In October 2023, it was reported that Shanna Gardner, as the third member of an alledged callous, three-way murder plot, was extradited back to Florida to face the charges of conspiring to and soliciting the killing of ex-husband, Jared Bridegan, who had been recently employed as senior design manager at Microsoft.
Two months earlier, in August, Gardner was the last of three suspects to be taken into custody and declared in court to be held without bond. Her arrest came five months after her husband and co-conspirator, Mario Fernandez, was detained and made a plea of not guilty. The first man indicted for his part in the murder, Henry Arthur Tenon, the one who pulled the trigger and Fernandez’s tenant prior to the twisted scheme, pleaded guilty that same month, changing his initial not-guilty plea.
For those looking to know more about this true crime story, here’s the background and what is known so far.
Shanna Gardner’s life before Jared Bridegan’s death
Born to Sterling and Shelli Gardner, Shanna enjoyed a wealthy, traditional Mormon upbringing in her home state of Utah. In 2010, she married Bridegan in Salt Lake City. The couple had twins, moved to Connecticut, and later to Florida due to it being better for the health of one of their children.
After suspicions of alleged infidelity on Gardner’s part, among other issues, the pair split up in 2015. With their divorce came a messy custody battle in which the two, as it often happens in such contentious cases, pointed fingers at one another, each painting a denigrating picture of their ex-partner.
After five years of a legal tug-of-war rife with disagreements, the court opted for joint custody, something that was not to Gardner’s liking.
Bridegan was the first to move on and tie the knot again, marrying his second wife, Kirsten, before Shanna went on to wed Mario Fernandez Saldana in 2018. Bridegan and his new partner had two daughters together, whereas Shanna did not have any more children.
A calculated murder plot
You’d normally expect the resentment that can come with divorce proceedings and the subsequent ugly custody battles to dwindle down with time. However, sometimes, the venom does not dissipate, it persists, poisoning one’s line of thinking. That being said, there’s a big difference between staying spiteful, but still being willing to co-parent and communicate for the sake of the innocent kids who are caught in between, and selfishly depriving these same kids of a loving father.
In this case, someone’s choice robbed four children of a father, one of whom, not even 3 years old at the time, must now live with the trauma of having witnessed the harrowing event. Homicide cases inevitably leave collateral damage, but in this situation, the collateral is especially cruel. All four children were younger than 10 years of age when their father was abruptly, and brutally, taken from them.
Last year, in 2022, an unsuspecting Jared Bridegan was driving home on a February night, after having a usual “Daddy date night” with the twin boy and girl he shared with Gardner, when he encountered a lone tire blocking the road ahead of him. With his daughter in the backseat, Bridegan stopped the car and walked out to remove the obstruction in order to continue on his way. Only, he wouldn’t get to. Bridegan was ambushed and shot multiple times. Some of the bullets hit his car but, thankfully, left his toddler unscathed. A handful of minutes thereafter, another driver came upon the dreadful scene and called first responders.
Not long after her ex-husband’s murder, Gardner took her two children and moved to Washington. She did not attend Bridegan’s funeral. Shanna claimed she was not invited. In June, she hired a defense attorney.
At a time when she stated she was being cooperative with authorities and was convinced she would not face any charges, Gardner was asked in an interview with Action News Jax what she would say to her ex-husband if she had the chance. “That I wish it weren’t like this,” she answered, ostensibly emotional, “I wish things could’ve been – and could be – different.”
Three arrests a few months apart
The first suspect to be arrested, nearly a year after the incident, was Henry Tenon, charged with multiple counts including murder. At this time, according to The Independent, the State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial District, Melissa Nelson, told the press that Tenon had not planned the deed alone. On top of evidence in the form of dozens of phone records, Fernandez’s former tenant received multiple signed checks from the couple, which is the main reason that illuminates his motive for killing as being, most likely, strictly financial. Tenon is being cooperative and is expected to be made a witness in favor of the prosecution. In exchange, three charges against him were dropped and his possible sentence reduced.
In March, Fernandez was arrested for murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony, and other criminal counts that Tenon was also initially charged with. Arrested at her home in Washington, Gardner was the third and final defendant to be charged with the crimes. She and her legal team apparently tried to delay extradition as much as possible, but in the end, her fate will be decided in Florida, the State in which the wanton, tragic event occurred.
Tenon is facing a minimum of 15 years in prison. Both Gardner and Fernandez face the death penalty or life in prison if convicted.