as he was sentenced to death for the gruesome murder and torture of a homeless woman.
Finnegan was found guilty of the 2019 murder of Jennifer Paxton when he was sentenced in court yesterday.
When the judge pronounced the sentence – death by lethal injection – Finnegan said nothing.
His wide eyes were fixed on the judge, he began to sway in his chair and then started playing with his long, greasy hair.
Paxton’s body was kept in a freezer in Finnegan’s bedroom for about eight months after he killed her. He viewed her corpse for sexual pleasure.
Sean Finnegan became physically upset when he learned the fate of his heinous crime
An Anderson County jury reached a verdict Wednesday, sentencing 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 the jury 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 by strangling her with a rope over an extended period of time, taking breaks and occasionally smoking a cigarette.
Dishman has already pleaded guilty to murder.
The judge announced the sentence, stating that Finnegan would be transferred to the state prison in Nashville, where he would be executed by lethal injection.
After the verdict, Paxton’s family was seen crying and hugging in the courtroom. Finnegan shook hands with his attorney and thanked them for their work on the case after everyone was dismissed.
Finnegan’s partner, 26-year-old Rebecca Dishman, told officers that Finnegan murdered 36-year-old Jennifer Paxton (pictured), strangled her with a string over an extended period of time, taking breaks and stopping briefly to smoke. He then stored her body in a freezer for eight months and viewed it for sexual pleasure.
“Sean Finnegan will never be free,” defense attorney Forrest Wallace told Anderson County jurors at the start of his sentencing hearing on Aug. 20. He noted that the minimum sentence for first-degree murder was 51 years, and Finnegan was already 56. “Do the math,” he said.
District Attorney Kevin Allen responded by calling for the death penalty. “Sean Finnegan should be given the same measure of mercy that they (he and Rebecca Dishman) gave Jennifer Paxton,” he said.
Finnegan remained emotionless throughout the trial until the verdict was announced, according to local ABC WHAT reported.
The only other time he showed emotion was when his brother’s ex-wife, Roxanne Mundy, testified on Finnegan’s behalf, describing his violent childhood, during which he was the victim of physical and sexual abuse.
Before Finnegan’s conviction, there were 45 people on death row in Tennessee.
However, in June 2022, Governor Bill Lee imposed a moratorium on executions pending the completion of an independent investigation into lethal injection methods in the state.