The Father of 4 Caught in a Murder-for-Hire Plot

Jared Bridegan was driving on the evening of February 16, 2022, when he noticed a tire in the middle of the road. The 33-year-old Microsoft executive hit the brakes, turned on his hazard lights and climbed out of his Volkswagen Atlas to move the debris out of the way.

While Bridegan was trying to do a good deed, someone took the opportunity to ambush him. A passerby found Bridegan’s bullet-ridden body face down in the street, his wallet, wristwatch and other personal items untouched. His 2-year-old daughter, Bexley, was still in her car seat. Though two bullets had struck the vehicle, Bexley was unharmed.

Police were initially stumped by the crime. However, prosecutors later alleged Bridegan had been the target of an elaborate murder plot—one orchestrated by his ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, and her husband, Mario Fernandez Saldana.

Bridegan and Gardner got married in 2010 and had two children together, twin son and daughter Liam and Abby. But the couple’s relationship unraveled, and they went through a contentious divorce in 2015. 

The court file for their divorce proceedings includes roughly 300 entries and motions, describing a variety of child support and parenting conflicts. Gardner accused Bridegan of “regularly interrogating” and recording the children after “actively coaching” them, while Bridegan alleged that she locked him out of their bedroom, installed surveillance devices and treated him “in a disparaging manner in front of the children,” according to the The Florida Times-Union.

Both got remarried—Bridegan in 2017 and Gardner in 2018. Bridegan and his second wife, Kirsten, subsequently had two children together, daughters Bexley and London. Meanwhile, Bridegan and Gardner continued to share custody of Liam and Abby.

On the night of the murder, Bridegan had just dropped off then-9-year-old Liam and Abby at Gardner’s home in Jacksonville Beach, Fla., after a regularly scheduled “date night” the children had with their dad. As he drove back home with Bexley in the car after dinner and ice cream, he called to let Kirsten know they were on their way.

But Bridegan never arrived, and Kirsten grew worried. She called Bridegan repeatedly—until, eventually, a police officer answered and broke the bad news.

“Whoever decided to kill Jared knew what kind of person he was,” Kirsten told The Daily Beast. “They knew he was the kind of person who would stop to move a tire out of the street to ensure someone else wouldn’t get hurt.”

After months of investigating the perplexing crime, prosecutors ultimately deduced that Bridegan had been the victim of a murder-for-hire scheme. Gardner and Fernandez Saldana, they argued, hired a then-61-year-old man named Henry Tenon to shoot Bridegan to put an end to the divorced couple’s ongoing custody and parenting disputes. Those issues, prosecutors allege, were preventing Gardner from becoming the trustee of her trust fund.

Bridegan and Tenon were strangers. But Tenon had once been a tenant at a rental property owned by Gardner and Fernandez Saldana. Additionally, Tenon drove a dark blue Ford F-150—the vehicle seen fleeing the crime scene—and his DNA was found on the rim of the tire in the road. Prosecutors also found $10,000 worth of checks from First Choice Home Rentals LLC, a company owned by Gardner and Fernandez Saldana, made out to Tenon.

Tenon was arrested in January 2023 and charged with conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree murder with a weapon, accessory after the fact to a capital felony and child abuse. Two months later, prosecutors charged Fernandez Saldana with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony and child abuse. Gardner was indicted in August 2023 on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, solicitation to commit first-degree murder and child abuse.

“This investigation has uncovered the truth of Jared’s murder,” Melissa Nelson, fourth judicial circuit state attorney, said at a news conference announcing Gardner’s arrest. “Henry Tenon did not act alone. Mario Fernandez [Saldana] 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.”

In March 2023, Tenon agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder with a weapon in exchange for testifying against Fernandez Saldana and Gardner. Under the deal, prosecutors also agreed to drop other charges and pursue a reduced sentencing range. However, Tenon later changed his mind. He withdrew his guilty plea and opted to proceed with a trial instead on February 17, 2026.

In August 2026, Fernandez Saldana was found guilty of first-degree murder and solicitation to commit a capital felony. He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison, though his attorneys are seeking a new trial.

Meanwhile, Gardner and Tenon are scheduled to be tried together in May 2027. After prosecutors dropped some of the charges against them in September 2026, Gardner now faces first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder, while Tenon faces first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Bridegan’s widow, Kirsten, has tried to make something positive out of her husband’s murder. She founded the Bridegan Foundation in 2022 to make children more comfortable while they’re in the care of police. The nonprofit provides “Bexley boxes” full of supplies like diapers, snacks and toys to law enforcement agencies.

The initiative was inspired by Bexley’s experiences after witnessing her father’s murder. After officers arrived on the scene, Bexley was taken to a local police station until Kirsten could arrive. The officers did their best with what they had on hand, offering her crayons, a coloring book and snacks from the vending machine. However, Kirsten realized how much more could be done to help children feel safe and comforted after witnessing a traumatic event.

“Honestly, this has been very therapeutic for myself and Bexley to be able to channel our pain into something beautiful to help others,” Kirsten told News4Jax. ”Jared was very service oriented. He loved kids, doing service for kids, so I know he would be proud of this as well. To bring a little brightness to those that need it.”