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Pretrial · trial May 10, 2027 Pretrial — jury selection set for May 3, 2027

Shanna Gardner Murder-for-Hire Trial

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Gardner's trial, which was set to begin with jury selection on Aug. 31, 2026, was pushed to 2027 on an unopposed defense motion for a continuance. Judge London Kite set jury selection for May 3, 2027 and trial for May 10, 2027 (scheduled across three weeks). Prosecutors say they will take the Gardner and Tenon cases back to the grand jury to have them joined, so Gardner and the accused gunman, Henry Tenon, would be tried together. The next pretrial hearing is Oct. 27, 2026. — News4Jax/WJXT — trial delayed, state to seek joint trial · Action News Jax — Gardner and Tenon to be tried together in May · First Coast News — Gardner now faces trial in 2027

Shanna Gardner, 39 · Four counts, by indictment: first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony, and child abuse. Prosecutors withdrew their notice to seek the death penalty in November 2025 for both Gardner and Mario Fernandez, so if she is convicted of the murder count the sentence is fixed by statute at life in prison — there is no penalty phase to weigh. She is the ex-wife of the victim, Jared Bridegan, and the state says she is the person who wanted him dead.
Not guilty. Gardner has pleaded not guilty to all four counts; a court filing from her lawyers this month argues that Mario Fernandez — the man a jury convicted of arranging the killing — may have had a motive of his own, unrelated to Gardner.
Duval County Circuit Court, Florida · Judge London Kite

Related case

The Mario Fernandez verdict →
Gardner's husband was convicted of first-degree murder in the same case on Aug. 26, 2026. — News4JAX

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How this can end
Guilty of first-degree murder
Life in prison without parole, automatically. Because prosecutors withdrew the death penalty, Florida law leaves the judge no range: a capital felony where death is not imposed carries life imprisonment. There would be no penalty phase.
— Fla. Stat. § 775.082 — penalties · Fla. Stat. § 782.04 — degrees of murder · News4Jax/WJXT — death penalty withdrawn
Guilty of solicitation to commit a capital felony
Up to 30 years. Asking or hiring someone to commit a capital crime is graded one notch down, as a first-degree felony, which the sentencing statute caps at 30 years. The jury can convict on this count, on the murder count, on both, or on neither.
— Fla. Stat. § 777.04 — criminal solicitation · Fla. Stat. § 775.082 — penalties
Not guilty on all counts
She would be acquitted and could not be tried again for this case. It would not touch Henry Tenon's prosecution, which the state is moving to join with hers for the 2027 trial.
— News4Jax/WJXT — trial delayed, state to seek joint trial · Action News Jax — Gardner and Tenon to be tried together in May
Hung jury (no unanimous verdict)
A mistrial, and nothing is decided. Prosecutors would be free to try her again before a new jury — a hung jury is not an acquittal.
— Fla. Stat. § 782.04 — degrees of murder · CBS News / AP — case overview

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