JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The trial for Shanna Gardner and Mario Fernandez Saldana, accused in the murder of St. Johns County father of four Jared Bridegan, is set to begin on August 3 next year.
Estranged spouses Gardner and Fernandez Saldana are accused of hiring Henry Tenon to kill Bridegan, Gardner’s ex-husband, in February 2022. Tenon, who rented a house from Saldana, has agreed to testify against them.
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Both Gardner and Fernandez Saldana appeared in court on Thursday, where the trial date was set. Their trials will occur simultaneously but will have separate juries.
This arrangement will require a jury selection process involving up to 500 potential jurors, with a commitment lasting six to nine weeks.
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The next court date for Fernandez Saldana and Gardner is scheduled for September 19, as preparations for the trial continue.
Tenon’s next court date is a status hearing on August 7.
‘Gunned down in cold blood’
Jared Bridegan was gunned down Feb. 16, 2022, in Jacksonville Beach. He had just taken his twins he shared with ex-wife Gardner, and his then-2-year-old daughter he had with wife Kirsten Bridegan, to dinner.
The software engineer had just dropped off the twins at Gardner’s house when he encountered a tire on Sanctuary Boulevard, a one-way road. He was headed home to his second wife, Kirsten Bridegan, and their youngest child.
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Jacksonville Beach Police Chief Gene Paul Smith said during the announcement of the first arrest in January 2023, that “the tire was purposely placed there to make him stop, which he did.”
“Tragically, he began to exit his vehicle to move the tire and he was gunned down in cold blood,” Smith said.
Bridegan was shot several times while his daughter was still strapped into a car seat in the back seat of Bridegan’s car.
The arrests
Fernandez Saldana, Gardner’s estranged husband, was arrested in March 2023 on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, child abuse, and solicitation to commit a capital felony.
The arrest of Tenon in connection with Bridegan’s murder was announced in January 2023. He was arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, accessory after the fact to a capital felony, child abuse, and second-degree murder
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Tenon agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder.
Gardner was arrested in August 2023 in Washington and is facing charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit murder, and child abuse.
Bridegan’s widow Kirsten filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Tenon, Gardner, and Fernandez Saldana in February.
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