Police: Couple Arrested for Torture, Rape, and Killing of Tennessee Woman

Two people who allegedly tortured and murdered a woman in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, were arrested last week.

The Oak Ridge Police (ORPD) SWAT, along with the Judicial Crime Task Force, executed a search warrant Thursday at a home in the 300 block of East Fairview Road, according to WATE.

Officials discovered 36-year-old Jennifer Gail Paxton’s remains during their search, and arrested 52-year-old Sean Finnegan and 22-year-old Rebecca Dishman.

The report continued:

According to the warrants, Finnegan and Dishman lured Paxton into the residence with the promise of a place to stay in December 2019. Once at the home the two held her against her will with restraints, attacked her with a baseball bat, tortured, raped, deprived her of food and medical care, strangled her to death and left her broken body in a stand-up freezer, the warrants said.

Knowing that a police investigation may take place, the couple used cleaning products to remove evidence from the home and the victim’s body. Finnegan also removed the body from the freezer and hid it under a bed while he attempted to clean evidence from the freezer.

The couple admitted to the facts after authorities read them their Miranda rights, the arrest warrants showed.

Once the victim was dead, investigators said the two “physically mistreated a corpse in such a way as to be shocking and offensive,” WVLT reported.

“Finnegan allegedly used sharp instruments to cut off a portion of at least one of the victim’s breasts and her nose,” the outlet added.

Both suspects face charges of first-degree murder, aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence, according to the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office website.

“Dishman was arraigned Friday by video and appointed an attorney. Finnegan was arraigned in Anderson County court on Monday. His bond was set at $1 million with a condition that he must wear a GPS ankle bracelet if he is bonded out of custody,” the WATE report concluded.