Jared Bridegan’s ex-wife makes surprising legal move after being charged with his murder
Arrest made in murder of Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan
The ex-wife of slain Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan is fighting extradition to Florida, where she stands accused of orchestrating a plot to murder Bridegan.
Mr Bridegan, 33, was shot dead after dropping off his two children at his ex-wife Shanna Gardner-Fernandez’s home near Jacksonville, Florida. A third child — Mr Bridegan’s with his second wife — was in the car at the time of the shooting and was uninjured.
Mario Fernandez, Ms Gardner-Fernandez’s second husband, was arrested in March and was charged with orchestrating the murder by hiring Henry Tenon, a tenant residing in one of his properties, to kill Mr Bridegan. Mr Tenon has admitted to shooting the executive.
On Thursday, police announced that Ms Gardner-Fernandez had been indicted on a first-degree murder charge and is accused of conspiring to have her husband killed.
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, Fox News reports.
She is being held without bond and is expected to reappear in court on 14 September.
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.
Andrea Blanco19 August 2023 23:01
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.”
Graig Graziosi & Sheila Flynn 19 August 2023 21:00
‘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.
Graig Graziosi & Sheila Flynn 19 August 2023 18:00
Prosecutors say they will push for the death penalty for both Shanna Gardner-Fernandez and her husband, Mario Fernandez.
He and his former tenant, Henry Tenon, have both already been charged for their alleged roles in the February 2022 murder in a wealthy suburb of Jacksonville Beach.
Jared Bridegan, a father of four, was murdered after he had dropped off the twins he shares with his ex-wife and was headed back to the house he lived at with his second wife, Kristen Bridegan.
Investigators say that he stopped his vehicle when he saw a tire in the middle of the road, and when he got out to move it he was shot multiple times in front of his daughter Bexley.
Court documents say that several bullets came within inches of hitting the youngster, who was strapped into her car seat.
Oliver O’Connell19 August 2023 15:00
Widow welcomes news of arrest
Jared Bridegan’s widow, Kristen Bridegan, welcomed news of the arrest of his ex-wife.
“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.”
Oliver O’Connell19 August 2023 12:00
Jared Bridegan: Ex-wife charged with murder of Microsoft executive
Shanna Gardner-Fernandez 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.
Oliver O’Connell19 August 2023 09:00
Shanna Gardner-Fernandez’s comments following ex-husband’s murder
Shanna Gardner-Fernandez, the ex-wife of Jared Bridegan, sat for an interview following her ex-husband’s murder, during which she expressed sadness that he had been killed, stating that he was “still the father of my children.”
“Any time divorce comes into any situation it’s messy,” she told WJAX in July 2022 following his murder.
“Even though we didn’t always get along, he was still the father of my kids,” she said, claiming she “fell to the floor because I was devastated” when she learned he had been killed.
She has now been charged with first degree murder relating to the death of Mr Bridegan.
Ms Gardner-Fernandez insisted at the time she had no idea who carried out the murder.
Oliver O’Connell19 August 2023 06:00
Microsoft exec Jared Bridegan was shot dead in a chilling ambush. Did his ex wife arrange it?
Jared Bridegan’s ex-wife, Shanna Gardner-Ferenandez, has been charged with his murder.
Though she did not pull the trigger the night he was gunned down outside his car, investigators believe a spiteful divorce led to her orchestrating, along with her new husband and a gunman, the murder of her ex-husband.
Here is everything you need to know about the murder of Jared Bridegan.
Oliver O’Connell19 August 2023 04:00
The Shooting
On 16 February 2022, around 8pm, Jared Bridegan was in the Sanctuary neighbourhood in south Jacksonville Beach, where he had just dropped his twin 10-year-old daughters off at his ex-wife’s house after taking them to dinner.
A third daughter, a two-year-old he had with his second wife, was still in his car when Mr Bridegan encountered a tire blocking the one-way road he was travelling on.
He was still approximately two miles away from his ex-wife’s house when he encountered the roadblock. Mr Bridegan stepped out of his vehicle to move the tire, and when he did, he was shot numerous times from close range.
Jacksonville Beach Police Sargent Tonya Tator said officers believed the tire was planted at the site to stop Mr Bridegan’s vehicle.
“When officers got on the scene, they found the vehicle with the flashers on, and there was a tire up in front of his vehicle in the roadway,” she told PEOPLE. “From there we are just trying to put the pieces together. There were no problems with his vehicle.”
She said the detective in charge of the investigation believed the shooting was likely targeted.
Security footage captured an image of a blue Ford F-150 made between 2004 and 2008 leaving the area around the time of the shooting, police said. Law enforcement asked for the public’s assistance in identifying and locating the vehicle.
Oliver O’Connell19 August 2023 03:00
Kristen Bridegan says she always felt ex-wife was responsible
“From very, very early on, everything in my body and soul told me she was behind it,” Kristen Bridegan, widow of Jared Bridegan, told reporters after it was announced Shanna Garner-Fernandez had been arrested and charged with the murder of her husband.
Oliver O’Connell19 August 2023 02:00