The ex-wife of slain Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan was arrested Thursday for his murder more than 18 months after he was shot to death in front of his toddler daughter.
Melissa Nelson, the state attorney for Jacksonville’s Fourth Judicial District, announced that Shanna Gardner-Fernandez, 35, has been charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and child endangerment.
Nelson, whose team has spearheaded the investigation into the father of four’s tragic slaying, was flanked by Jacksonville Beach Police Chief Gene Paul Smith and ATF Special Agent Bob Bryson.
Authorities did not disclose the nature of the new evidence that led to the indictment against Gardner-Fernandez, who shares 10-year-old twins with Bridegan. She was taken into custody Thursday morning in Washington State, where she has been living.
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A photo combination of Kirsten and Jared Bridegan with their daughter London and his ex-wife Shanna Gardner-Fernandez. (Courtesy of Kirsten Bridegan/Facebook)
There have already been two arrests in the case. The husband of Bridegan’s ex-wife, Mario Fernandez, and his former tenant, Henry Tenon, were indicted for their alleged roles in the killing.
Bridegan, 33, a software developer for Microsoft, was shot to death Feb. 16, 2022, in an affluent suburb of Jacksonville Beach.
He was lured from his car by a tire placed in the middle of the road, and when he stepped out to move it, he was repeatedly shot in front of his daughter, Bexley, who was strapped in her car seat.
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Several bullets struck the interior of the car within inches of the little girl, court papers allege.
Bridegan had just dropped off the twins with his ex-wife, Gardner-Fernandez, at her home and was headed back to his own house, where his second wife, Kirsten Bridegan, and their infant daughter, London, were waiting for him.
Mario Fernandez and Henry Tenon are accused of murdering Microsoft executvie Jared Bridegan in north Florida. (Orange County Jail/ Jacksonville State Attorney’s Office)
The doting father and his ex-wife divorced in 2015 but continued to battle in court over finances and custody of their twins until his death.
After the slaying, Gardner-Fernandez hired a prominent criminal defense lawyer.
Amid mounting public scrutiny, she moved 2,800 miles away to the Pacific Northwest late last year and barred the twins from having contact with their half-sisters Bexley and London.
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Her parents, who own a multimillion-dollar papercraft company and are prominent members of the Mormon community, used an LLC to secretly purchase a $1 million home for her in West Richland, Washington, according to property records.
Weeks later, Tenon, 61, was arrested. It was revealed he had lived in one of Fernandez’s rental homes.
A family portrait of Jared and Kirsten Bridegan. (Infinite Focus Photography/Madeline Insignares)
He admitted to fatally shooting Bridegan and cooperated against Fernandez as part of a plea agreement.
The investigation continued to move closer to Gardner-Fernandez with the arrest of her estranged husband in Orlando in March.
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Prosecutors said that Fernandez had conspired with Tenon for at least six weeks to plot the cold-blooded killing that left four children without a father.
Gardner-Fernandez has remained a suspect in the case.
A photo combination of Jared and Kirsten Bridegan, on the left, and Shanna Gardner-Fernandez outside her home in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. (Courtesy of Kirsten Bridegan/Mom&Paparazzi for Fox News Digital)
A tattoo parlor staffer said that, shortly before the divorce, Gardner-Fernandez asked if he knew anyone who could “shut him [Bridegan] up.”
]She later admitted to making the statement in an interview with a local newspaper but denied any involvement in her ex-husband’s death.
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Bridegan’s widow, with whom he shares Bexley and London, has fought tirelessly to ensure that every person who played a role in her husband’s murder faces justice.
“We have fought hard for the truth,” she said when Fernandez was arrested. “We know there’s still a long way to go before all of those responsible are truly held accountable.”
Fernandez is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and child abuse.
