Jared Bridegan murder: Ex-wife Shanna Gardner appears in court as DeSantis signs extradition order
Shanna Gardner is accused of conspiring to kill Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan with her new husband Mario Fernandez
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Shanna Gardner, the ex-wife accused of orchestrating the death of Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan, appeared in a Washington court on Thursday to dispute her extradition to Florida.
Ms Gardner appeared in Benton County Superior Court after Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed an extradition order, the Jacksonville State Attorney’s Office told News4Jax.
The extradition hearing was an attempt by Ms Gardner’s attorneys to prevent her extradition to Duval County where she faces charges of first-degree murder, solicitation to commit first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and child abuse.
The ex-wife of Bridegan is accused of hatching a murder-for-hire plot with her second husband, Mario Fernandez, to kill Bridegan by hiring Henry Tenon to shoot him.
Bridegan was dropping off his two children at Ms Gardner’s home in Jacksonville Beach when he was ambushed and fatally shot. One of his other children was in the car at the time.
Ms Gardner, who resides in Washington state, was arrested on 17 August – more than a year after Bridegan was killed.
The Independent has reached out to Jacksonville State Attorney for comment.
Widow welcomes news of arrest
Jared Bridegan’s widow, Kristen Bridegan, welcomed news of the arrest of his ex-wife.
“For 547 days, we hoped and prayed that this day would come,” she told reporters.
“Shanna’s arrest ends one horrific chapter of our pursuit for justice for Jared and now we opened a new one. This next chapter will be excruciating. We are confident in the ability of the State’s Attorney’s Office and law enforcement to bring truth to light we expect to see justice carried out to the fullest extent of the law.”
Parents of Shanna Gardner-Fernandez issues statement on arrest
The Kirton McConkie Law Firm in Salt Lake City, Utah, issued a statement on behalf of Shanna Fernandez-Gardner’s parents, Shelli and Sterling Gardner.
“Words cannot accurately express the depth of our sadness. Family is our top priority. We love our daughter and are focused on supporting her and our entire family as we help our grandchildren navigate this difficult and very confusing time,” it read.
“For their sake and all involved, we caution against further speculation and request privacy as the legal process runs its course. In the meantime, we are thankful for the continued support, thoughtfulness and prayers being so generously shared by friends and loved ones.”
Jared Bridegan’s widow, Kristen Bridegon, told reporters she was desperate for the grandparents to allow her husband’s two children from his marriage to the suspect to be reunited with their half-sisters.
Husband of Microsoft executive’s ex-wife could face death penalty
The husband of the ex-wife of slain Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan could face the death penalty for his roadside murder in Florida.
Prosecutors say they intend to seek the death penalty for Mario Fernandez Saldana, who is accused in connection with the February 2022 killing.
Bridegan was murdered amid a family court fight with his ex-wife Shanna Gardner-Fernandez over custody and finances related to their 10-year-old twins.
Husband of Microsoft executive’s ex-wife could face death penalty for roadside murder
Jared Bridegan gunned down in ‘cold blood’ as he drove two-year-old daughter in Jacksonville
The ex-wife suspect
After her divorce from Jared Bridegan and her marriage to Mario Fernandez, Shanna Gardner-Fernandez reportedly moved her family to southeastern Washington state – without her new spouse, according to Fox News Digital.
Kirsten Bridegan, before Ms Gardner-Fernandez’s arrest, had told the outlet she was “shocked” to learn Ms Gardner-Fernandez moved away, claiming her step-children are now “isolated” from her and their half-siblings.
“First, the twins lost their dad, then they were completely cut off from their own sisters, and now they’re being taken away from their school, friends, their sports teams,” she said. “They are so isolated, and that’s what concerns me.”
The twins didn’t attend their father’s funeral service – but in a post to her custom bakery’s Instagram account, Mr Bridegan’s ex-wife Shanna said she had held a private memorial with family and friends to “show support for my littles”.
“It was a very emotional day, but also a day for smiles, laughter and love,” she wrote.
Mr Bridegan’s widow told Fox she has tried to make contact with Ms Gardner-Fernandez, but said she has been met with silence.
“It’s been an added loss,” she said. “On top of losing Jared, my children have lost their siblings. I’ve lost my step-kids. I have tried for months and months to make contact and have gotten nowhere.”
Ms Gardner-Fernandez, however, was arrested in Washington state on Thursday – and will be extradited back to Duval County, Florida, where she has been indicted by a grand jury on a charge of first-degree murder and child abuse.
“We promised at the outset of this investigation we would not relent until we uncovered the truth of Jared’s murder, the whole and entire truth,” State Attorney Melissa Nelson told reporters.
The Independent has reached out to Ms Gardner-Fernandez’s criminal defence attorney, Henry Coxe III, for comment.
Bridegan’s widow, Kristen Bridegan, welcomed the hope that justice would be served.
“For 547 days, we hoped and prayed that this day would come,” she told reporters.
Arrests
In January, authorities arrested Henry Teton, 61, a longtime felon, and charged him with conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree murder with a weapon, accessory after the fact to a capital felony and child abuse.
Melissa Nelson, the State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial District, told reporters that were other suspects being investigation and authorities “know that Henry Tenon did not act alone.”
Authorities did not detail the exact role they believe Mr Tenon played in Mr Bridegan’s death but revealed a connection between Mr Tenon and Ms Gardner-Fernandez. They said Mr Tenon was living at a home in Jacksonville that was owned by Mario Fernandez, Ms Gardner-Fernandez’s husband at the time of the murder.
Mr Fernandez reportedly purchased the rental property in 2017 and solid it in October 2022, according to investigators. Mr Tenon appears to have rented directly from Mr Fernandez.
The landlord himself was arrested on 16 March on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony and child abuse. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against him l– alleging he committed the crime for “pecuniary gain” and in a “cold calculated and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification.”
The decision to pursue the death penalty in the case came just days after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a new law requiring that only eight out 12 jurors need to agree on the death sentence. It replaces a law which needed a unanimous vote for the death penalty.
Prosecutors announced earlier this year that Tenon had pleaded guilty and would testify against co-defendants; he will serve at least 15 years in prison, according to the plea agreement.
Then, this week, Ms Gardner-Fernandez was also arrested in connection with her ex-husband’s death – across the country in Washington State.
The investigation
Jared Bridegan’s widow, Kirsten Bridegan, told The Independent in the months after his death that her husband of four years was “such a good man, a good father, great spouse and a loyal friend. He would lend a tool to anybody who needed it, go to their house and help them. It’s just shocking that anyone would target him and to do it in such an evil and cowardly way, especially with my daughter in the car.”
In April 2022, she said she was “praying that they can recover DNA or fingerprints from the evidence that they’ve sent for processing because that will let us know who is behind this and who killed him.
“It’s so frustrating that it takes time but this isn’t a TV show, it’s real life. I pray and hope that when that comes in that will give us someone or something to go after.”
Ms Bridegan did not want to comment at the time on her husband’s relationship with his ex-wife but said he’d found it challenging raising his eldest children between two homes.
“Being a father of children that are split between two homes is difficult, and that was something was difficult for him.”
While she said the grief of losing her husband was unbearable at times, Ms Bridegan said she was focused on caring for her daughters and bringing her husband’s killers to justice.
“It’s hard allowing myself to feel those emotions and deal with them head on,” she told The Independent. “Sometimes I feel like I have to push those aside and be here for my daughters. I’ve just been trying to focus on my girls and get answers.
“Someone out there knows something, someone out there knows who did this. Whether it’s for the reward money, or because you’re a decent person and have a shred of humanity, please come forward. Please keep sharing, keep looking.”
An alleged affair
A man claiming to be a fitness trainer who was hired by Jared Bridegan to train Shanna Gardner-Fernandez as a Christmas gift told Fox News Digital that he had an affair with the mother of two.
He told the outlet on the condition of anonymity that their professional relationship turned intimate a few months into their training sessions. He claims the couple had been strained at the time and living at opposite sides of their house.
The trainer said that both Mr Bridegan and Ms Gardner-Fernandez were members of the Mormon faith, but that the latter had drifted from the religion while Mr Bridegan was still devout.
He claimed that Mr Bridegan discovered sexual text messages between his then-wife and the trainer on her phone, which caused a significant rift in the couple’s relationship.
Friends of Mr Bridegan speaking to Fox News Digital reportedly said the father was willing to forgive the alleged infidelity for the sake of their children, but claim that Ms Gardner-Fernandez wanted out of the marriage.
Ms Gardner-Fernandez has publicly denied those allegations, according to The Florida Times-Union.
However, the day after the couple’s divorce, she reportedly listed the trainer as her emergency contact when she visited a local tattoo parlour to receive a piercing, according to Fox News Digital, which reviewed the waiver she signed.
A worker at the tattoo shop claims Ms Gardner-Fernandez said she just wanted Mr Bridegan to “shut up” and reportedly asked the staff if they knew “anyone who could shut him up.”
She acknowledged these comments to The Florida Times-Union, saying they were the result of her being in the midst of a messy divorce, and not a threat toward her ex-husband.
A staffer at the elementary school the couple’s twins attended told Fox News Digital that Ms Gardner-Fernandez expressed “disdain” while discussing her ex-husband.
Shanna Gardner fighting extradition to Florida
Ms Gardner-Fernandez is currently in the custody of the Benton County Corrections Department in Washington.
During a court appearance on Friday, Ms Gardner-Fernandez refused to waive extradition to Florida, where she faces charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and child endangerment.
She is being held without bond and is expected to reappear in court on 14 September.
Who was Jared Bridegan?
Mr Bridegan, 33, was born in Missouri but moved to Florida with his family at a young age, going on to study digital media and building a career in UX design, according to his obituary. He met Shanna Gardner while she was visiting Florida; she grew up in a wealthy Mormon family from Utah that founded Stampin’ Up!, a multi-million dollar paper craft company.
They married in 2010 and initially lived in Utah but later moved to Connecticut and then to Florida after welcoming twins, a boy and a girl, as their son had a heart condition requiring he live at sea level, according to The Florida Times-Union.
The couple’s relationship fell apart in 2014 and 2015, according to Fox News Digital, citing court documents from their divorce filings. Ms Gardner-Fernandez filed for divorce on 23 February, 2015, according to court records. The couple remained in near constant litigation over the divorce and their children’s custody until his death in 2022.
The court file for the couple’s divorce contains approximately 300 entries, according to The Florida Times-Union.
Ms Gardner-Fernandez told the paper that her ex-husband allegedly engaged in “disturbing and abusive behaviour” such as “regularly interrogating” and recording her children after “actively coaching” them on what to say. She claimed he threatened to use the recordings against her.
He claimed that his ex-wife treated him “in a disparaging manner in front of the children,” and installed surveillance devices in his car and the children’s bedrooms.
She declined to comment on the claims, telling the paper “I don’t see any good in airing our dirty laundry.”
‘New layers of ghastliness to the already vicious crime’
The murder was as brazen as it was horrifying, a father of four shot dead in broad daylight in front of his toddler – but revelations in the 18 months since Jared Bridegan’s killing have added only new layers of ghastliness to the already vicious crime.
One man was arrested in January in connection with the Florida man’s death, prosecutors alleging that he’d pulled the trigger but likely hadn’t acted alone.
Two months later, a second suspect was arrested: This time the new husband of Mr Bridegan’s first wife, the mother of two of the 33-year-old victim’s children.
And now that woman, Shanna Gardner-Fernandez, has been arrested herself, indicted on a charge of first-degree murder and accused of conspiring to have her former spouse killed after a messy divorce and custody battle.
It’s a case replete with allegations of abuse and deception playing out against the backdrop of what had seemed, for a time, like an idyllic life. Mr Bridegan worked as a Microsoft corporate executive, while Ms Gardner-Fernandez hailed from a prominent Utah family; both had remarried and were raising their families in the Florida sunshine.
A Microsoft executive was murdered in an ambush. Did his ex wife arrange it?
The targeted murder of a Florida father of four has unravelled a shocking alleged plot between his ex-wife, her next husband and the new spouse’s one-time tenant. Graig Graziosi and Sheila Flynn look at the case