Oak Ridge Today

Bond for Finnegan set at $1 million in murder, rape, kidnapping case

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Sean Finnegan

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Bond for Sean Finnegan was set at $1 million on Monday. It’s the same bond his co-defendant, Rebecca Elizabeth Dishman, received on Friday.

Finnegan, 52, and Dishman, 22, are charged with murder, sex crimes, kidnapping, and abuse of a corpse after a 36-year-old woman, Jennifer Gail Paxton, was allegedly tortured, raped, and strangled, and her body was allegedly cut and broken before being stuffed into a freezer in a home in east Oak Ridge.

Finnegan has been charged with five felonies after the Oak Ridge Police Department responded to a homicide report at the home on East Fairview Road on Wednesday night and found Paxton’s body during a search of the home early Thursday. The five felony charges against Finnegan are first-degree murder, aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence.

Dishman has also been charged with five felonies: first-degree murder, aggravated sexual battery, aggravated kidnapping, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence.

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Victim identified, bond set at $1 million for Dishman

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Rebecca Dishman

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Bond was set at $1 million on Friday for Rebecca Elizabeth Dishman, one of two Oak Ridge defendants charged with first-degree murder, sex crimes, and kidnapping after a 36-year-old woman was allegedly tortured, raped, and strangled, and her mutilated body was stuffed into a freezer.

The identity of the victim, Jennifer Gail Paxton, hadn’t initially been released because authorities wanted to ensure that family members had been notified of her death. On Friday night, the City of Oak Ridge said Paxton’s family had been notified.

Dishman, 22, one of the two defendants, has been charged with five felonies after Paxton’s death: first-degree murder, aggravated sexual battery, aggravated kidnapping, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence.

Her co-defendant, Sean Finnegan, 52, has also been charged with five felonies: first-degree murder, aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence.

Finnegan could have his bond set Monday, according to records in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

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15 employees, 1 patient test positive for COVID at NHC

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NHC HealthCare of Oak Ridge is pictured above in August 2020.

Fifteen employees and one patient have tested positive for COVID-19 at NHC HealthCare, a nursing home in Oak Ridge.

NHC reported the positive test results and outcomes on its website.

The nursing home said the one patient who tested positive has recovered, and five of the 15 employees have recovered.

The patient was not hospitalized, NHC HealthCare said, and the nursing home has not reported any deaths among the 15 employees and one patient who tested positive.

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Total of 21 residents, two staff tested positive for COVID at The Groves

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The Groves at Oak Ridge, an assisted living facility on Emory Valley Road, is pictured above on Friday evening, July 24, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A total of 21 residents and two staff members tested positive for COVID-19 at The Groves at Oak Ridge, and two residents have died, an executive said Wednesday.

“Our thoughts and prayers go to their loved ones,” said Hollie Bailey, a registered nurse and regional director of operations and clinical services for Navion Senior Solutions. The Groves, an assisted living center on Emory Valley Road, is part of Navion Senior Solutions.

Bailey said 19 of the 21 residents have recovered from COVID-19, and three were set to be discharged from a hospital this week for physical therapy and strengthening before returning to The Groves.

The two staff members who tested positive have both recovered, Bailey said.

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Warrants: Woman tortured, raped before being killed

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Sean Finnegan

Note: This story contains graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.

The 36-year-old woman found dead in an Oak Ridge home early Thursday had been lured there with the promise of a place to stay, according to arrest warrants.

But once at the home on East Fairview Road, she became the victim of a series of gruesome crimes, including murder, according to the warrants, which were filed by Oak Ridge Police Department Sergeant Marvell Moore.

The woman was held against her will, tortured, and raped before she was killed, the warrants said.

She was chained to a bed and shackled with a dog collar, said the warrants, which were filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge. She was struck on the head and an arm with a baseball bat so she wouldn’t resist or try to escape the attacks, and her arms were bound with zip ties, the warrants said.

Once she was incapacitated, the two defendants in the case, Sean Finnegan, 52, and Rebecca Dishman, 22, both of Oak Ridge, repeatedly raped her before strangling her, causing her to die, the warrants said.

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Oak Ridge lab accredited to analyze air, surfaces for COVID-19 virus

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Edward Sobek, president of Assured Bio Labs LLC reviews COVID-19 analysis systems before the processing of samples. (Submitted photo)

An environmental microbiology laboratory in Oak Ridge is the first in the United States to receive accreditation to analyze air and surfaces for the presence of the virus that causes COVID-19, a press release said.

Assured Bio Labs LLC was granted accreditation for testing environmental air and surfaces for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, by the American Industrial Hygiene Association’s Laboratory Accreditation Program, the press release said. AIHA announced the accreditation in a tweet on June 25.

As businesses bring employees back to work, COVID-19 data for touch points and air is essential to protect workers and the public, the press release said. Accreditation ensures the quality of laboratory analysis.

“Since March, we have been running samples for local municipalities and for New York City essential businesses in the financial district,” said Edward A. Sobek, president of Assured Bio Labs LLC. In April, the lab began providing COVID-19 surface and air testing for health care facilities in the Northeast as they converted COVID-19 patient rooms into standard rooms.

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Dodson running for second term on City Council

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Jim Dodson

Oak Ridge City Council member Jim Dodson is running for a second four-year term in the November 3 municipal election.

Dodson has been a teacher in Oak Ridge Schools for 33 years.

He was elected to City Council in November 2016, and he serves as the Council representative on the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission and Youth Advisory Board.

In a press release, Dodson said he has a strong record of community service and leadership on several civic boards, organizations, and commissions.

“I will definitely work alongside my Oak Ridge and East Tennessee neighbors for a better quality of life in our community,” Dodson said. “I hope to continue giving our residents a voice on City Council and promoting excellent educational opportunities for all our kids and young adults.

“I will also continue to help recruit businesses and families to Oak Ridge as the place to relocate. I look forward to working as an Oak Ridge City Council member to maintain and improve all city services while providing safe and thriving neighborhoods.”

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Staff member at ORHS tests positive for COVID-19

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Oak Ridge High School

A staff member who was at Oak Ridge High School on Friday has tested positive for COVID-19, Oak Ridge Schools said Sunday.

The school system learned of the positive diagnosis on Saturday.

“Having this report Saturday morning allowed us to implement a 24-hour closure so we could thoroughly disinfect the building on Saturday,” Superintendent Bruce Borchers said in a letter to families. A second disinfectant fogging of the full building occurred on Sunday, Borchers said.

It’s the sixth overall COVID-19 case in Oak Ridge Schools and the fifth since July 15.

The other cases since July 15 involved a staff member who had been at Jefferson Middle School and ORHS, a staff member at JMS, a student at ORHS band camp, and an instructor at ORHS band camp.

In an earlier case in April, a staff member who had been volunteering at the school system’s food distribution sites tested positive for COVID-19.

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79 percent of students attending classes in person, 21 percent online-only

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Four out of five students in Oak Ridge Schools are attending classes in person at least two days per week, while one out of five have registered for an online-only option as the school system and families respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here are the enrollment numbers for all of the schools on Friday:

  • On-campus classes: 3,695 (about 79 percent of total enrollment)
  • The online-only option, ConnectOR: 963 (about 21 percent)

The school system was showing a total enrollment of 4,658 on Friday, but Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers said it is too early to tell what the actual enrollment is.

“We should have a solid number in a couple of weeks,” he said.

It’s not clear how many families have selected a home school option during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The school system offered two options for the new school year, which started Wednesday and Thursday, depending upon the school.

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Youngest, oldest have highest COVID rate increases; young adults, middle aged have most cases

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The two youngest age groups and the oldest age group had the highest rates of increase in COVID-19 cases in Anderson County in July, and young adults had the most cases and the largest number of new cases.

The two youngest age groups and the oldest age group started the month with the lowest number of cases. But the 11-20 age group ended the month about in the middle of the nine age groups in terms of number of cases.

Cases among patients 0-10 years old grew from one on July 1 to 29 on July 31, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Health. That’s 29 times as many cases at the end of the month as the beginning, and an increase of 28 new cases during the month. It’s the highest rate of increase among all age groups, starting with the lowest number of cases.

Cases among patients 11-20 grew from six on July 1 to 74 on July 31. That’s 12.3 times as many cases at the end of the month as the beginning, and an increase of 68 new cases during the month. It’s the second-highest rate of increase and the third-highest number of new cases among all age groups.

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Oak Ridge Today has been reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic in Tennessee, Anderson County, and Oak Ridge for more than four months. We’ve published about 200 stories about COVID-19 and how it’s affected us here. All of these stories have been free to readers.

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Oak Ridge woman battling COVID hospitalized twice

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Her family couldn’t visit her in the hospital for weeks. She initially didn’t know where she was or why she was there. She was on a ventilator for 13 days.

Now, after two trips to the hospital and about a month there, Nancy Garner, 67, of Oak Ridge, is back at home, still recovering from COVID-19. It’s been almost two months since she tested positive.

Nancy was first tested for COVID-19 in early June while on vacation with her husband, Carl, 71, in Florida.

The Garners had left Oak Ridge on Saturday, June 6. They had rented a house in Florida with friends from Texas.

Nancy Garner noticed symptoms the next day, Sunday, June 7. She had a fever and sore throat. She thought it was from being outside in the sun.

But the following day, Monday, the symptoms were worse. She went to an emergency room in Florida, and she was tested for COVID-19.

She and Carl came back to Oak Ridge immediately, and they stayed at home. They both learned that week that they had tested positive for COVID-19.

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