The ex-wife of a man fatally shot in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, in 2022 has been indicted on charges connected to his death. The ex-wife, Shanna Gardner-Fernandez, is the third person to be charged in the killing of Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan. Gardner-Fernandez has been charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony, and child abuse, according to USA Today.
Bridegan was killed in February 2022 after dropping the former couple's 9-year-old twins off at Gardner-Fernandez's house, USA Today reports. Bridegan's 2-year-old daughter from his second marriage was with him when he stopped on a quiet road in Florida due to a tire on the road. Police say he was fatally shot when he got out of the car and tried to move the tire.
Gardner-Fernandez's current husband, Mario Fernandez Saldana, has also been charged with plotting the murder. Henry Tenon was the first person to be charged in the case. Tenon was Saldana's handyman and tenant, and Saldana allegedly asked him to commit the crime, reports the Daily Beast.
"For 547 days we hoped and prayed that this day would come," Kristen Bridegan, Bridegan's widow, said. "Shanna's arrest ends one horrific chapter of our pursuit of justice for Jared and now we open a new one."
Though the motive is still being investigated, it has been noted that Gardner-Fernandez and Bridegan were in the middle of a long, bitter divorce, according to USA Today.
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“Henry Tenon did not act alone. Mario Fernandez did not plan alone, and Shanna Gardner’s indictment acknowledges her central and key role in the cold, calculated, and premeditated murder of Jared Bridegan,” said State Attorney Mellisa Nelson during a press conference.
