JACKSONVILLE: The ex-wife of a Microsoft govt who was gunned down by a triggerman in entrance of his younger daughter has been charged with first-degree homicide, and prosecutors in Florida plan to hunt the dying penalty.
A grand jury indicted Shanna Lee Gardner within the ambush-style dying of Jared Bridegan, State Lawyer Melissa Nelson introduced Thursday at a information convention in Jacksonville, Florida. Gardner, 36, was arrested in West Richland, Washington, and shall be extradited to Florida to face trial, Nelson stated.
“From very, very early on, everything in my body and soul told me she was behind it,” Kristen Bridegan, Jared Bridegan’s spouse, stated in the course of the information convention.
Hank Coxe, who represents Gardner, stated by way of e mail that he doesn’t touch upon pending instances.
The state can also be searching for the dying penalty in opposition to Gardner’s husband, Mario Fernandez Saldana, who was arrested in March and charged in Bridegan’s dying. His legal professional, Jesse Dreicer, stated in an e mail that his shopper has pleaded not responsible and is presumed harmless. “We are dedicated to his defense and are optimistic that when the all of the facts are made available our client will be exonerated,” he wrote.
He was arrested after triggerman Henry Arthur Tenon, 62, pleaded responsible to second-degree homicide, court docket data present. He agreed to testify in opposition to Fernandez Saldana and Gardner, Nelson stated.
Nelson didn’t say what led to Gardner’s arrest or point out a motive.
“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,” Nelson stated.
Bridegan, a father of 4 and a software program developer for Microsoft, was ambushed on Feb. 16, 2022, as he was leaving a Jacksonville Seaside neighborhood after dropping off twin kids he shared with Gardner and returning to his residence in close by St. Augustine.
Police stated that there was a tire within the dimly lit avenue and that Bridegan presumably opened his automobile door to maneuver the tire. That is when he was shot a number of occasions as his 2-year-old daughter sat in her automobile seat. She was discovered unhurt within the automobile.
Gardner married Fernandez Saldana in 2018 and moved to Washington following media protection of the case, officers stated.
After the killing, she informed information retailers, together with the Florida Instances-Union and FirstCoast Information, that she wasn’t concerned in Bridegan’s dying.
A warrant for Gardner’s arrest stated an investigation into Bridegan’s background revealed the couple had a “highly acrimonious divorce” and a “contentious relationship” with each Gardner and Fernandez Saldana.
Gardner’s mother and father, Shelli and Sterling Gardner, issued an announcement.
“Words cannot accurately express the depth of our sadness,” they stated. “Family is our top priority. We love our daughter and are focused on supporting her and our entire family as we help our grandchildren navigate this difficult and very confusing time. For their sake and all involved, we caution against further speculation and request privacy as the legal process runs its course.”
Kristin Bridegan stated the arrest ends one chapter.
“Shanna’s arrest ends one horrific chapter of our pursuit of justice for Jared and now we open a new one,” she stated. “This next chapter will be excruciating. … We expect justice to be carried out to the fullest extent of the law.”