Sean Finnegan sentenced to death in Oak Ridge murder case

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Sean Finnegan, the man convicted in Jennifer Paxton’s gruesome murder in late 2019, was sentenced to death Wednesday morning.

After deliberations in the sentencing began on Tuesday, the jury reached a verdict Wednesday morning. The jury had to return the sentencing documents to the judge three times as there were errors in the first two forms that were filled out.

Around 11:15 a.m., the jury delivered its verdict to the judge sentencing Sean Finnegan to death. The judge read the sentencing, explaining that the jury found several aggravating factors that led them to give the death penalty, including:

• The murder was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel
• It involved serious torture or abuse beyond what was needed to produce death
• The murder was knowingly committed, solicited directed or aided by the defendant, while the defendant had a substantial role in committing any rape or kidnapping
• The defendant knowingly mutilated the body of the victim after death

As the judge read the sentencing, he explained that Finnegan would be transferred to the state penitentiary in Nashville, where he would be executed by lethal injection.

Following the verdict, Paxton’s family were seen crying in the courtroom. Finnegan also shook his attorney’s hands, thanking for the work they did in the case, after everyone had been dismissed.

District Attorney General Dave Clark released a statement following the sentencing, reflecting on the weight of the decision to sentence someone to death, and sharing compassion for Paxton’s family who have listened to this trial.

“Most particularly, our thoughts and prayers are with the surviving family members of Jennifer Paxton who have suffered through this horrific process and who have had to hear the details of Jennifer’s last days of captivity, torture and murder. They have been strong, courageous and supportive throughout,” Clark wrote in part. “It is hoped that with the jury’s verdict and the conclusion of this case that there can be some closure and healing for Jennifer’s family from this nightmare.”

Read the full statement from Clark below.

Throughout the case, Finnegan did not show any emotion until the sentencing. The first time he showed emotion was when his brother’s ex-wife Roxanne Mundy testified about the abuse Finnegan suffered as a child.

Finnegan was convicted on 11 counts on Monday, including criminally negligent homicide, first-degree felony murder during the perpetration of/attempt to perpetrate aggravated rape, abuse of a corpse, and conspiracy to commit aggravated rape. An additional hearing has been scheduled for Finnegan for this non-capital convictions for November 7.

Ahead of Finnegan’s sentencing, there were 45 people on Death Row in Tennessee, however, Governor Bill Lee paused executions in June 2022 when he ordered an independent investigation of the state’s lethal injection methods.

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