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Evaluation ordered for Finnegan at Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute

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Sean Finnegan, one of two defendants in a series of gruesome alleged crimes in Oak Ridge some time between December 2019 and August 2020, including murder, sex crimes, and kidnapping, is pictured above in a mugshot from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.

A forensic evaluation has been ordered for Sean Finnegan—one of two defendants in a murder, sex crimes, and kidnapping case in Oak Ridge—at Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute.

The forensic evaluation was ordered last Tuesday by Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Roger Miller. The order was based upon a petition by the defense and a recommendation from Ridgeview Behavioral Health Services. Finnegan, 52, had an evaluation scheduled at Ridgeview in Oak Ridge on August 31.

Under the new order, he is to be evaluated at the Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute—Intensive Services Program for a maximum of 30 days regarding his competency to stand trial and his mental condition at the time of the alleged crimes (the insanity defense).

IQ testing is to be included in the evaluation, the order said. The mental health evaluation is also expected to include a finding about whether Finnegan meets specific criteria for being committed.

It’s not unusual for defendants in homicide cases to have a mental health evaluation of this type. The results are generally not available to the public.

[Read more…]

Psychiatric, mental health exams scheduled for Finnegan, Dishman

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Sean Finnegan, one of two defendants in a series of gruesome alleged crimes in Oak Ridge some time between December 2019 and August 2020, including murder, sex crimes, and kidnapping, is pictured above in a mugshot from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.

Psychiatric and mental health evaluations have now been scheduled for the two defendants charged with murder, sex crimes, kidnapping, and abuse of a corpse in a series of gruesome crimes allegedly committed against a 36-year-old woman in a home in east Oak Ridge between December 2019 and August 2020.

The mental health evaluation for Sean Finnegan, 52, the first co-defendant, is scheduled for Monday at Ridgeview Psychiatric Hospital in Oak Ridge. His evaluation was ordered by Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Roger Miller on Friday, August 21.

Finnegan’s evaluation by Ridgeview is expected to include his competency to stand trial and his mental capacity at the time he allegedly committed the crimes against Jennifer Gail Paxton, the 36-year-old Knoxville woman who was killed, according to arrest warrants. Finnegan’s evaluation is also expected to include an IQ test and an evaluation of his ability to assess his conduct.

The results of the evaluation will be reported to public defender Kathy Kroeger, the court, and prosecutors. The results are usually not available to the public.

[Read more…]

Judge denies motion to reduce bond for Dishman, who could face death penalty

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Rebecca Dishman, one of two defendants in a series of gruesome alleged crimes, including murder, sex crimes, and kidnapping, is pictured above in a mugshot from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.

Note: This story was last updated at 11:45 p.m.

An Anderson County judge on Tuesday denied a motion to reduce the $1 million bond for Rebecca Dishman, and a prosecutor said the state could consider the death penalty in the “especially heinous” murder.

Dishman, 22, is one of two defendants charged with murder, sex crimes, kidnapping, and abuse of a corpse in a series of gruesome crimes allegedly committed against Jennifer Gail Paxton, 36, of Knoxville, in a home in east Oak Ridge sometime between December and August.

Dishman had a hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge on Tuesday afternoon. She was represented by defense attorney Paul Sexton.

Sexton said Dishman waived her right to be in court, and she did not appear to hear the discussion of her case. On Dishman’s behalf, Sexton asked Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Roger Miller to reduce her bond.

“She’s a woman of limited means,” Sexton said, and there is no way she can afford to be released on bond.

Under the law, Dishman is entitled to a reasonable bond, Sexton said.

[Read more…]

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

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Sean Finnegan

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

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.

[Read more…]

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.

[Read more…]

For members: Man charged with attempted murder of deputy has two homicide convictions

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Charles Edward Mason

CLINTON—The Anderson County man charged with attempted murder after allegedly pointing a gun at a deputy and pulling the trigger twice in April has previously pleaded guilty to homicides in Kentucky and Tennessee.

The first homicide conviction was in Knox County, Kentucky, in 1994. The second was in Anderson County, Tennessee, in 2010. The defendant, Charles Edward Mason, now 51, received a nine-year sentence in the first case and a seven-year sentence in the second. He had been accused of shooting a man with a pistol in the first case, the one in Kentucky, according to Knox County court records. He reportedly stabbed a man in the Anderson County case 15 years later.

When he was charged with attempted murder in Anderson County this year, Mason was on probation in a different case involving drug and driver’s license violations. He had pleaded guilty in January to possessing more than 0.5 grams of methamphetamine for resale and driving on a revoked or suspended license. He had received a 10-year sentence, and he had agreed to be declared a habitual motor vehicle offender as well, according to Anderson County court records.

Now, he is facing 24 new charges in Anderson County, including two counts of attempted first-degree murder, eight counts of aggravated assault, three counts of aggravated kidnapping, and three drug charges, among other counts.

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Son charged in gruesome murder of parents; mother worked in Oak Ridge

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Joel Michael Guy Jr.

Joel Michael Guy Jr.

 

A 28-year-old man has been charged in the gruesome murder of his parents, one of whom worked in Oak Ridge, authorities said.

Joel Michael Guy Jr., 28, was arrested Tuesday evening in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and charged with killing his parents, Joel Michael Guy Sr., 61, and Lisa Guy, 55, at their home at 11434 Goldenview Lane in west Knox County, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office said.

The parents are believed to have been murdered between Friday, November 25, and mid-day Saturday, November 26. Both suffered vicious stab wounds as well as dismemberment, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office said. Their remains were found in multiple rooms in the house. The suspect placed portions of the remains in an acid-based solution in an attempt to destroy evidence, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The toxic fluid required specific biohazard equipment for removal by the KCSO Hazmat Team, authorities said. [Read more…]

Reward offered in Coalfield murder of Vietnam vet who retired from Boeing, B&W

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Jerry Pete McCarroll

Jerry “Pete” McCarroll. Photo via Facebook/BBB-TV

Family and friends are offering a $10,000 reward for specific information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for the death of Jerry “Pete” McCarroll, a Vietnam veteran and cancer survivor who was retired from Boeing and B&W Clinch River in Oak Ridge, authorities said.

McCarroll was found murdered on April 18 outside of Allied Metal Recovery and Refining on Gouge Hollow Road in the Coalfield area of Morgan County, according to the Office of the District Attorney General in the Ninth Judicial District, which includes Loudon, Meigs, Morgan, and Roane counties.

McCarroll worked at Allied Metal Recovery and Refining, a press release said. His body was found at 6:30 a.m. Monday, April 18, and he had been beaten and shot, the press release said. McCarroll was known to carry cash, and the motive may have been robbery, authorities said. [Read more…]

Man pleads guilty to murder-, robbery-related charges in drug deal that ended in death

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Bronx Washington

Bronx Washington

An Oak Ridge man has pleaded guilty to murder- and robbery-related charges in what police described as a marijuana deal that ended with one man dead.

Bronx Shavon Washington, who is now 22, pleaded guilty in Anderson County Criminal Court on Monday. He entered the guilty pleas on a reduced charge of facilitation to commit second-degree murder, a Class B felony, and a reduced charge of facilitation to commit aggravated robbery, a Class C felony. Washington received a total 14-year sentence on those two charges as well as a drug possession charge. He was the last of three defendants to plead guilty in the case.

Washington and two brothers, Brandon Javon Brooms, now 25, and James Stefan Brooms, now 27, had each been indicted in March 2012 on charges of first-degree murder and especially aggravated robbery in the death of Antonio “Tony” Phillips, 22. [Read more…]

Trial for Corwin’s alleged killer to be moved

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Christopher Lee

Christopher Lee

Information from WYSH Radio

The trial for a former Marine accused of killing an Oak Ridge native who was living in California with her Marine husband is being moved.

Christopher Lee is charged with the 2014 murder of Erin Corwin.

Prosecutors say that after he killed her, Lee dumped Corwin’s body down an abandoned mine shaft in a remote section of the Joshua Tree National Park.

Authorities say the two had an affair while Corwin’s husband was based at Twentynine Palms, California. [Read more…]

ACSD: Daughter’s boyfriend charged with murder in Andersonville shooting

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William James McMillan

William James McMillan

Note: This story was updated at 11:33 a.m.

An Andersonville man has been charged with murder in a shooting that allegedly killed his girlfriend’s mother early Wednesday, authorities said.

William James McMillan, 48, is accused of fatally shooting Karen Zahrobsky, 66, according to authorities. They said McMillan, Zahrobsky, and Zahrobsky’s daughter, Christin Dixon, 45, all lived at 460 Lone Mountain Road in Andersonville, where the shooting allegedly occurred.

The shooting was reported at about 4:45 a.m. Wednesday. Zahrobsky was dead when deputies arrived.

McMillan was charged by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which helped investigate. McMillan was booked into the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, and he is being held on $625,000.00 bond. [Read more…]

Former TBI fugitive charged with kidnapping, murder of missing Campbell County woman

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Lonnie Vann

Lonnie Vann

KNOXVILLE–A former Top 10 fugitive who had been wanted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for armed robbery has now been charged with killing a woman who had been reported missing in Campbell County more than a month ago.

Lonnie Lee Vann, 44, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of kidnapping, the TBI said in a press release Wednesday, the same day a Campbell County grand jury returned the indictments.

At the request of 8th District Attorney General Jared Effler, TBI special agents, helped by investigators from the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies in East Tennessee, began investigating the disappearance of Rhonda Daugherty on December 4. The 49-year woman went missing from her home on December 2. [Read more…]

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