The Record
The story so far
On Feb. 16, 2022, Jared Bridegan stopped his car on a Jacksonville Beach street because a tire had been left in the road. He got out to move it and was shot dead, his young child in the car. Investigators say the killing was arranged by his ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, and her husband, Mario Fernandez, after a long custody fight, and carried out by Henry Tenon, who rented a property from Fernandez. All three were charged. Tenon first pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against the other two, then moved to withdraw that plea, leaving the state to prove the case without its cooperating witness. Fernandez was tried first and convicted of first-degree murder and solicitation on Aug. 26, 2026. Gardner is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy, solicitation and child abuse, has pleaded not guilty, and is now scheduled to be tried in 2027 — the state has said it will move to try her alongside Tenon. — News4Jax/WJXT — four-year case timeline · CBS News / AP — case overview · News4Jax/WJXT — Tenon moves to withdraw guilty plea · News4Jax/WJXT — Fernandez convicted · News4Jax/WJXT — trial delayed, state to seek joint trial
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Before trial (8 entries)
Jared Bridegan, 33, a Microsoft manager, is shot and killed on a residential street in Jacksonville Beach after stopping to move a tire left in the road. His young child is in the car. No one is arrested for almost a year. — News4Jax/WJXT — four-year case timeline · CBS News / AP — case overview
Henry Tenon is charged in the murder. He rents a property from Mario Fernandez Saldana, who is married to Bridegan's ex-wife, Shanna Gardner. — News4Jax/WJXT — four-year case timeline · NBC News / Dateline — arrests announced
Tenon pleads guilty to second-degree murder and agrees to testify against Gardner and Fernandez. At the time, that cooperation is the spine of the state's case against both. — News4Jax/WJXT — Tenon moves to withdraw guilty plea
Shanna Gardner is arrested and charged with four counts: first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony, and child abuse. She pleads not guilty. — News4Jax/WJXT — four-year case timeline · News4Jax/WJXT — trial delayed, state to seek joint trial
Prosecutors withdraw their notice to seek the death penalty against both Gardner and Fernandez, capping the murder count at life in prison. — News4Jax/WJXT — death penalty withdrawn
Judge London Kite denies Gardner's motion to suppress evidence gathered from court-authorized wiretaps, leaving that evidence available to the state. — News4Jax/WJXT — wiretap evidence ruling
Mario Fernandez is convicted of first-degree murder and solicitation to commit a capital felony in Bridegan's death — the first of the three defendants to be tried. — News4Jax/WJXT — Fernandez convicted · Action News Jax — jury deliberations / verdict
On an unopposed defense motion, Judge Kite continues Gardner's trial to 2027: jury selection May 3, trial May 10. Prosecutors say they will take the Gardner and Tenon cases to the grand jury to have them joined for a single 2027 trial. A defense filing argues Fernandez may have had a separate motive of his own. — News4Jax/WJXT — trial delayed, state to seek joint trial · Action News Jax — Gardner and Tenon to be tried together in May · News4Jax/WJXT — court filing on Gardner's defense strategy
The trial, day by day
Pretrial record of State of Florida v. Shanna Gardner, Duval County Circuit Court, before Judge London Kite. No trial testimony yet — jury selection is set for May 3, 2027. Everything below is drawn from court filings and attributed reporting. Jared Bridegan's surviving children are minors and are not named or described here.