William Finnegan sentenced to 8 to 12 years in prison following guilty plea for involuntary manslaughter in 2020 death of Seth Hadala

Posted on 3/27/2023

Defendant: William Finnegan

On March 23, Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Stephen McIntosh sentenced William Finnegan, 43, of Johnstown, to 8 to 12 years in prison following Finnegan’s guilty plea to the charge of involuntary manslaughter.

Finnegan will be on post-release control for a mandatory minimum of two years and a maximum of five years after his release from prison.

On the morning of Dec. 28, 2020, at a home at 6340 Kendall Ridge Blvd. in Dublin, Finnegan struck Seth Hadala in the head and throat, causing death by blunt force trauma.

When medics and Dublin Police Department officers arrived at the scene, they found Hadala lying on the floor, unresponsive. Hadala was pronounced dead at the scene. The crime scene, Hadala’s injuries and statements made by Finnegan and his girlfriend, who was also at the scene, prompted Dublin Police to arrest Finnegan the same day.

Finnegan was facing murder charges when his trial began on Feb. 21, 2023. On the first day of the trial near the end of jury selection, Finnegan informed the Court that he no longer wanted a trial. The next day, he entered a plea of guilty to the charge of involuntary manslaughter.

The case was investigated by the Dublin Police Department. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation assisted in processing the crime scene and performed scientific testing on evidence. The high quality of the investigative work by these agencies was instrumental in this case.

Simon Huh and Glenn Jones, both assistant prosecuting attorneys with the Franklin County Prosecutor’s office, prosecuted this case.