Ex-Wife Charged in Ambush-Style Killing of Microsoft Executive Jared Bridegan

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The ex-wife of a Microsoft government 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 loss of life penalty.

A grand jury indicted Shanna Lee Gardner within the ambush-style loss of life 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 might be extradited to Florida to face trial, Nelson stated.

“From very, very early on, all the pieces in my physique and soul informed 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 through e-mail that he he doesn’t touch upon pending instances.

The state can also be looking for the loss of life penalty towards Gardner’s husband, Mario Fernandez Saldana, who was arrested in March and charged in Bridegan’s loss of life. His legal professional, Jesse Dreicer, has beforehand commented little and didn’t instantly reply to an e-mail Friday looking for response.

He was arrested after triggerman Henry Arthur Tenon, 62, pleaded responsible to second-degree homicide, courtroom information present. He agreed to testify towards Fernandez Saldana and Gardner, Nelson stated.

Nelson didn’t say what led to Gardner’s arrest or point out a motive.

“Henry Tenon didn’t act alone. Mario Fernandez didn’t plan alone. And Shanna Gardner’s indictment acknowledges her central and key position within the chilly, calculated and premeditated homicide 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 Seashore neighborhood after dropping off twin youngsters 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 road and that Bridegan presumably opened his automobile door to maneuver the tire. That is when he was shot a number of instances 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 Occasions-Union and FirstCoast Information, that she wasn’t concerned in Bridegan’s loss of life.

A warrant for Gardner’s arrest stated an investigation into Bridegan’s background revealed the couple had a “extremely acrimonious divorce” and a “contentious relationship” with each Gardner and Fernandez Saldana.

Gardner’s dad and mom, Shelli and Sterling Gardner, issued an announcement.

“Phrases can’t precisely categorical the depth of our disappointment,” they stated. “Household is our high precedence. We love our daughter and are targeted on supporting her and our complete household as we assist our grandchildren navigate this troublesome and really complicated time. For his or her sake and all concerned, we warning towards additional hypothesis and request privateness because the authorized course of 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 brand new one,” she stated. “This subsequent chapter might be excruciating. … We anticipate justice to be carried out to the fullest extent of the legislation.”

Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This materials will not be revealed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.